Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sparing A Thought

I've put off writing about this because how do you encompass something so huge in a little blog post? How do you write about hundreds of dead? Properties, homes, towns, native and domesticated animals, in fact whole lives gone? I can almost be reduced to tears by a lost favourite coffee cup, what if I had nothing left but that cup?

The scape of the wildfires in Victoria is so horrifying, and every night the news is full of home recorded footage that has left my chin on the floor. Meanwhile another part of this country is seeing the worst flooding in decades. I can't see how extreme weather conditions that brought both situations to bear can't be part of a changing climate. Really, how can it not?



On the upside the support and community spirit has been amazing. The news has tried to hard to find stories of looting and such, and they've found a few, but the overwhelming spirit is one of community, service, support, team spirit and gratitude. Hopefully the horrible events of the past week can see some positives, whether it's practical changes to fire prevention strategies, or whether it's renewed appreciation for the harsh, beautiful country we live in and each other.

7 comments:

Cecilia said...

So scary. I'm out of the country at the moment and it's been hard to watch this from afar.

LaDivaCucina said...

This is so terrible and frightening, you just can't tell where the fire will go. I'm so sorry about all the people's lives, homes and all the poor animals. So many friends live in the beautiful bush and near national parks, lovely most of the time but so dangerous during bush fire season. Glad to see the people are "digging deep" and helping one another. that's what always gives one hope.

Anonymous said...

I'm volunteering to co-ordinate for people who would like to make handmade and practical gifts to go to bushfire survivors down the track (after Easter when they should be in semi-permanent housing). There's an open letter from Liz Tilley, a survivor of the Canberra bushfires to the Australian who talks about how much such things meant to them. This is meant to be something rather different than gifts of used clothing which are not presently needed. If you're interested give me a call.

freakgirl said...

This is so frightening. Our thoughts are with you all in Australia...how can we help? Are there any organizations I can donate to, especially ones that are working to help save the animals?

Ur-spo said...

i hope people rise to it to give compassion and assistance. I trust Australians do a better job than Yanks?

jason said...

Just so horrible.
I'm praying it ends soon.

Wenchilada said...

Freakgirl - if you want to donate to animal organisations, there is the RSPCA.

Wildlife Victoria are looking after our precious native furry friends. They have lost two shelters to the fires.