Earthquake in Haiti
Some Thoughts
Mirza A. Beg
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Earthquake in Haiti
Tens of thousands dead
Perished without warning
Silencing thoughts and feeling
Mourned by dazed family and friends
Another human calamity
As in disasters before
Earthquakes and Tsunamis
Volcanoes and typhoons
In times and places before
A wrath of God, fury of nature
Or simply an occurrence
Powerful and amazing
As Galaxies colliding
Indifferent to humanity
An event predetermined in time
Propelled by the laws of nature
With no malice or blame
Ants crushed by a bulldozer
Insects under passing feet
Geologic plates moving, colliding
Directions determined eons ago
By forces of cosmic creation
Unconcerned by our feelings
Humbling the arrogant humanity
Inadvertently the Nature tests
Our own nature and values
Some condemn the victims
For inviting the wrath of God
Some don’t even notice and go on
But many find morality in piety
Helping the injured and destitute
Giving meaning to our lives
Compassion for fellow beings
Scripts the nobility of being
Mirza A. Beg can be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com or http://mirzasmusings.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label Nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nature. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Burmese disaster 08-05-12
Junta Obstructs Aid While Burmese Die
Mirza A. Beg
Monday, May 12, 2008
The American Muslim Tuesday, May 13, 2008
http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/junta_obstructs_aid_while_burmese_die/0016218
The devastation caused by the forces of nature such as cyclones, tsunamis and earthquakes are well known. We have witnessed their fury many times, particularly in the last three years. What we have not witnessed is the intentional criminal neglect by the government of the country. The Burmese government has not only ignored the plight of the suffering masses, but has done all they can to reject and impede the help that the world is eager to provide.
The cyclone that hit Burma (Myanmar) on the third of May, 2008 devastated the heavily populated, rice farming delta region of the Irrawaddy River, including the largest city and, until recently, the capital Rangoon (Yangon).
People all over the world through their governments and through private charities are aching to help, but have been stymied, by the putative Burmese military junta masquerading as a government.
Unlike tsunamis or earthquakes, the cyclone system moves slowly. Modern weather predictions and satellite tracking allows time for governments to help populations prepare for the impending disaster, and where possible evacuation. There is no evidence that the Burmese junta cared to inform the people in the path of the cyclone. Cyclones are a natural phenomenon, neither good nor evil. The Burmese junta has proven to be not only depraved, but criminal, because it does not allow others to help either, transforming a tragedy into a catastrophe.
The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people may be dead and millions are homeless, in dire need of food, shelter and clean water. With the experiences after the tsunami in Indonesia in December 2004, and the earthquake in Pakistan in October, 2005, the UN and international community learned valuable lessons in large scale disaster relief. The first few hours after a disaster are extremely important for the survival of people barely hanging on to the tenuous thread of life.
The response from the international community was immediate. Supplies were on the way, being stored in neighboring countries and relief ships the same day. All that the government of Burma had to do was, say yes. The relief supplies and equipments along with trained aid workers would have poured in.
The Burmese Junta said no. Later under universal condemnation modified it to “yes but”. They wanted the supplies to be given to them, and obstinately refused the influx of foreign aid workers. They are scared that aid workers would be carriers of humane ideas and democracy. The United Nations and the relief agencies know the modus operandi of the Burmese Junta. They are sure that the aid will be pilfered; diverted to the well-healed generals and the army. Most of it will not reach the hungry suffering victims in dire need.
Cruel military juntas are efficient in the use and mobilization of the army. The Burmese junta was very efficient in the misuse of the army in the brutal suppression of the peaceful demonstration by the monks in September- October 2007, but the army was nowhere to be seen in the devastated regions of the Irrawaddy delta in the wake of the this cyclone. Yet, the government was telling the UN that its army would help distribute the emergency supplies.
On the contrary, while the people in the Irrawaddy delta are dieing, the junta has spent its attention, meager resources, and man power in holding sham elections in the rest of the country to legitimize its rule. The only local organized help that the people have is from the Monks and the shelters in the monasteries.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has expressed immense frustration that after nine days only a trickle of aid has reached the victims. He has not been able to contact the leader of the junta General Than Shwe in the last nine days. Obviously General Shwe does not care.
