Dear Editor,
I am always blown away by the utter differences in Man. On one hand, there is a dictator shelling his own people in a savage bid to hold onto power. On the other hand, there is the Japanese people. A people who have suffered so much with this recent tragedy. A people who remind us that they remain among the best of mankind in a world grown increasingly violent and unkind. Guyana and the Guyanese people can learn immensely from Japan. Not just disaster management and relief. But more importantly, those human, communal, societal and personal characteristics that really rise to the fore when trial and tribulation are at their most pressing. The Japanese people were prepared for disaster. They trained, ran mock trials and laboriously planned for devastation. They live in arguably the earth’s most volatile earthquake zone, a virtual ring of fire.
Knowing this, they harnessed their skills, energies, brainpower and wealth from taxpayers to ensure that when they were hit, they had systems in place to minimise the ensuing damage and destruction. They created enforcement mechanisms to prevent the wholesale eradication of their civilisation when a monstrous earthquake struck. In Guyana, we have been battling the sea and our inland rivers for a long time and we are simply counting our losses. Our systems are always suspect. Corruption creates cracks within the defences. Egos overrule pragmatism. We simply wait like sitting ducks without any plan to change the direction of coming destruction or our reaction to it.
What astounded me about this catastrophe was the incredible restraint of the Japanese people. I did not hear of a single incident of looting. A profound calm descended upon the Japanese people in exactly the situation where many around the world would descend into anarchy. They bore their suffering with dignity. They stood in lines patiently. No one sought special advantage. The descent into the mob mentality was missing. People shared. There was remarkable grace and caring. They took only what was necessary for them and left the rest for others. It was an act of love that multiplied itself across a stricken zone. A cloud of understanding enveloped Japan. People helped each other. Helped to search for loved ones. Helped to bring closure to those in pain.
Now, we had our outpouring of support with our Great Flood but it is nothing remotely close to Japan’s experience in the wake of this quake. What helps in Japan is its strong volunteering culture, it powerful sense of civic responsibility and its communal integrity. It also helps that it is not fractured by race or class. And that equality abounds within its shores. All of this showed in the face of adversity. These are aspects to our nation that are missing or dying. In this present me-first culture of greed, materialism and acquisition, we celebrate our inequality and our status above others. It is not a legacy that will bode well in the face of striking adversity.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell
