EDITORIAL : THE DAILY MIRROR, SRILANKA

Tsunami again: Waterloo re-enacted by high tech Bonapartes 

 The terrifying 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami which hit Northeastern Japan and several other countries in the Pacific area yesterday  is yet another grim reminder that top priority needs to be given not so much to terrorism or tourism but to global warming and related factors that cause such self-made catastrophes.

Yesterday’s shattering calamity was also a reminder – just 48 hours after Ash Wednesday – that everything in life is transient or impermanent and no one, not even the highest or the most powerful, can escape the destiny of ashes to ashes or dust to dust. It was a full-scale warning to those who seek personal gain or glory in subtle ways, those who use their power to abuse or dominate others, those who use their power for personal prestige or popularity or plunder or pillage the resources of the country to build bigger barns of wealth and possessions. Only what is done for others, what is done sincerely, selflessly and sacrificially for the common good of all will last beyond the dust and ashes. All worldly things, built up over years or decades can be destroyed in a moment as we saw in Japan and other countries yesterday and as we saw in Sri Lanka during the 2004 tsunami.
Yesterday afternoon, Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the earthquake and the tsunami, while massive fires were also seen and even nuclear power plants faced danger. Some analysts described it as being like an atom bomb attack similat to what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The earthquake struck about 400km from the capital at a depth of 16km. There were also powerful aftershocks.
The catastrophe at 11.15 a.m Sri Lankan time brought about tsunami warnings in some 20 countries. Waves of up to 10 metres and roaring at some 800 kilometres an hour, the speed of a jumbo jet, were seen hitting several places.
 The earthquake also triggered a number of fires, including one at an oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo.
More details of the deaths and devastation appear in the front page lead story and the international news pages of the Daily Mirror today. While watching these horrific scenes what we and other countries need to do is to speed up measures to prevent such catastrophes which are not natural or supernatural curses but are largely self-made tragedies. Our own selfishness, self-centeredness and greed to grab more, exploit more of the world’s natural resources and change the balance of the eco system have sent us plunging towards self destruction. We need to carefully read the signs of the times and take counter measures.
By divine providence Sri Lanka escaped yesterday’s calamity. But it was a signal for us to act fast and act wisely to save Sri Lanka and be prepared to face such disasters.