Is there anything good that can possibly come out of a violent earthquake that killed some 150k and displaced five million?
Yes.
I was there when another disaster had a silver lining.
In 1999 successive earthquakes struck Turkey and Greece. The vastly more destructive of the two provoked a genuine and massive outpouring of aid and solidarity from the Greeks for their traditional enemy Turkey in its hour of need.
Greek rescue teams and their dogs were among the first on the scene, pulling injured children from the rubble of buildings, that had collapsed like the death-traps that they were, broadcast on bi-national simulcast TV.
Blankets, food, medicine and money, raised by the Orthodox Church (!) and the Greek branch of Doctors Without Borders, among others, flowed into the stricken rival.
Just three years before, the two nations were on the brink of war. Greece had a new prime-minister and Turkey wanted to test his mettle. A squabble over some goat infested rocks in the middle of nowhere escalated out of control. Two heavily armed nations bristled at each other like porcupines. President Clinton's intervention prevented anything worse, but more bad blood had been added to a really sour and really ancient relationship.
My family and I were sitting in the garden of my father's house, mourning his recent death, when the earth shook in Athens on September 7, 1999. Ridiculously, we backed away from under the olive tree shading us. When it finally stopped, I said "That killed people." Unfortunately, I was right.
The response from across the Aegean was massive and immediate. Turkish rescue teams and their dogs were among the first on the scene, pulling injured children from the rubble of buildings, that had collapsed like the death-traps that they were, broadcast on bi-national simulcast TV.
Blankets, food, medicine and money, raised by Islamic charities (!) and the Turkish branch of Doctors Without Borders, among others, flowed into the stricken rival.
Rarely do nations get to respond to generosity so quickly. Both peoples saw each other's humanity, thanks to the hole pierced in the propaganda veil by the disastrous earthquakes.
The tsunamis in Asia are provoking the same process worldwide. Peoples do remember who gave them a hand when they were down (until you kick them in the face, then they remember that.)
Bush blew, yet another, O brother (!), opportunity to really lead.
Still, what will remain in the minds of the locals will be the flags and decals on the boxes and bags of cargo that we send their way in this hour of their need.
The important story, behind the story of the disaster itself, has been the public reaction. A TV station in Hong Kong raised $47m. OK, they are Asian. A TV station in Greece raised 12.5 million euros. Two Greek C-130s (propeller-driven heavy cargo planes) delivered supplies, equipment, doctors and divers (some of whom tried to save the dolphins that got trapped by the tsunami (one of the dolphins appears to have made it), despite difficulties (45 hours flight time, right-of-passage denials, etc.))
Yesterday, the NYT had this story about the unprecedented level of contact and cooperation between two most vicious adversaries.
The nations surrounding the Indian Ocean basin will install a tsunami warning system and will improve their contacts with each other greatly.
Everyone saw everyone's humanity through the hole pierced by the movement of the earth herself.
Even through the stench of thousands of dead we can discern hope.
Hope is citizens shaming their governments by giving more than the state.
Hope is new directions as people realize each other's humanity.
Hope is that even out of death and destruction good things can grow.