Unfortunately in this show down, the cruel dictators have had their way. This stand-off has already resulted in the death of thousands, who could have been saved in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. If the food, water and medicine do not reach the survivors, they will die in large numbers because of malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria and other contagious diseases that can be avoided. Children are particularly vulnerable. The international community has reluctantly started to surrender the relief supplies to the Burmese junta.
How has such dastardly government survived for almost forty-five years? It is the same old story. While the democracies condemn the government and have even imposed sanctions in the last few years, they quietly and often illegally trade with it because of rich mineral wealth of Burma. Burmese rubies and sapphires are the best in the world. China is the biggest beneficiary of such trade. To compete with China, India and other south-east Asian countries have regular trade relations with Burma. The French and other oil companies are engaged in petroleum exploration and production, even the US while imposing trade sanctions quietly allowed Chevron Oil Company to trade freely with Burma up to the last November.
Democracies mostly pay lip service to the idea of democracy, while they surreptitiously support dictatorships for their interests, as in the case of Burma. It is time that the citizens of democracies should expose such nefarious deals. The world super-powers have consistently worked to weaken the UN for their own purposes, as we have seen in the case of the Iraq invasion. It is time to strengthen the UN and other international organizations, so that an above-board united action can be taken against the governments that kill and torture their own citizens and invade and torture others.
Mirza A. Beg can be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
His writings are available at http://mirzasmusings.blogspot.com/
Mirza A. Beg
Monday, May 12, 2008
The American Muslim Tuesday, May 13, 2008
http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/junta_obstructs_aid_while_burmese_die/0016218
The devastation caused by the forces of nature such as cyclones, tsunamis and earthquakes are well known. We have witnessed their fury many times, particularly in the last three years. What we have not witnessed is the intentional criminal neglect by the government of the country. The Burmese government has not only ignored the plight of the suffering masses, but has done all they can to reject and impede the help that the world is eager to provide.
The cyclone that hit Burma (Myanmar) on the third of May, 2008 devastated the heavily populated, rice farming delta region of the Irrawaddy River, including the largest city and, until recently, the capital Rangoon (Yangon).
People all over the world through their governments and through private charities are aching to help, but have been stymied, by the putative Burmese military junta masquerading as a government.
Unlike tsunamis or earthquakes, the cyclone system moves slowly. Modern weather predictions and satellite tracking allows time for governments to help populations prepare for the impending disaster, and where possible evacuation. There is no evidence that the Burmese junta cared to inform the people in the path of the cyclone. Cyclones are a natural phenomenon, neither good nor evil. The Burmese junta has proven to be not only depraved, but criminal, because it does not allow others to help either, transforming a tragedy into a catastrophe.
The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people may be dead and millions are homeless, in dire need of food, shelter and clean water. With the experiences after the tsunami in Indonesia in December 2004, and the earthquake in Pakistan in October, 2005, the UN and international community learned valuable lessons in large scale disaster relief. The first few hours after a disaster are extremely important for the survival of people barely hanging on to the tenuous thread of life.
The response from the international community was immediate. Supplies were on the way, being stored in neighboring countries and relief ships the same day. All that the government of Burma had to do was, say yes. The relief supplies and equipments along with trained aid workers would have poured in.
The Burmese Junta said no. Later under universal condemnation modified it to “yes but”. They wanted the supplies to be given to them, and obstinately refused the influx of foreign aid workers. They are scared that aid workers would be carriers of humane ideas and democracy. The United Nations and the relief agencies know the modus operandi of the Burmese Junta. They are sure that the aid will be pilfered; diverted to the well-healed generals and the army. Most of it will not reach the hungry suffering victims in dire need.
Cruel military juntas are efficient in the use and mobilization of the army. The Burmese junta was very efficient in the misuse of the army in the brutal suppression of the peaceful demonstration by the monks in September- October 2007, but the army was nowhere to be seen in the devastated regions of the Irrawaddy delta in the wake of the this cyclone. Yet, the government was telling the UN that its army would help distribute the emergency supplies.
