Jun. 29,
2008 - Jul. 10, 2008
FROM: GTVRG e.V.
TO: The U.S.
Department of Forestry Destruction and Fire Games, Washington
= California
Burning =
- Part 1 -
Year after year the same picture: large-scale wildfires now in California, weeks and months ago we saw the same pictures in the South of Europe, in Greece, Portugal and elsewhere. Why? Because of no pre-emptive measures, failure to act properly, no quick and efficient response. Because the original seats of fire were not immediately extinguished. As a consequence: environmental disaster, property damage and the loss of life.
Nothing has improved!
California has failed the emergency test!
No lessons learnt from recent disasters?
The same mess like in the failed state of Greece?
Disaster prevention and preparedness is only printed paper?
When will California be able to deal with an emergency?
How will you act when the Big One finally occurs or when a tsunami hits the coasts of California?
Dear disaster-prone proud governmental leaders and heads of agencies,
After the local authorities in Southern Europe weren’t able to cope with wildfires why doesn’t America now prove its own ability to do the job properly? In case America can’t handle the crisis my advice is: turn for assistance to Castro’s Cuba or Chávez’ Venezuela. I’m sure they’re people eager to demonstrate how decent they are after getting such a bad name in the U.S. media.
Another suggestion would be: America should put its trust in the capacity of some of the underdeveloped nations to be shown how the job is done. I suggest you start with Kenya. Kenya could teach your country what disaster handling is.
Let's remember what happened a few years ago. When the Tsunami struck at Christmas 2004 along the coasts of the Indian Ocean America was also involved and it failed miserably. The giant quake itself and the deadly tsunami waves had natural causes and were beyond human control. But everything that followed, especially the humanitarian tsunami disaster, was man-made.
To be fair, the real failures were the directly affected countries themselves and their governments: Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and others. It's hard to hold these countries accountable, because they are a mess. Don't count on them. They are always a mess. Others in the neighbourhood shirk their responsibilities, as usual: China and Japan. Others again, the would-be and faded world powers of Russia, Britain and France, though present in the region, remained invisible.
America, however, is massively represented there. Not least with its naval base on Diego Garcia. It was America that had the entire technological wherewithal, to a large extent military, to prevent the terrific catastrophe, to gather and pool all information that could have been collected from lots of sources, to detect the wave early on, to alert the threatened Indian Ocean rim countries and to coordinate the assistance. Except for Aceh, the Nicobars and the Andamans, where over 200,000 died, there would have been sufficient time for warning and evacuating the rest of the affected coasts.
Year after year the same picture: large-scale wildfires now in California, weeks and months ago we saw the same pictures in the South of Europe, in Greece, Portugal and elsewhere. Why? Because of no pre-emptive measures, failure to act properly, no quick and efficient response. Because the original seats of fire were not immediately extinguished. As a consequence: environmental disaster, property damage and the loss of life.
Nothing has improved!
California has failed the emergency test!
No lessons learnt from recent disasters?
The same mess like in the failed state of Greece?
Disaster prevention and preparedness is only printed paper?
When will California be able to deal with an emergency?
How will you act when the Big One finally occurs or when a tsunami hits the coasts of California?
Dear disaster-prone proud governmental leaders and heads of agencies,
After the local authorities in Southern Europe weren’t able to cope with wildfires why doesn’t America now prove its own ability to do the job properly? In case America can’t handle the crisis my advice is: turn for assistance to Castro’s Cuba or Chávez’ Venezuela. I’m sure they’re people eager to demonstrate how decent they are after getting such a bad name in the U.S. media.
Another suggestion would be: America should put its trust in the capacity of some of the underdeveloped nations to be shown how the job is done. I suggest you start with Kenya. Kenya could teach your country what disaster handling is.
Let's remember what happened a few years ago. When the Tsunami struck at Christmas 2004 along the coasts of the Indian Ocean America was also involved and it failed miserably. The giant quake itself and the deadly tsunami waves had natural causes and were beyond human control. But everything that followed, especially the humanitarian tsunami disaster, was man-made.
To be fair, the real failures were the directly affected countries themselves and their governments: Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and others. It's hard to hold these countries accountable, because they are a mess. Don't count on them. They are always a mess. Others in the neighbourhood shirk their responsibilities, as usual: China and Japan. Others again, the would-be and faded world powers of Russia, Britain and France, though present in the region, remained invisible.
America, however, is massively represented there. Not least with its naval base on Diego Garcia. It was America that had the entire technological wherewithal, to a large extent military, to prevent the terrific catastrophe, to gather and pool all information that could have been collected from lots of sources, to detect the wave early on, to alert the threatened Indian Ocean rim countries and to coordinate the assistance. Except for Aceh, the Nicobars and the Andamans, where over 200,000 died, there would have been sufficient time for warning and evacuating the rest of the affected coasts.
- So why didn’t America act?
- Why didn’t the one and only indispensable world power act? It had at that time the technological and organizational ability.
- Isn't America the undisputed world champion in every field and the greatest truly global and omnipresent super power the world has ever seen?
- What about its decision-making ability and responsibility in case of an emergency?
- What about its ability to respond adequately to disasters?
- Who else can rightly claim to have the same sense of responsibility?
- Who else keeps repeating so often its respect for the dignity of human life?
- And, on the whole, who has the comparable technological means, scientific standards, ethical ideals, moral fiber and mental equipment?
The governments
of the Indian Ocean Rim mentioned above had and still have none of this.
Utterly corrupt and incompetent, not able to run their own affairs and, among
their privileged classes, with an ingrained contempt for their own populations.
So if America refuses to bear the responsibility all by itself, shift some of
it on to the despicable jerks who run these countries.
With all the SNAFUS of this day, the 26th of December 2004, when everybody went AWOL, it was, however, only lowly Kenya that went by the book. The people on the shore there were alerted, the beaches were evacuated within 30 minutes and only one person died accidentally.
All tourists survived unharmed.
So, America, you do have a model to emulate.
Only look to Kenya... this paragon on the Black Continent.
Next time a blaze starts, we are certain, it will immediately be put out. No evacuations, no smoke, no burnt-down homes, no loss of life, no human tragedies will follow the destruction caused by fires. The world will again get the picture of an America that functions and is able to cope. That’s the America we wish to see.
Yours truly,
Jerzy Chojnowski
Chairman GTVRG e.V.
(Victim and survivor of the Tsunami 2004)
With all the SNAFUS of this day, the 26th of December 2004, when everybody went AWOL, it was, however, only lowly Kenya that went by the book. The people on the shore there were alerted, the beaches were evacuated within 30 minutes and only one person died accidentally.
All tourists survived unharmed.
So, America, you do have a model to emulate.
Only look to Kenya... this paragon on the Black Continent.
Next time a blaze starts, we are certain, it will immediately be put out. No evacuations, no smoke, no burnt-down homes, no loss of life, no human tragedies will follow the destruction caused by fires. The world will again get the picture of an America that functions and is able to cope. That’s the America we wish to see.
Yours truly,
Jerzy Chojnowski
Chairman GTVRG e.V.
(Victim and survivor of the Tsunami 2004)
www.gtvrg.de
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GERMAN TSUNAMI
VICTIMS RESPONSE GROUP
WORKING TO PREVENT MAN-MADE
DISASTERS
Anyone can contribute. Donate and help our association.
Anyone can contribute. Donate and help our association.
Account for Donations: www.gtvrg.de
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