Floods: Being aware of our responsibility
As media reports on floods fizzle out, we will completely forget about the tragic loss of life and property.
The floods have come and gone, and it seems only two kinds of people remember what exactly happened. The first are the victims, of course, since they lost pretty much everything they owned.
The others are those who think they did a remarkable job by contributing and volunteering in the relief activities.
That is not to say that many individuals and organisations have not gone beyond the call of duty to help out their fellow human beings. But as the affected population returns to their washed and in some cases waterlogged land, some who take pride in their contributions are not missing an opportunity to tell tales of the help they provided in this time of need.
I believe we need to differentiate between the concept of ‘duty’ and ‘help’.
Whatever happened to our sense of duty as a nation? Is an obligation a good deed?
It is an obligation as responsible citizens to question the government, the non-governmental organisations and even the media about the rehabilitation process – why has it not started yet and how has all the domestic and foreign aid been utilised?
As media reports on floods and the rehabilitation process of the affected areas fizzle out, soon we will completely forget about the tragic loss of life and property.
Many of us who stayed unaffected by the floods need to remember that pushing for the quick rehabilitation of the victims and making sure that our contributions are being used to re-establish towns and agricultural lands is our duty.
After all, the victims – mostly farmers – are major contributors to the economic development of our country. If we look at it selfishly, whatever we contribute to the flood relief will help us. Ultimately, it will be us, the privileged urban population, that will benefit from the rehabilitation the most.
And if we still brag about the contributions we made and how we distributed our hand-me-downs in relief camps, we can’t be more selfish.
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