On the contrary, while the people in the Irrawaddy delta are dieing, the junta has spent its attention, meager resources, and man power in holding sham elections in the rest of the country to legitimize its rule. The only local organized help that the people have is from the Monks and the shelters in the monasteries.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has expressed immense frustration that after nine days only a trickle of aid has reached the victims. He has not been able to contact the leader of the junta General Than Shwe in the last nine days. Obviously General Shwe does not care.
Unfortunately in this show down, the cruel dictators have had their way. This stand-off has already resulted in the death of thousands, who could have been saved in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. If the food, water and medicine do not reach the survivors, they will die in large numbers because of malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria and other contagious diseases that can be avoided. Children are particularly vulnerable. The international community has reluctantly started to surrender the relief supplies to the Burmese junta.
How has such dastardly government survived for almost forty-five years? It is the same old story. While the democracies condemn the government and have even imposed sanctions in the last few years, they quietly and often illegally trade with it because of rich mineral wealth of Burma. Burmese rubies and sapphires are the best in the world. China is the biggest beneficiary of such trade. To compete with China, India and other south-east Asian countries have regular trade relations with Burma. The French and other oil companies are engaged in petroleum exploration and production, even the US while imposing trade sanctions quietly allowed Chevron Oil Company to trade freely with Burma up to the last November.
Democracies mostly pay lip service to the idea of democracy, while they surreptitiously support dictatorships for their interests, as in the case of Burma. It is time that the citizens of democracies should expose such nefarious deals. The world super-powers have consistently worked to weaken the UN for their own purposes, as we have seen in the case of the Iraq invasion. It is time to strengthen the UN and other international organizations, so that an above-board united action can be taken against the governments that kill and torture their own citizens and invade and torture others.
Mirza A. Beg can be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
His writings are available at http://mirzasmusings.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tsunami-Nature-God05-01-22
Tsunami, Nature and Perception of God
Mirza A. Beg
Written, Saturday, January 22, 2005
Aljazeerah, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.aljazeerah.info/26o/Tsunami,%20Nature%20and%20Perception%20of%20God%20By%20Mirza%20A.%20Beg.htm
Axis of Logic, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_15284.shtml
Media Monitor network, Thursday, January 27, 2005
http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12915/
Muslims Wake Up Tuesday, February 1, 2005
http://muslimwakeup.com/
Birmingham Post-Herald, Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Muslim Observer, February 5th, 2005
The enormous loss of lives and destruction by the Tsunami inevitably raises the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.
Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).
In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth's crust is divided into tectonic "Plates" that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth's crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.
In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.
If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.
It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God's design and the universe is God's creation.
Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the "untimely" death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.
The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.
The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of "Karma" - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.
Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.
The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.
According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, "The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I can't create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful."
Some see the natural disasters as God's anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of human language and thought precludes them from perceiving the all encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.
Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.
When I see the beauty in nature and am thankful for being able to perceive it; when I see injustice and find the courage to stand up against it; when I learn new secrets of nature and find order in what once was considered chaos; my respect for the intelligence that made it possible is deepened.
Mirza A Beg invites comments. He may be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com http://mirzasmusings.blogspot.com/
Mirza A. Beg
Written, Saturday, January 22, 2005
Aljazeerah, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.aljazeerah.info/26o/Tsunami,%20Nature%20and%20Perception%20of%20God%20By%20Mirza%20A.%20Beg.htm
Axis of Logic, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_15284.shtml
Media Monitor network, Thursday, January 27, 2005
http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12915/
Muslims Wake Up Tuesday, February 1, 2005
http://muslimwakeup.com/
Birmingham Post-Herald, Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Muslim Observer, February 5th, 2005
The enormous loss of lives and destruction by the Tsunami inevitably raises the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.
Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).
In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth's crust is divided into tectonic "Plates" that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth's crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.
In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.
If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.
It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God's design and the universe is God's creation.
Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the "untimely" death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.
The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.
The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of "Karma" - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.
Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.
