Understanding disaster response as a community

Disaster is disaster; it could be a hurricane, drought, famine, flood, or earthquake. Some disasters are natural, while others are man-made. Some disasters provide warning that they are about to strike, while others come out of the blue. Whether you like it or not, when disaster strikes it does not discriminate on the basis of race, class, religion, ethnicity, gender, or region. There is no way one can keep from being touched by disaster. However, even if you have not personally been a victim of one, you still must have, as an individual or member of a community, felt the effects in one way or the other. But if you are still fortunate, maybe your turn is just around the corner. It's a reality of life.

I grew up in an African village where, when a village elder died, the surrounding villages would suspend all their day-to-day activities, such as working in the fields, to show solidarity with those who were mourning and to show respect for the departed soul. Other villages had to suspend their activities because each village has its own elders and definitely knows that in the near future one of their own could be the next victim to the spirit of death. I am not saying that we should suspend all our social and economic activities in the EMU community in order to respond to a disaster, but this analogy should give us insight that our support through volunteers and donations from our local community boosts the morale, efforts, and resilience of the disaster survivors. Let me assure you that participation alone in the disaster response is full of life-changing experiences and could provide you with your only lifetime stories that you will live to tell of a disaster.

How will it benefit you if you have the whole world but fail to help your fellow brother/sister who is in dire need for survival? Let me make it clear to you all that we are one global village. If you don't buy that idea, picture being in a situation where your neighbor's house is on fire, and if you don't help to put out the fire in your neighbor's house, the same fire might spread till it engulfs your own. The followers of the Christian religion might agree with me that we have been instructed in the Bible to be our brother's keeper. This means being aware, if not mindful, of the goings-on in our neighbor's backyard and of their welfare in general. I am not telling you to start intruding into people's personal spaces because a disaster has its own indicators. What I am writing is being shaped by my communal cultural orientation.

In light of the above, I strongly recommend that the EMU community be aware of and care about what is going on in the world, especially including disasters bigger than the "big ones" that we have lately witnessed here in the U.S. and beyond. When we become aware of these disasters within and beyond our borders it will make us thank God or the heavenly powers beyond our control for sparing us and give thanks to him for all that we have. At the same time our vision for the world would be wider, our eyes would be opened further and we would become conscious of the events in this world. We will be aware of our comforts; we will know our capacity and capability to send volunteers to help those who are in harrowing situations as a result of disaster.

Most people in or around the EMU community are followers of Christ, so responding to disasters is just like doing our part in being one in the body of Jesus Christ. Affected communities are always in need of both emergency and long-term assistance. World policies affecting response to disasters are made now or in the future by the very leaders undertaking trainings at EMU. Nevertheless, responding and being aware of the world's disasters opens our minds and hearts to a point of acknowledging that we all share global empathy. "In the midst of our hurting, we also remember others who are hurting," wrote Amy Gopp, an associate with Week of Compassion. This means, "The suffering in Sudan, the starving in Niger, the flooding in Romania, the displaced victims of Katrina and Rita of the Gulf Coast, the quake victims in Asia: we are all connected as members of one human body."

If EMU's community cannot go for 'hands-on' disaster support, they should then use other response teams. The issue here is not physical presence but how we, as the EMU community, can help in the delivery of lifesaving aid like food and shelter. Therefore a community that does not respond or feel for another community or group of living things stricken by a disaster might not be aware of the whole miseries or mechanisms behind disasters. Again, it will be naive for us to think that we are too far away from a disaster. WorldNet dictionary defines a disaster as "a state of extreme ruin and misfortune;" it could even be "an event resulting in great loss" of life and property, or a "misfortune" or an "act that has disastrous consequences," mostly beyond our control.

Again I believe that the EMU community is not buying the notion of "everyone to himself and God for us all." Thus, our response to a disaster matters; it's critical and communicates a lot. Let's not be like the ostrich that buries its head in the sand thinking that the whole body is covered in the pretext of escaping from a predator going after it. I can understand the fact that we cannot change the world, but I believe that we can certainly make a difference. As a community, let's desire to do something that will leave a mark or make someone afford a smile. This is because, in a disaster, the respondents and victims in most cases realize that there are no great differences between them. In fact, new and long-term relationships among these parties can develop and remain strong even years after the disaster is over.

I want to leave you with a word of encouragement: If the spirit is willing to respond to a disaster, but the body is weak, just remember to say a prayer. Prayer is a universal response tool and a response every human being who believes in a Supreme Being can do with minimum cost, if any.