Wild jungle. Deserted beaches with great snorkeling or surfing. Mountain lakes. Volcanoes. Orangutans. Oh, and did I mention it’s one of the cheapest places on Earth for backpacking? Really, what more could one ask for in a destination?!?
The sad news this week from Sumatra, one of the most seismically volatile regions in the world, has left me wanting to do more to bring attention to this beautiful island and its people. Alas, what follows is but a brief introduction, but I hope that the critical importance of what happens on this, the world’s 6th-largest island, can be better understood as a result.
I’m sad to report the latest disaster to strike one of my favorite places on Earth. Just a few hours ago, a massive earthquake hit near Padang, Sumatra (590 miles NW of Jakatra, Indonesia.
So far reports are speaking of at least 75 dead, but those numbers are obviously not accurate when the details of the disaster are considered. We already know a mall & 2 hospitals have collapsed.
The death toll was likely to rise as many buildings in the city of 900,000 people had collapsed, Vice President Jusuf Kalla told a late night news conference in Jakarta.
“We have received a report from the mayor of Padang that the death toll is 75. But many others are trapped in collapsed shops, building and hotels. It is difficult to know because it is dark now,” Kalla said.
NOTE: This is an entirely different quake than the one near Samoa just one day earlier.
My heart aches for the tens of thousands of people who at this very hour are struggling to survive and desperately searching for their missing loved ones. The locals of this region are so kind and friendly. As they say, it couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people.
HuffPo
Initial reports received by the government said 75 people were killed, but the real number is “definitely higher than that,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.
“It’s hard to tell because there is heavy rain and a blackout,” he said.
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told MetroTV that a mall and two hospitals had collapsed in Padang – a sprawling low-lying city in Western Sumatra province of around 900,000 people that geologists have warned could be vulnerable to a massive quake or tsunami.
In addition to being home to some of the friendliest people in the world, Sumatra is home to what believe is its most beautiful animals, the orangutan (please don’t type or pronounce that word with a G on the end; thanks).
There are still painfully few details coming out of the region at this hour; about all we can do at this hour is hope and pray for the best.
The Red Cross was the agency that did some of the best work helping these people after the 2004 tsunami, and surely they will be doing what they can to help at this time of multiple natural disasters in the region. Link to the Red Cross donation page.
It’s true. The former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari, helped bring peace to the Aceh region that produced some of the most poignant moments in The Laughing Planet.
For the past 20 years, he has figured prominently in endeavors to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts,” the citation said, mentioning his work in conflicts from Namibia and Aceh, Indonesia, to Kosovo and Iraq.
Ahtisaari had been listed as a possible Nobel Peace Prize candidate since 2005 after he negotiated an end to a conflict that began more than 130 years ago by bringing together the Indonesian government and the leaders of the separatist guerrilla movement in Aceh.
“He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa,” the citation said.
Speaking to NRK Norwegian TV, Ahtisaari said he “was very pleased and grateful” at receiving the prize.
Asked what work he considered the most important, Ahtisaari, the first Finn to win the prize, said that “of course Namibia is absolutely the most important because it took such a long time.” He also singled out his work in Kosovo and Aceh.
I’ve noticed they never seem to announce who wins the Nobel War Prize. I suppose Bush & Cheney win every year so it’s not news-worthy anymore.
It’s a sad reality in the developing world that people have to live with goiters like this when adding just a touch of iodine to their diet would take care of the problem. We realized (eventually) that it was a bit cruel to include this segment in the movie. But we can show it here and highlight that we have the ability to mature & learn from our mistakes.