The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.
According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, "The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I can't create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful."
Some see the natural disasters as God's anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of human language and thought precludes them from perceiving the all encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.
Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.
When I see the beauty in nature and am thankful for being able to perceive it; when I see injustice and find the courage to stand up against it; when I learn new secrets of nature and find order in what once was considered chaos; my respect for the intelligence that made it possible is deepened.
Mirza A Beg invites comments. He may be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com http://mirzasmusings.blogspot.com/
Response -Tsunami 05-01-22
Humanity's Response to the Tsunami
Mirza A. Beg
Written Saturday, January 22, 2005
Media Monitor Network, Tuesday, January25, 2005
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12851
Al Jazeerah, Tuesday, January 25, 2005
http://www.aljazeerah.info/25o/Humanities%20Response%20to%20the%20Tsunami%20By%20Mirza%20A%20Beg.htm
Axis of Logic, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_15285.shtml
The Muslim Observer, Vol. 7, Issue 5, January 29,2005
There have been many deadly natural disasters before, but the December 26th Tsunami in the Indian Ocean caught the imagination of the world. More people saw and were affected by the gruesome pictures than any event before.
A death toll of 225,000 makes this Tsunami the eighth deadliest natural disasters in recorded history affecting so many far-flung countries. Millions more suffer the after effect because they are alive, alone, shorn of loved ones and all possessions. Most of us were aghast, sad and wanted to help save the broken lives, to mend torn bodies and wipe tears from vacant eyes. It propelled us to find our humanity. We opened our hearts and purses to help those in need. Within a couple of weeks, according to the UN about 4 billion dollars had been pledged to help the victims.
According to reports at least 40 percent of Americans contributed in response to the Tsunami, as many did all over the world. They did not brag or claim credit. They simply gave, quietly. It speaks volumes about the generosity, humanity and piety of individuals as Americans, as humans. The pouring in of contributions met the immediate needs of many charities, even overwhelmed some of them. The Nobel peace prize-winning charity, "Doctors without borders”, reported that they have enough money committed to Tsunami victims to meet their capacity.
Many governments responded generously as well. Unfortunately the US government, representing us did not show that elegant spirit. It initially pledged $15 million. After accusations of being stingy, the sum was raised to $35 million and a week later to $350 million. Stung by criticism, Colin Powell and others bragged about the American generosity and pointed that the Bush administration was helping non-Christian people, including Islamic countries, and enjoined Muslims to remember that generosity.
This unseemly bragging tainted the nobility of charity. It reduced the effort to buying goodwill to supplant the arrogance in Iraq. Inevitable comparisons followed - 15 million for F-15 fighters, 40 million for Bush inauguration and about 650 million per day spent on war in Iraq. It did not help. Indeed, American people are generous, but the Bush administration is not.
Bush administration tried to sideline the common effort under the UN umbrella by announcing a separate coalition effort, co-opting India, Japan and Australia. Mercifully the co-opted countries let this harebrained idea die quietly.
Faced with natural disasters, we reach for our common humanity. It brings out the best in us. The disasters of our own making such as war, oppression and torture driven by hubris, relentlessly kill, maim and destroy. They reveal the worst in us. They destroy those who face the brunt of human cruelty and corrode those who inflict such horrors.
The two worst effected regions by the Tsunami are Aceh, in Indonesia and Northeastern regions of Sri Lanka. In Aceh, the northernmost region of Sumatra Island, the military has been fighting a brutal war against separatists of the Free Aceh Movement for almost three decades and has kept the province closed to outsiders.
In Sri Lanka a brutal 25-year civil war has claimed 64,000 lives. The war has pitted the government, dominated by the country's Sinhalese, Buddhist majority, against the Hindu minority of Indian origin, demanding a homeland, under the banner of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Tsunami stunned the warring parties in to joining hands to help the people, irrespective of ethnicity or political affiliation, bringing hope for the people caught in the conflict. But three weeks after the Tsunami fissures have already started to appear. According to the UN reports, Tamil Tigers are recruiting young orphans in their militia and Indonesian government has killed some 20 rebels.
