A SERIES of natural disasters has hit countries around the Pacific Rim. At this very moment a new catastrophe may be unfolding in the Philippines as the powerful Typhoon Parma strikes the country’s northeast coast while another potentially devastating tropical storm, Typhoon Melor heads toward the US-run Mariana Islands.
Thousands have so far died in the tsunami that stuck the islands of American and Western Samoa and the two earthquakes that brought chaos and destruction to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Only days ago, yet another storm, Typhoon Ketsana wrought havoc in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam killing an estimated 400 people.
In the face of such immense mayhem and massive human tragedy, local emergency services have been overwhelmed, not least in Indonesia and the Philippines and the call has gone out for international aid. The world has indeed not been slow to respond. Money and essential supplies of food, medicines and shelter have been pouring in, along with small international rescue teams who are currently helping with the desperate search for survivors from the Indonesian quakes. The harsh reality is, however, that for many, especially in far-flung villages away from the main afflicted urban center of Padang, this aid is already too late.
As with the very largest recent disaster, the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami which slew some 230,000 people in eleven different countries, the authorities will again muddle through and hopefully the world will be generous in the sums its provides to help communities rebuild their shattered lives.
But this latest series of horrors does throw up two important issues. The first is the case of the extensive destruction of buildings by earthquake and the flooding caused by the overwhelming of drainage systems. Why are structures, particularly schools housing precious children, not being built to resist massive earth tremors? Regulations in Japan stipulate all buildings must be able to survive the greatest earthquake impact, even if they thereafter need to be rebuilt, so that people can escape from them. It is no answer to say that some countries cannot afford such sophisticated construction. The technology and the designs exist. They should be treated as worthwhile investment in the same way that governments are prepared to pay extra for urban transport infrastructure that will not be crippled by a quake. The deadly Sichuan earthquake this February which killed 70,000 and left five million Chinese homeless caused apartments and public buildings to collapse like cards. The lesson must be learned. Governments owe their people better.
The second issue is the need for a properly trained and equipped international rescue task force, able to deploy massive resources to a disaster area within hours. Around the world, there are armies aplenty waiting for attacks that never happen. Why is not a fraction of that huge effort and expense rechanneled into a multinational global rapid response force, with thousands of experienced and well-drilled personnel ready and waiting to move in? As the frequency of disasters rises, the UN should create it and the world should back it.
Not a funny saga
Often someone who breaks the vow of marriage will also break workplace rules and ethics, said The Christian Science Monitor in an editorial on Saturday. Excerpts:
Many a happy marriage can come out of a workplace romance. But too often an office tryst involves a boss and a subordinate, and/or an extramarital affair. These can lead to exploitation, expected favors, and broken trust — not to mention tragic emotional or legal consequences. This week America learned of another workplace affair involving the powerful and the less powerful when “Late Show” host David Letterman admitted that he has had “sex with women who work for me on the show.” He also told of his cooperation with law enforcement officials in revealing a $2 million extortion attempt by someone who knew of his dalliances and worked on the CBS TV show “48 Hours.”
Almost monthly, news breaks about an elected official, religious leader, or respected celebrity who violates social norms or the law by having a sexual relationship with someone tied to their work.
There is the heart-breaking and perverse example of the campaign affair of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. And then there is the unethical attempt by Sen. John Ensign (R) of Nevada to cover up an affair with a campaign aide by arranging a political consulting job for her husband. Wasn’t the Oval Office affair of President Bill Clinton, and the impeachment related to it, enough of a wake-up call for Americans to be wary of dangerous liaisons at work?
While Letterman fans may show him leniency — the new norm for wayward celebrities — employers like CBS must take any office affair very seriously, especially if there is a potential for harassment, coercion, conflict of interest, or favoritism — or the perception of the same.
Someone with Letterman’s clout could have immense influence over the careers of the women who had relations with him.
Perhaps CBS forgot to advise Letterman about the boundaries for an office romance and the dangers of coworkers taking intimacy too far in a professional setting. Letterman’s audience laughed as he told his tale, and then clapped after he finished his explanation.
Might the more appropriate response have been stunned silence?
