Memorial day thoughts

Another earthquake hit Indonesia. This time in Bantul, east of Jakarta. As usual, heaps of bodies were buried in mass graves. A small girl lost her father, a mother lost her entire family, a family lost their homes. One can only hope that stories like this never come true, but once again, Indonesia has proven that stories like this does exist - pretty often.


Situated along the ring of fire, Indonesia has always been a victim to volcano eruptions and earthquakes. I remember celebrating dad's birthday with the rest of the family back in our Batu Pahat home when the news reported about the tsunami. I remember telling Dave that an earthquake had hit Sumatera. We thought nothing of it that night until daybreak, when reports of casualties started to pour in - from different countries. We all know what happened after that. 250,000 lives were lost across Asia. This is just as an estimation. Cities, towns, families and even entire village populations were wiped out in that single night.

Malaysians and Singaporeans knew very well they had Indonesia to thank. If not for Sumatera, Dec 26 2004 would have marked the dooms day of Malaysia and Singapore.

As a matter of fact, Malaysia and Singapore will still have Indonesia to thank for many years to come, looking at the map below.



While the USA remembers its fallen soldiers, I'd like to remember the innocent victims of the act of God.

While nations fight against nations be it for political, economical or religious reasons, let's not forget those who has to fight against nature, or some people would call "The acts of God". Life is full of choices. Make the right one.