The United Nations has a solid record of accomplishment in the areas of humanitarian relief and the advancement of health in poor countries. Reoccurring natural disasters are part of nature. We seem to have realized that helping the needy is our common concern. It is time to stop bickering and strengthen the UN to wield the power of the world opinion to effectively guide the contending parties to a negotiated mutually beneficial peace. It is an opportunity for the US to shed the perfidy of the Iraq war and take a constructive role in strengthening the UN at what it does best. It is our common world institution.
The UN, on the behalf of the humanity should insist that the contending parties in Aceh and Sri Lanka desist from the past violence and with the help of the UN, reach a peaceful settlement. They should not be allowed to destroy what is being rebuilt with the love of our common humanity.
Mirza A. Beg can be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
Mirza A. Beg
Written Saturday, January 22, 2005
Media Monitor Network, Tuesday, January25, 2005
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12851
Al Jazeerah, Tuesday, January 25, 2005
http://www.aljazeerah.info/25o/Humanities%20Response%20to%20the%20Tsunami%20By%20Mirza%20A%20Beg.htm
Axis of Logic, Wednesday, January 26, 2005
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_15285.shtml
The Muslim Observer, Vol. 7, Issue 5, January 29,2005
There have been many deadly natural disasters before, but the December 26th Tsunami in the Indian Ocean caught the imagination of the world. More people saw and were affected by the gruesome pictures than any event before.
A death toll of 225,000 makes this Tsunami the eighth deadliest natural disasters in recorded history affecting so many far-flung countries. Millions more suffer the after effect because they are alive, alone, shorn of loved ones and all possessions. Most of us were aghast, sad and wanted to help save the broken lives, to mend torn bodies and wipe tears from vacant eyes. It propelled us to find our humanity. We opened our hearts and purses to help those in need. Within a couple of weeks, according to the UN about 4 billion dollars had been pledged to help the victims.
According to reports at least 40 percent of Americans contributed in response to the Tsunami, as many did all over the world. They did not brag or claim credit. They simply gave, quietly. It speaks volumes about the generosity, humanity and piety of individuals as Americans, as humans. The pouring in of contributions met the immediate needs of many charities, even overwhelmed some of them. The Nobel peace prize-winning charity, "Doctors without borders”, reported that they have enough money committed to Tsunami victims to meet their capacity.
Many governments responded generously as well. Unfortunately the US government, representing us did not show that elegant spirit. It initially pledged $15 million. After accusations of being stingy, the sum was raised to $35 million and a week later to $350 million. Stung by criticism, Colin Powell and others bragged about the American generosity and pointed that the Bush administration was helping non-Christian people, including Islamic countries, and enjoined Muslims to remember that generosity.
This unseemly bragging tainted the nobility of charity. It reduced the effort to buying goodwill to supplant the arrogance in Iraq. Inevitable comparisons followed - 15 million for F-15 fighters, 40 million for Bush inauguration and about 650 million per day spent on war in Iraq. It did not help. Indeed, American people are generous, but the Bush administration is not.
Bush administration tried to sideline the common effort under the UN umbrella by announcing a separate coalition effort, co-opting India, Japan and Australia. Mercifully the co-opted countries let this harebrained idea die quietly.
Faced with natural disasters, we reach for our common humanity. It brings out the best in us. The disasters of our own making such as war, oppression and torture driven by hubris, relentlessly kill, maim and destroy. They reveal the worst in us. They destroy those who face the brunt of human cruelty and corrode those who inflict such horrors.
The two worst effected regions by the Tsunami are Aceh, in Indonesia and Northeastern regions of Sri Lanka. In Aceh, the northernmost region of Sumatra Island, the military has been fighting a brutal war against separatists of the Free Aceh Movement for almost three decades and has kept the province closed to outsiders.
