There have been a lot of comparisons between the hurricane here and the incessant rains in Mumbai, India; I have made some comparisons too, and here I am penning down my thoughts for the same.
I was in Houston, TX when both Katrina and Rita hit the gulf coast, and I saw both; the victims being brought to safety from new Orleans, and the people fleeing to safety from the texas coast.
The first thing I observed was the Dependence: In India, nobody expected much help from the government and people knew that they had to help themselves, in US; the government’s each step was under the media scrutiny, and the government heavily criticized for failing to match up to the need of the hour. Expectation: The poor in India can expect temporary accommodation (which becomes permanent), blanket, and food till the calamity is fresh in people’s minds, in US they wanted a house, a guaranteed job, other benefits, and life as close to normal as possible, (each victim was given $2000 debit cards to appease them when they were starting to lash out at the government). In India, during such times, we immediately see hotlines to call to know if ur loved one is dead and how to claim their body, in US; I could only see rescue operations for survivors and almost no mention of the dead people.
In India I guess we are so used to hearing about natural and man-made calamities that they no longer hold a shock value. We have become used to such things and know that we have to help ourselves survive. In US, people don’t take things lying down, know their rights, and know that the government has to help them, and are in the least sense self-reliant.
One thing that was common was the enthusiasm and donations to help the victims in both the countries (of course I even saw people donating to save animal victims in US as opposed to humans). Let’s hope and pray that we don’t have to deal with such calamities in any part of the world in the future.
This was my first attempt at writing a blog, your comments would be deeply appreciated and would help me establish my writing style and content for my future posts.
Thanks and have a great time
Hussain
