Quakes Shake up Globe, Impacting Ethnic Terrain

There is only one winner: Nature. And so the world turns.

(AP/Matt Marek/American Red Cross)

(SALEM, Ore.) - Shattered dreams touching a wide diversity of ethnic groups have turned the world upside down over the last decade, and this upheaval continues its cruel thrust.

Over the last five years the power of earthquakes has made dents in the landscape of at least three continents. It has crushed vast populations in both the poorer and richer nations on this planet. Destruction has girded the globe.

The devastating tsunami with its epicenter off Sumatra was responsible for tens of thousands of deaths from Indonesia to Sri Lanka. It was a wake-up call to our earth's fragility.

Next came the calamity in Chile. The rumbling earth below swallowed numerous buildings in urban and rural regions alike. Many villages still bear those searing scars.

Again in early 2009, barely had the New Year arrived when a tumultuous quake struck Haiti. Its infrastructure virtually collapsed in the process as multitudes perished. Those who survived were rendered homeless for many months. This poverty-pocked nation still lies largely in tatters.

Then a month ago, New Zealand was rocked in the city of Christchurch. Buildings fell like dominoes and casualties were notable. Although not as extensive as Haiti, the NZ quake left that city in shambles. Recovery will be slow.

Now the island nation of Japan, an advanced industrial society, suffers a staggering blow with a 9.0 Richter scale quake and an ensuing tsunami. Tens of thousands perish as the torrents of water wash away cities and towns along Honshu. Encroaching on key nuclear plants nearby, the catastrophe can yet take a more dire turn should radiation be released in large doses. Peril is omni-present.

Unnoticed by the multitude is that Mother Nature's fury has shown no racial favorites, for its brutality has been evident to SE Asia, Chile, Haiti, New Zealand and now Japan. As a planet, we must now hang together, for borderlines begin to have less meaning when one and all are vulnerable.

There is only one winner: Nature. And so the world turns.

(NOTE: Lee Coyne once served as a press officer intern at the UN Secretariat, writing press releases about weather satellites and their value to both farming and fishing. He was also a disaster volunteer in Hurricane Gustav.)

Salem-News.com Community Writer Barry Lee Coyne brings to our readers stories from his combined career of journalism and gerontology, and explains that these paths shaped his values. Lee Coyne once worked for The Civil Service Leader in NY State and covered the Legislature. He has also done features on mediation and arbitration, and believes in healthy skepticism. This writer-therapist often views the world as the masks of comedy and tragedy placed upon the scales of justice. For him, optimism inevitably wins. "Lyrical Lee" has traveled to 30 nations aboard and was once a press intern at the UN. His first published article was in The NY Daily News in '59, dealing with the need for integrity in public office.

He also launched the nation's first tele-conference on health education for shut-ins, created the Eldermentors project in VA to pair retirees with immigrant students needing role models, and was the main catalyst behind CCTV's "Public Public" panel show here in Salem. Lee received his BA in International Relations and an MSW in community organization. He currently serves as a member of Salem's Library Advisory Board. To send Lee an email, please write to this address: luckycoyne@yahoo.com