Recognition of Tsunami......

[James_Davidov]

I just thought that someone should note the current disaster in the Asian region, it being devastated by the Tsunami…  I know it’s not particularly relevant to the Romanov’s, however, considering how many people frequent this website, and the massive amount of people affected, not just locals to the region, but also tourists (particularly Swedes) something should be noted.

As a group intrigued by the past we shouldn't forget the present... We should all pray for the souls affected, and hope that some relief can be brought to those still suffering.

[Janet_W.]

Thank you, James. I was wondering if someone would post re: this matter, and I am glad that you did so.

The devastation is so much to contemplate, it is almost impossible to wrap our minds around the enormity of it all. And yet, as you noted, since we are interested in history, so should we not only take notice of what has happened, but also support the rescue and relief efforts with our prayers and (if possible) our contributions.

I hope the essayist Michael Josephson won't mind if I share one of his most recent postings with all of you:


Paying Our Respects

I had intended to write something uplifting before the New Year, but I can't -- at least not today. I can't ignore the cries of grief coming from Asia. Tidal waves of biblical proportions aren't supposed to happen in the  21st century. Our technology should be able to protect people. But it can't -- and it didn't. And though we can easily go on with our lives, taking only passing notice of a death toll that is more than 40 times that of 9/11, we shouldn't. We shouldn't forget that every single life is precious and that there is tragedy in every death. We need to pay our respects. I've tried to do that with this poem:

Sometimes there are no words
No words that can describe devastation
No words that can express despair
No words that can explain disaster.

When there are no words what's left are feelings
Feelings of compassion for cascading layers of victims beyond consolation
Feelings of helplessness in the face of nature's capacity for mass destruction
Feelings of fear that we too are vulnerable.

I feel sorrow and I feel pity, but I also feel shame.
I'm ashamed I do not feel more deeply.
I'm ashamed that I do not weep.
I'm ashamed that I can bear so easily the collective agony of one hundred thousand deaths.
I'm ashamed that I feel grateful that my loved ones are safe.

Maybe it's because the people who died and their families that cried are so very far away.
Are they just words on a page and pictures on my TV?
I have to struggle to make them real.

Maybe it's because they don`t look like me or talk like me or pray like me.

But they are me.
Because but for the grace of God, I am them.

[grandduchessella]

I didn't know if we should or would start a thread on it so I added it to my signature line when I returned. As it says on the bottom, my prayers are with all affected. Truly a non-discriminating tragedy--from the grandson of a king to a famous international actor (Jet Li) to the poorest farmer, rich/poor, young/old, many religions and nationalities. A real tragedy.    There are still up to 400 Americans accounted for (just a side note since I know that many other countries have suffered far worse but still one of the largest natural tragedies that the US has faced in a long time). Friends of ours overseas are involved in flying some of the military supply missions. A college friend of my husband lived and worked in Sumatra but luckily was visiting the US when it happened.

[helenazar]

My cousin has friends, a couple from Sweden, who went to Thailand on December 25th for Christmas, to one of areas on the water that was effected. They have not been heard from since the 24th, the day before they were to leave....

[Dandywell]

This tsunami is a devastating disaster. As everything played out, my eyes were glued to the TV screen. This summer, our youth group had gone on a mission trip to Thailand. When I heard about what had happened, I was scared, because I had come to care about the people there, and the missionaries we had ministered with. Luckily, none of them were affected, since we were in a different part of the country, but the thousands lost was overwhelming, and the question what will happen now can't be ignored. People with no insurance, no shelter, no clean water, and no hope are now out there in the thousands, and I don't feel like I can do anything but pray. But in some ways, I see this as a new beginning. Peoples eyes are opened, and perhaps some of them will see. We don't live in a nice world, I'm afraid, and it's weird to see tragedy effect that, and kind of pathetic.

[otmafan]

It was a terrible tragedy. I hate seeing the pain and suffering of the people affected. I never thought this terrible thing could happen. Those people are in prayers.  

[grandduchessella]

My cousin has friends, a couple from Sweden, who went to Thailand on December 25th for Christmas, to one of areas on the water that was effected. They have not been heard from since the 24th, the day before they were to leave....

I hope that they have been heard from since and are safe and sound.

[helenazar]

I hope that they have been heard from since and are safe and sound.

No, they haven't heard from them!  

[grandduchessella]

I'm so sorry to hear about that. I have been praying the rosary to various saints associated with the region, floods, etc... and the people affected by them. I will add a special thought for your friends.

[Janet_W.]

Two of my friends, currently living in Southern California, are originally from Sweden. Needless to say, both are devastated by what they have heard.  One of them happened to be visiting her family during the last week of the year.  Her sister, an emergency room nurse, came home every day with reports of patients who had somehow managed to return from the tsunami area but were still suffering physical injuries. Then Ulricka spoke about the psychological injuries, many of which have a starting point with parents who returned home without their children, and children who returned without their parents.

There are no words to describe this agony.

In the meantime, you may have heard of an additional cruelty . . . the scumbags who traffic in child prostitution have been kidnapping tsunami orphans. As a UNICEF representative stated, "They've found it as easy as picking fallen fruit off the ground."

I cannot help but think how the humanitarian-focused people we've previously discussed--Grand Duchess Ella, Audrey Hepburn, and Diana, Princess of Wales, among others--would react to what has transpired since December 26.  And, as is the case with war, revolution, and other human-initiated tragedies, the initial horrors are only the beginning. What follows for those who survive is going to be equally (if not more) devastating.

[Joanna]

Words that haunt from the siege of Leningrad to the heartbreaking tragedy of the tsunami:

Olga Berggolts

"Let no one forget, let nothing be forgotten."

Joanna

[moonlight_tsarina]

My cousin has friends, a couple from Sweden, who went to Thailand on December 25th for Christmas, to one of areas on the water that was effected. They have not been heard from since the 24th, the day before they were to leave....

I hope they are safe now!