wfn.org | Editorial: Problems uncovered by recent earthquakes

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3028 Edition

>March 8~14, 2010

Editorial: Problems uncovered by recent earthquakes

>Translated by Lydia Ma

Since the start of 2010, it seems we’ve experienced one major  earthquake after 
another. The

first quake took place on January 12 in Haiti, resulting in  casualties 
possibly exceeding

200,000. As the world focused on helping Haiti in the weeks  afterward, an even 
stronger

earthquake shook Chile on February 27. Luckily, Chile’s  8.8-magnitude quake 
resulted in

>fewer casualties than we’d feared.

Then came March 4 – the day Southern Taiwan experienced a 6.4-  magnitude 
earthquake

with an epicenter near Jiashian. This quake basically shook  regions that were 
already

struggling after the devastation unleashed by last year’s  Typhoon Morakot.

Though damages from this quake were minimal, the earthquake was  strong enough 
to halt

high-speed rail operations and require re-inspections of five  reservoirs. 
However, perhaps the

greatest lurking danger is loose soil on several mountains as a  result of the 
quake because it

could turn into deadly landslides during rain season.

A few days after Jiashian Earthquake, Chiayi region experienced an  earthquake 
exceeding

5.0 in magnitude. That same day, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake was  reported in 
Turkey.

Though the recent string of earthquakes has made many people  nervous, experts 
have

reassured us that these earthquakes fall within the normal range  of 
earthquakes, both in

frequency and intensity, and we needn’t worry too much.

To this day, we are unable to wholly predict, much less prevent,  earthquakes 
and this explains

why we are afraid of them. However, factors that make earthquakes  deadly are 
often more

than just their intensity. Using Haiti and Chile as examples, we  soon discover 
that Chile’s

quake was stronger, but Haiti’s quake was far more disastrous  and deadly. Why?

First, Haiti’s quake claimed more lives because its epicenter  was in a densely 
populated

region and Haiti was already struggling with other serious  problems such as 
incompetent

government, lack of public order and safety, and poverty. These  problems 
skyrocketed in the

>aftermath of the quake.

Second, Haiti’s history shows the country has practically  been a dictatorship 
under the guise

of democracy. Under such a corrupt system, most Haitians live in  poverty. 
These conditions

were exacerbated by former colonial powers such as the U.S. and  France through 
their

continuous meddling with Haiti’s internal affairs as a means  to control 
Haiti’s politics and

economy, resulting in massive debts for Haiti.

Soon after Haiti’s earthquake, both France and U.S. tried to  exert their 
influence in Haiti using

aid as cover. France reportedly suggested that Taiwan (a member of  Paris Club) 
should

cancel Haiti’s debt as a goodwill gesture toward the  disaster-stricken island. 
Though France’s

suggestion may sound like a noble plea, such requests are actually  unfair to 
Taiwan – Haiti’s

leading creditor. Making such a call may be easy for France or  U.S. as they’ve 
already reaped

all the benefits from their exploitation of Haiti, but it does  much harm to 
Taiwan’s diplomatic

>efforts.

Natural disasters often give self-righteous superpowers a chance  to strut 
their might under the

guise of charitable deeds. We also see this trend among giant  corporations and 
charitable

organizations and it’s quite noticeable in Taiwan as well.  We’ve seen many 
entities solidify

their power or increase their power through their acts of charity.

We could say that recent earthquakes brought many existing  problems to the 
surface. One of

them included seeing the helpless and the poor being patronized or  manipulated 
by the rich

and the powerful. We’ve seen many survivors forced to accept  help from the 
rich and the

powerful with strings attached. One of the terms and conditions  we’ve heard 
recently is forcing

survivors to give up control of their own lives, or their autonomy  in exchange 
for assistance.

We must be aware of such tactics used by powerful entities to  really help 
victims of natural

disasters before we can enable them to empower themselves, see  through 
facades, and

protect themselves from becoming prey. We trust the righteous God  of the 
universe will give

strength to all oppressed people and help them find a way out, as  promised in 
2 Samuel

22:19: “They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the  LORD was my 
support.”

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