Japan and Joplin: What's the difference?
More than one news reporter on CNN covering the damage in Joplin, Missouri, caused by the tornado commented they had covered the destruction in Japan caused by the earthquake and tsunami, and the scenes were eerily similar. Every building in sight leveled to the ground, no semblance of streets or stores. Even the sight of cars damaged and piled in every conceivable position in Joplin reminded us of the images we saw of Japan. So what's the difference? Destruction is destruction; death is death; grief is grief. But there was a big difference: we have been to Joplin and we know the town.
Of course, news of horrible events is common in the papers and on TV. Just yesterday, there was a story in the newspapers telling about a brutal murder on Sunday evening in Santa Cruz, the little village where we bought a house and have lived since coming to Madeira in 1976. Murders are not all that common on the island; the paper didn't give all the details, but it sounded like a story for those papers that like to exploit the gory side of crime. A 43-year old man was bludgeoned to death so badly he was practically unrecognizable. The police immediately arrested three men who are known by the locals as being a bad lot, one of them with the nickname "Americano" because he had immigrated to the US, but did time there for drugs and was deported. He and his friends had a bad reputation for violence and were known for involvement in drugs.
At church tonight, one of our members who lives here in Santa Cruz told us that the man murdered was our neighbor, Richard. The same age as our daughter Rachel, Richard was at our house many times back in the 80's. He had moved here from England to live with his grandmother and he always spoke to us in English. He came to the services once in a while back in the days we had a meeting place in the village.
Our paths separated for a while, but in recent years, especially after his grandmother died, we started seeing Richard more. But he was a physical and emotional wreck. He had allowed himself to get involved with drugs; he was in such poor state of health he could hardly walk. We invited him to come to church with us...we would take him to town if he called. He never called.
Abbie goes walking for 30-45 minutes every day, and recently she had seen him several days in a row, walking along the street. She encouraged him to keep it up, and always reminded him we pray for him to get better and hoped he would come to church. She felt a special closeness to him...his age, his contacts with us over the years.
The last time she saw him, Richard told Abbie he was going to England--"his cousin had invited him to visit." Abbie was glad and told him she thought it would do him good to get out. He was concerned about being able to even get up the steps to the plane, but she encouraged him to make the effort.
According to reports, he was given money to go to England to buy drugs, but when he got back, he had neither. Richard was a likable person, a gentle, soft-spoken guy. His "friends" were not so forgiving. It is better not to even speak of how violently they expressed their reaction to being cheated of their money and their drugs. War criminals go on trial for lesser atrocities.
Japan's destruction is horrific, but we have been to Joplin. Every day the news is full of accounts of people who are horribly tortured and murdered, but we knew Richard. That's the difference.
Of course, news of horrible events is common in the papers and on TV. Just yesterday, there was a story in the newspapers telling about a brutal murder on Sunday evening in Santa Cruz, the little village where we bought a house and have lived since coming to Madeira in 1976. Murders are not all that common on the island; the paper didn't give all the details, but it sounded like a story for those papers that like to exploit the gory side of crime. A 43-year old man was bludgeoned to death so badly he was practically unrecognizable. The police immediately arrested three men who are known by the locals as being a bad lot, one of them with the nickname "Americano" because he had immigrated to the US, but did time there for drugs and was deported. He and his friends had a bad reputation for violence and were known for involvement in drugs.
At church tonight, one of our members who lives here in Santa Cruz told us that the man murdered was our neighbor, Richard. The same age as our daughter Rachel, Richard was at our house many times back in the 80's. He had moved here from England to live with his grandmother and he always spoke to us in English. He came to the services once in a while back in the days we had a meeting place in the village.
Our paths separated for a while, but in recent years, especially after his grandmother died, we started seeing Richard more. But he was a physical and emotional wreck. He had allowed himself to get involved with drugs; he was in such poor state of health he could hardly walk. We invited him to come to church with us...we would take him to town if he called. He never called.
Abbie goes walking for 30-45 minutes every day, and recently she had seen him several days in a row, walking along the street. She encouraged him to keep it up, and always reminded him we pray for him to get better and hoped he would come to church. She felt a special closeness to him...his age, his contacts with us over the years.
The last time she saw him, Richard told Abbie he was going to England--"his cousin had invited him to visit." Abbie was glad and told him she thought it would do him good to get out. He was concerned about being able to even get up the steps to the plane, but she encouraged him to make the effort.
According to reports, he was given money to go to England to buy drugs, but when he got back, he had neither. Richard was a likable person, a gentle, soft-spoken guy. His "friends" were not so forgiving. It is better not to even speak of how violently they expressed their reaction to being cheated of their money and their drugs. War criminals go on trial for lesser atrocities.
Japan's destruction is horrific, but we have been to Joplin. Every day the news is full of accounts of people who are horribly tortured and murdered, but we knew Richard. That's the difference.
posted by EP | 10:46 PM | Permalink
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