So far, the new year has brought with it a new wave of disasters, some natural and some manmade. The roof collapse of an ice rink in Germany, the bird flu deaths in Turkey, the suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Mecca hotel collapse, as well as the latest hurricane Zeta strengthening into a tropical storm but thankfully posing no threat to land.
In the US, I am sure we have all been following the ongoing stories related to the West Virginia mine explosion and the ensuing on-again off-again hope and despair rollercoaster ride relative to the survivors and their families. It appears the one lone survivor might recover, but it is not yet known to what extent. We offer our prayers and good wishes for all the victims, families and the volunteers involved in all tragedies and disasters surrounding our world.
Turkey, of course, is not foreign to mine tragedies. Gas explosions are common in Turkey, particularly in privately-run mines where respect for safety regulations is often minimal. In fact, back in April 2005, 17 workers were killed in a coalmine when a gas explosion caused a cave-in and sparked a fire. Recently, Turkey is back in the headlines again, this time with the confirmed deaths of two children from the H5N1 virus, commonly referred to as the bird flu, with several others in critical condition to add to the count. Hopefully, the situation can be contained and limited to the present animal-to-human transfer state and the feared pandemic or the transfer of human-to-human cases of the bird flu will not occur!
Not wanting to make light of the situation, and possibly as a reflection of the American society and how it views and deals with the onslaught of bad news, I am still mourning the loss suffered by USC last night in the National Championship game after going 34-0 over the past 27 months. Oh well, there's always my NY Giants of the NFL, in the playoffs this year and past winners of two Super Bowls.
