TYPHOONS!

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Some of you have heard; others maybe have not. Three typhoons whipped through Taiwan last week, with a big one expected on Saturday. Fortunately, people in Tainan were not affected much by the typhoon. The only thing we had to deal with was a lot of screeching wind shaking our windows and a lot of rain. Oh yeah, and we were told to "stay indoors," which was a bit of an inconvenience. For me, it meant stocking up on food & water then watching a lot of TV & movies with my roommate. I must admit that I was a little freaked out. Fortunately, my friends all took care of me, and we are safe 😊

Unfortunately, people in other parts of Taiwan were affected in worse ways. Due to the great amount of rain received, many cities were flooded. From what I understood on the news (in Chinese,) many homes were destroyed and towns evacuated. It saddens me to think about the poor people here who don't have the comforts we have in America, such as house insurance, help from a non-profit, or even substantial government assistance. At times like these, I think about how fortunate I am to be from the United States. I feel blessed in so many ways, knowing that I will always have resources (family, friends, government, etc.) to assist me in a time of crisis.

However, these typhoons also help me to remember Hurricane Katrina and those U.S. citizens who are not as fortunate as I am. Although Katrina occurred almost exactly 2 years ago (August 25, 2005,) many U.S. citizens are still displaced by the event. I am ashamed, as all of us should be, by our government's response (or lack of response) to Hurricane Katrina. We should be shocked and appalled that a government as rich as ours did not respond more quickly and still has not done enough to aid Katrina survivors. As these citizens of the United States continue to suffer from loss of their homes, families, and friends, our government is spending millions of dollars on a war that is not legal! How can one justify the money (our tax dollars) that the government is spending to murder thousands of people in Iraq, when so many of our own citizens are suffering?

I didn't intend for this blog to get political, but I cannot help it. Hurricane Katrina haunts me; however, I think it is necessary to be haunted rather than to be numb. Why is it that we neglected the people of New Orleans? Dare I point out that the majority of the neglected survivors in New Orleans were African American? Would the government have responded differently had the hurricane affected a wealthy, white community? I am ashamed to think the answer is, "Yes." They probably would have flown right down to New Orleans in military planes to assist the white people in escaping from the floods. But, the reality is that the victims were not white, and the government did not fly down to help people escape. Couldn't they have done something else? Now, I know that I left the country last month, and I am not doing anything but complaining. Perhaps, I should just keep my mouth shut. But, I feel that it is better to think about and discuss these issues than to simply move on with our lives, as if nothing ever happened. I thought, perhaps, some of you would want to reflect on this too.

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