While there have been countless news on the death toll and devastation caused by the Tsunami that hit regions surrounding the Indian Ocean, little heed has been paid to its origination, nor has there been much talk about possible co-operation between nearby countries in structuring a better organised emergency relief system.

Sure, grief is still high among the many who have lost loved ones or been rendered orphans. But, the role of the government is not to merely wring their hands and indulge in emotional hysteria but to start thinking about the possibility of a repeat of this event. While I would not speak for the other countries, I find the media circus surrounding this tragedy in Malaysia appalling, and how the misery of other people are used as cheap publicity stunts by corporations, with the media greedily relaying intrusive footages of dejected souls in order to spice up their usually banal fare.

It seems that the news people have become rather lazy, airing various parts of the same material from a long shoot. Ministers deliver idiotic speeches that could be better off left unaired. There is endless broadcasts of the various corporate bodies who have contributed to the relief fund, and their publicity speeches. I wonder at this, as they aren't even contributing that huge an amount, if one were to ratio it against the losses that the victims and survivors have to endure. It seems as if we need more tragedies like this for the free advertising it provides. Looking at the haphazard way everything is being dealt with, I wonder how much of the money would actually go to helping the people, as well as to organising better relief work. There is no discussion whatsoever as to what might have happen in the lead up to the quake and tsunami. It is shocking how no one is interested in knowing the background of the event. Are we going to wait for more people to die before we decide to do something? Or perhaps lives, like labour, is cheap around here.

While I will not discount the fact that bad infrastructure, bad roads, bad communication and lack of funds invested to propping up organisation works have contributed to the immensity of the problem, lackadaisical attidue of officials who could have done something to improve the conditions adds to the gravity of the situation. I will include here some news clippings on how the events leading up to the disaster, as well as the perversity generated by the kind of media coverage one has been getting., which reminds me of a very poignant book by Susan Sontag "On Photography", where she talks about media "sharks" who prey on human misery and tragedy, using photographs of atrocities or devastation to sell news.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/science/tsunami-warning-system-39258.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1229-10.htm

Some photovisuals
http://coreykoberg.com/Tsunami/

And an animation of the wave in Sumatra. I seem to have problems loading it on my computer for now. You might be luckier.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/video/tsunami-indonesia2004.mov

And some updates by UNCHR
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/RWB.NSF/vID/1D5A6ABA75DD7D5285256F79007BF64B?OpenDocument