Hurricanes and Paris Hilton

Yesterday when I phoned my Aunt in America to tell her about my daughter's horrific experience surviving the hurricane in Muscat, I was once again reminded that unless the news is about oil shipping, or Paris Hilton, the American public are ignorant about what is happening in the rest of the world. Dear Aunt Dolores hadn't even heard about the hurricane, much less that Talla and family were stranded in the upstairs of their home while their downstairs filled with water. I had a cell telephone conversation with my terrified 11 year old granddaughter that broke my heart but which I had to respond to in a forceful and direct way assuring her that she and her family would be okay, that they would be rescued and she needed to be brave. All of this while I had no assurance that they would be safe, that they wouldn't be forced onto the roof of their house, the last place to go. Thankfully instead of the water rising, it receded and friends were able to get to them yesterday morning and get them out.

Of course, while dealing with a crisis the only focus is on the safety of the loved ones, in this case...my family...it is only after they are safe that one can begin to assess the loss of the precious items gathered lovingly during a marriage. Gone are the photo albums, the home videos of growing children, the journals that Larry began for each of his girls, writing in them at times on a daily basis, telling them what had happened that day, pasting in pictures and putting down the funny things that they had said and done, making a record for them to read in future years. Gone is the piano, the cars, the recipes....some from my mother that Talla had rescued when I was about to toss them out, the girls school work pasted on the refrigerator and walls of the kitchen. Too many things to list...but then again, just "things."

No doubt my family will be able to pick up their lives and begin again. They have good jobs, wonderful friends, great family support and resources that they will be able to draw on. My heart goes out to those in Oman like them, who have lost everything, but don't have the strong support system that my children do. I know that to many people the fact that Paris Hilton got out of jail yesterday is their most important news item, or that the oil shipments coming from the Arabian Sea weren't too interrupted due to this annoying hurricane, and therefore their gasoline prices won't be raised too much in their local station. All I can say to them is “wake up Americans (and others), there is a whole world out there...with people who have lives very much like yours...if you would just dig a little deeper...search a bit more...demand more comprehensive news coverage, you might just be able to touch and understand the humanity of the world around you….and make this earth a better place."
karen