Waves That Destroyed But Also Brought Us Together

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Waves that destroyed but also brought us together

Published on December 26, 2005

One year ago, we were absolutely dwarfed, humbled and overawed. For once, human beings were made to feel like ants by nature’s almighty wrath. But whereas the December 26, 2004 tsunami swallowed hundreds of thousands of lives and threw millions of others into extreme hardship, turmoil and disarray, it also helped set mankind’s priorities straight.

It was all about people we loved, and what we could do to help countless sufferers. Politics took a back seat nearly everywhere. And who cared about stock prices and numbers of tourists?

We were reminded just who the real boss is. Faith was shaken as “paradises” that spawned romance and fostered friendship turned into hel_l. The meaning of life came under a stunning new revision as we were shown a glimpse of Mother Nature’s power to level the human playing field in all aspects if she wanted to. Is life just plain silly? And are we just kidding ourselves when we try to build that thing called a “legacy”?

The immense grief and shock submerged many of us in religious confusion. How would God, if he really exists, have explained why he allowed angry seas to sweep away more than 200,000 innocent lives and make millions more suffer? But in the tsunami’s wake, the only people who didn’t have time for soul-searching could be those who found real solace in selfless voluntary work. Did the tsunami mock life, or did it tell us that we have something precious, albeit fragile, if we have the will to make it truly meaningful?

The rebuilding is continuing. The worker ants have reclaimed lost land and the tourist “heavens” are being recreated. Warning systems have been tested and tried. And while it felt like yesterday when we were jolted and pained beyond words, a sense of security is also creeping back. The suffering of the victims remains, but it can be blurred by re-arranged priorities, such as the need to project an everything-has-returned-to-normal image.

While the tsunami has cleansed some souls, especially those of the volunteers who are still helping those who suffered, it may be nothing but a ripple to others. The giant wave of global response to the disaster was unique, but can we keep that great spirit of giving, compassion and sacrifice now that the waters that rose menacingly to where the skies had been have receded to the levels that once again invite yachting and sunbathing? Can we keep the unprecedented united front now that the focus is shifting from basic survival to economic recovery?

Humans gave the tsunami a good fight. We did it despite overwhelming spiritual confusion. But while the furious, gigantic waves left us to question or blame anyone or anything more powerful than us in its aftermath, the calm seas are begging questions about nothing but ourselves.

The Nation