Ironies in the middle of chaos
"It's like being in a Third World country," Mitch Handrich, a manager at Louisiana's biggest public hospital told the AP. - (CNN)
Well living in one... can I ask... is that a compliment or not? or just some random comment you pick up from National Geographic?
How do you actually recover from something like this? besides the implicit physical impact... how will this affect them psychologically?
I am listening to Nancy Grace, Headline Prime corresponsal and while describing the scenes on TV she states... "look at this people, they are not wearing shoes! how can someone in our country not have shoes!? this is unbelievable"
Shoes... how convenient.
Well living in one... can I ask... is that a compliment or not? or just some random comment you pick up from National Geographic?
How do you actually recover from something like this? besides the implicit physical impact... how will this affect them psychologically?
I am listening to Nancy Grace, Headline Prime corresponsal and while describing the scenes on TV she states... "look at this people, they are not wearing shoes! how can someone in our country not have shoes!? this is unbelievable"
Shoes... how convenient.
posted by Beatriz Guillen at 5:12 AM
11 Comments:
I understand what you're saying, but I hope also that you're not trying to downplay what is happening to these people simply because they do not live in a third world country.
12:23 PM
The devastation is unbelievable and pray all these families that have lost everything will find comfort very soon. I think Beatriz would agree on this. It is a tragedy that no one would wish upon anyone, despite where they are from.
Little Mitch Handrich must have incredible experience in the Third World to dare comparing the scenes in the U.S. after the hurricane...
I'm insulted...maybe it's beause I don't wear shoes!
1:54 PM
It's not a downplay on the tragedy on the contrary... its the fact that others, outside the tragedy are not focused on the things that matter... its definitely not shoes... and definitely not the living conditions you will face in the future...
I sometimes wonder how is the movilization of help in this cases? I remember tsunami and everyone gathering wanting to go to Asia to help, donations everywhere, you could feel humanity getting together for a cause... but I can't sense that in here... and that is why I wonder why...
With the first guy's comment: "its like being in a third world country" I would say that is a compliment because everyone in here gather to help one another... not wait until TV shows the numbers you can dial for help... at the end its all about the people that matter, not their physical belongings, not the way they are dressed or the things they managed to save... but how you will get out of the crisis... how will you stand up again...
That would be the essence of the poist... how ironies can show up in a world of chaos.
4:18 PM
I dont know, Beatriz, I think you may be idealizing things a bit. There were people in "the third world" taking advantage of the situation during the tsunami. One such example was the Indonesian "rebels" in Aceh, and Im sure their were other examples of lawlessness in the hours-days right afterwards.
You are right on the difference of the TV aspect, however: In the US, media is realitively free, and media can own their own helicopters and film their own footage and get their own stories about how things are being looted, people are being shot, etc. In a lot of the third world, either for government reasons or for economic reasons, disasters just can't be covered in the same manner, so you end up seeing the filtered, cut version, where everyone is helping out trying to pick up the pieces and it makes you feel all warm knowing that its all going great.
In many other ways, New Orleans is like some third world countries: Lawless-ness rampant (Sudan), lack of clean water and food (Congo), refugee situation (Rwanda a decade ago), fears of tropical diseases (almost every tropical developing nation), marshal law (Pakistan?)and devastation (any number of cities in S/SE Asia 6 months ago).
And I agree, that its ironic to point out the lack of shoes, but that's something every American takes for granted and they can relate to losing such a thing, and after all, thats their audience.
4:41 PM
Bea,
the reaction is different this time because this hurricane is not unexpected.
A lot of preparation has been done in advanced, Red Cross and other organizations have prepared for the eventualitites. 80% of the 1.4 millions inhabitants have been evacuated from the city.
and this event is replayed almost every year in the US, hurricane after hurricane (mostly Florida); if New Orleans is not drowning right now, this story will go away after a week.
(All the material destruction will be covered by insurance and FEMA - The US might have to bail out the insurance)
So the shock of New Orleans are delayed; not like 9/11 or Tsunami.
It will caught up eventually once the scale of this disaster hits home. New Orleans will be a ghost city for months after this.
4:56 PM
These people are migrating to my city and the surrounding areas. I disagree with you about how this will be forgotten in a week. More then half of the families are missing there husbands, sisters, childeren etc. Do you where your family will be in a week? This is our nations worst disaster and they are not asking for pity. They just want to live...
8:27 PM
austin, you are misreading my sentence.
The main problem with this disaster is the permanent flooding of New Orleans which prevents people to come back to their homes and start doing clean up.
Without the flooding, the situation is 'normal', just like the previous hurricanes, where community and homes are rebuilt (and the news goes away after a week)
With this one, we are relocating 1.4 millions inhabitants of New Orleans to somewhere else and have them abandon their city for an unknown period of time.
8:55 PM
I think one point that Bea has made that I agree with is the use of language in the media.
"No shoes in their country?" "It's like living in a third world country"
These are not accurate stereotypes, and honestly, coming from a "developed" country I don't agree with the "us vs them" mentality when describing stages of development. In fact its very ignorant.
Where are the posts about the 1000 people that died in Iraq this week because of fear from a suicide bomber attack during a holy walk.
That wouldn't have to happen if they didnt have to live in fear everyday. Thats right... I said 1000 people, mostly women and children.
Its interesting which natural disaters get the most attention in the world, even here on Nomadlife.
I mourn for all that have to deal with tragedy in the world today.
2:18 AM
heroofthelight does an interesting comparison of the two events...
I think I have realized that "third world country" in the US has become almost slang for barely livable conditions, at best. I would be willing to bet that the majority of people in the US do not actually know what a third world country means or looks like. To be honest, after about a month in Chile, a member of my family said something about me being in a third world country and I thought, "there's no way this is a third world country"...but after looking at some stuff on the internet, it is considered third world. So yes, I suppose it is ignorant.
3:23 AM
Language is a funny thing...and most importantly, interpretations of it are huge!
When I first came to Belgium, a girl asked me if I've ever seen any real cows. what went through my mind? "Maybe she thinks I live in one of those countries from the news where living conditions are not acceptable at all." I felt offended for like 30 seconds and I replied yes, of course I've seen cows, why do you ask? You know what she meant?
She comes from a rural area in Belgium and she knows people who have always lived in big cities, some never seen cows other than on TV.
I have just read 9 posts, all which are somehow saying....I see it this way, or I meant this, or you missunderstood...
Perspectives, perspectives, perspectives. This topic is again one more evidence that there is no absolute truth in the world...just diferent ways to interpret the same thing - and we make cultural understanding sound so easy!
9:45 AM
Matt Wells of the BBC has a completely different take on the U.S. media's coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Wells ponders whether Katrina may have awoken a U.S. journalistic culture that had become timid and self-censoring. He argues that an emboldened U.S. media finally appears to be taking on Bush administration spin.
You can find the article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4214516.stm
10:44 AM
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