Nepal Earthquake: The Importance of Family

Want to know the importance of family?

A two-year old girl clings to her protector, her four-year old brother, both survivors of the recent Nepal earthquake. The whereabouts of the parents are unknown.

When this type of devastation hits America, we are insulated much of the time due to our support systems. Our children are born and raised in an environment offering advantages admired the world over. Food, shelter, and safety are assumed. Education and financial gain are readily available to those who seek them. For most of us, our parents’ love and protection is unquestionable.

These two have none of that.

Bitter clingers will assert that God Almighty is cradling them in the palm of His hand. Liberals will declare their plight proves that no god exists.

Multiple spring quakes have left half a million people in Nepal homeless, in addition to the obvious infrastructure demolition. Their tourism, agriculture and trade, impacted immeasurably, wreak havoc on the nation’s economy.  The death toll is estimated at over 9,000 with the injured nearing 20,000.

As we face instability and unrest on Earth, Americans would be prudent to consider their favor in being born in the one nation under God. Even those who’ve survived natural disasters here have been lifted up by the current of American Exceptionalism, available to all who dial 911.  We should be making hay while the sun shines instead of complaining.

Nepal has no such system.

Nepal’s government,  fraught with political divisions, limited competencies and bureaucratic red tape, has long grappled to develop infrastructure, even in the best of times. Donors of this disaster have voiced concerns about their ability to use funding constructively and rebuild efficiently. India’s foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, opined,

“As challenging as the funding will be the spending.”

New Delhi has committed $2 billion to Nepal in the next 5 years,  China is in for $760 million before 2018,  Japan is providing $260 million, the European Union is getting together $112 million, and America has offered just $130 million dollars to them.

Compared to the $11.9 billion U.S. dollars the Obama-Kerry deal garnered for Iran, our disaster relief to Nepal seems a bit lackluster.

The Obamas’ African vacation alone cost the U.S. $100 million dollars.

As the greatest nation, we’ve always been a light in the darkness to the rest of the world. Criticized for our wealth, America has done more for the globe than all other nations combined. Nobody has ever refused our money. But where we spend it, and on what is certainly up for discussion.

 

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