In Sri Lanka a brutal 25-year civil war has claimed 64,000 lives. The war has pitted the government, dominated by the country's Sinhalese, Buddhist majority, against the Hindu minority of Indian origin, demanding a homeland, under the banner of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Tsunami stunned the warring parties in to joining hands to help the people, irrespective of ethnicity or political affiliation, bringing hope for the people caught in the conflict. But three weeks after the Tsunami fissures have already started to appear. According to the UN reports, Tamil Tigers are recruiting young orphans in their militia and Indonesian government has killed some 20 rebels.
The United Nations has a solid record of accomplishment in the areas of humanitarian relief and the advancement of health in poor countries. Reoccurring natural disasters are part of nature. We seem to have realized that helping the needy is our common concern. It is time to stop bickering and strengthen the UN to wield the power of the world opinion to effectively guide the contending parties to a negotiated mutually beneficial peace. It is an opportunity for the US to shed the perfidy of the Iraq war and take a constructive role in strengthening the UN at what it does best. It is our common world institution.
The UN, on the behalf of the humanity should insist that the contending parties in Aceh and Sri Lanka desist from the past violence and with the help of the UN, reach a peaceful settlement. They should not be allowed to destroy what is being rebuilt with the love of our common humanity.
Mirza A. Beg can be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
Science and God 05-11-16
Science, Nature and Perception of God
Mirza A. Beg
November 16, 2005
“The more the things change the more they remain the same”, a truism ascribed to the French. It seams Darwin is again in the dock and a time warp has taken us back to the Scope’s monkey trial again. Some think that science is and has always been on a collision course with religion. I am a geologist as well as a deeply religious person. The challenge of unraveling the mystery of nature and the quest for understanding through research the most fulfilling form of worship.
When volcanoes erupt or earthquakes shake continents by the continual adjustments of tectonic plates, or when the benign winds turn into hurricanes and tornadoes, inadvertently rearranging the terrain, we are awe-inspired by the power of nature. Unfortunately we usually take notice only when they wreck lives.
The enormous loss of lives and destruction caused by the Tsunami off the coast of Sumatra last December inevitably raised the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.
Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).
In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth's crust is divided into tectonic "Plates" that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth's crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.6 billion years of Earth's history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.
In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.
If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.
It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God's design and the universe is God's creation. All scientific laws are God’s laws.
Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the "untimely" death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.
The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.
The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of "Karma" - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.
Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.
The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.
According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, "The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I can't create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful."
Some see the natural disasters as God's anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of language and thought preclude humans from perceiving the all-encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.
Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.
When I see the beauty in nature and am able to perceive it; when I see injustice and find the courage to stand up against it; when I learn new secrets of nature through scientific inquiry and find order in what once was considered chaos; my respect for the intelligence that made it possible is deepened.
Mirza A Beg invites comments. He may be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
Mirza A. Beg
November 16, 2005
“The more the things change the more they remain the same”, a truism ascribed to the French. It seams Darwin is again in the dock and a time warp has taken us back to the Scope’s monkey trial again. Some think that science is and has always been on a collision course with religion. I am a geologist as well as a deeply religious person. The challenge of unraveling the mystery of nature and the quest for understanding through research the most fulfilling form of worship.
When volcanoes erupt or earthquakes shake continents by the continual adjustments of tectonic plates, or when the benign winds turn into hurricanes and tornadoes, inadvertently rearranging the terrain, we are awe-inspired by the power of nature. Unfortunately we usually take notice only when they wreck lives.
The enormous loss of lives and destruction caused by the Tsunami off the coast of Sumatra last December inevitably raised the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.
Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).
In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth's crust is divided into tectonic "Plates" that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth's crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.6 billion years of Earth's history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.
In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.
If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.
It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God's design and the universe is God's creation. All scientific laws are God’s laws.
Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the "untimely" death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.
The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.
The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of "Karma" - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.
Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.
The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.
According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, "The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I can't create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful."
Some see the natural disasters as God's anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of language and thought preclude humans from perceiving the all-encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.
Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.
When I see the beauty in nature and am able to perceive it; when I see injustice and find the courage to stand up against it; when I learn new secrets of nature through scientific inquiry and find order in what once was considered chaos; my respect for the intelligence that made it possible is deepened.
Mirza A Beg invites comments. He may be contacted at mab64@yahoo.com
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