Here, There And Everywhere: The Case Of Disasters, Terror And Violence

Building collapse in Ghana, earthquake in Guatemala, famine in Somali, floods in Pakistan, plane crash in Yemen, killing of police by drug lords in Brazil, rebels ravaging Congo, civil war in Syria, Israel-Gaza bombings, crisis in Central African Republic, Ukraine cum Russia's power struggles over Crimea, to name but a few. Turn north, south, east and west and what is immediately noticeable are disasters, terror and violence.

The world in which we live today is increasingly becoming less safe, and the security of the human being has become a major concern to many than traditional preoccupations such as food, shelter, etc. But many argue that the earlier mentioned pre-occupations all come under the spectrum of security; without them, there can be no security. This therefore means that it will be myopic to see security just from the point of view of being free from harm.

Lives have been decimated, livelihoods destroyed and futures made bleak as a result of disasters, terror and violence. The spate of disasters has increased in recent times and whilst some can be attributed to acts of nature, man cannot be absolved from culpability. From negligence to greed, humanity is gradually been destroyed by wreaking havoc on itself. Cases of floods and famines can be linked to the environmental impact of climate change. For acts of nature such as earthquakes, there is little or no control man can exercise over them, but effective disaster preparedness and response mechanisms can make a substantial difference.

How prepared are we to respond to disasters and help save precious lives? The world has witnessed how Chile responded swiftly to save the lives of trapped miners, how Guatemala mobilized their disaster management team to minimize deaths by pulling lots of people out of the rubbles created by the earthquake, how the resilience and humanity of a people was demonstrated by Ghanaians to save countless lives and how victims of storm Sandy in the US are being helped to go back to their normal lives. On the average, disaster response is not that bad, but a lot more has to be done in terms of preparedness in respect of manpower, equipment and other resources. What about disaster prevention?

Where monitoring and supervision can help do the magic, let them be strengthened by having in place well motivated, incorruptible and dedicated team of people; where investments in infrastructure, production schemes, etc is the viable trick to adopt, let us not hesitate at all in making such investments. Our collective vigilance as a people can sometimes be our weapon against preventable disasters. Let us rise up to the challenge and save mankind.

Recently in Pakistan, a girl was murdered by her own parents for looking at a boy. The dastardly part of the act was that acid was poured on her by people who gave birth to her. What was her crime? She looked at a boy!!! Perhaps you should not be quick to judge, because somewhere in Ghana, the hands and feet of a young boy were burnt by his aunt, just because he lost a coin. What about a father killing his son with a gun in his sleep because the son went to his(father's) brother for help curing his ailing wife after the father refused him help; father claiming the son has disgraced him by the act.

The intense or overwhelming fear lies in the fact that those closest to us can maim us or end our lives. Therein lies the terror and this is not from extremist groups, but from friendly but potentially dangerous people. Call it friendly fire! Are we safe? The height of man's inhumanity to man is increasingly being displayed on a regular basis. Why are these acts being recorded?

The roots can be found in impatience, intolerance, bruised egos, uncivilized cultures, etc. Antidotes to the increasing domestic terror greatly lie in the tackling of these root causes. As a people, we must learn to be slow to anger, unlearn old, irrelevant and uncivilized cultural values and learn to accommodate one another despite our differences. Let's shame acts of domestic terror.

In Nigeria, a group known as Boko Haram is maiming people and annihilating lives just to prove a point that foreign education is bad. Regrettably, their acts of terror and violence are targeted at Christians, who they believe are their adversaries. In Syria, thousands have been killed, many consigned to hunger and thousands made to live so many years behind civilization. It's all about the struggle for power; some preferring a hold on power and others seeking to displace them.

In doing so, they're prepared to destroy others to achieve their motives. Parochial selfish interests being pursued at the expense of the welfare of the masses. What about Israel and Gaza? This is a clear battle for supremacy at its best. Who's who has become the basis for shedding blood. Unimaginable, unthinkable, unfathomable, perhaps best describes it.

Annoying is the posturing of the international community. The very bodies set up to deal with atrocities of this nature have proved to be incapable of devising solutions to bring peace and security to humanity. Countries of influence are blocking viable resolutions with veto powers and seem to be happy with the bloodshed. People no longer have consciences. And humanity which should be part of us as a people has completely evaporated. Nations are also claiming sovereignty as a shield to prevent external interventions so that they can continue to perpetuate acts of terror, violence and injustice against their own people.

To me, in cases of conflict prevention and resolution, the United Nations system as well as regional blocs is yet to prove that they are up to the task. But importantly, solutions to domestic problems should most often come from within, not only from leaders, but from ordinary men and women who detest acts of terror and desire change. They should rise up and let their voices be heard through peaceful non-violent campaigns and advocacy.

Today, you turn on your radio or TV and what you hear or watch are acts of violence and terror, as well as the sad occurrence of disasters. The stories are very depressing and send cold shivers down the spines of many. The young are increasingly becoming prone to terror and violence and the future of the human race in terms of security is quite foggy. This means we cannot sit and fold our arms. Let us reduce terror and violence by living at peace with one another, being slow to anger, eschewing greed and selfishness and realizing that human life is sacrosanct. Through increased production for food security, effective monitoring and supervision, we can prevent some disasters and courtesy investments in equipment and manpower, our preparedness to handle disasters can be better enhanced. Our collective voice against disasters, terror and violence is the voice of God.

The Author Is Motivational Speaker
He Is Also The Author Of 'TO THE ZENITH', A Motivational Piece

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Email: pedem99[at]gmail[dot]com