American Views Abroad

 
Grim and staggering is the news of misery and anguish, of a sheer unimaginable number of people left homeless without food or water, any infrastructure for that matter, and all so suddenly.

The looters, however, are out there according to newspaper reports. Eerie that along with all the tales of destruction and suffering that one undeniable ingredient never fails to turn up.
A few years ago when the eastern part of Germany was ravished by floods there were reports about people refusing to leave their homes, even in the most dangerous situations, because of looters. Widespread looting at such times is difficult to imagine unless you happen to get a first hand report of it. Well, back then I actually met someone who worked day and night on a rescue team. The looters, he reported, were constantly lurking in the background --- huge numbers of them --- just waiting for the owners to leave.

And in Baghdad today 650 people died in a stampede because they feared a suicide bomber in their midst.

Grim and staggering ....
- posted by Gloria @ 4:19 PM