Thoughts on 38,000 dead people

The BBC has been diligently reporting about the earthquake in Kashmir - and the latest toll is estimated to be around 38,000 people dead.

It's staggering to think of the hardship that the survivors must now struggle through.

But the point of this post is to dig deeper into why those of us in the west feel that this is incident is being glossed over in the media. Yes sure, when Katrina hit New Orleans, it was in the news for weeks. Is the media to blame for that?

Witness a different scenario - the tsunami at the end of last year - some 200,000 people dead and what happened? The world responded on a massive scale to support and provide aid to the affected countries.

Aid is flowing into Pakistan and India now after this earthquake, but I can't help but get the feeling it is more of a gesture than real concern on the part felt by us in the west. When I speak with colleagues at work; the earthquake isn't mentioned.

Some editorials talk about donation fatigue. With so many tragic events happening all the time, people are tired of donating. I think while that might be somewhat true; it's still not the point. I donated £40 to the UK Red Cross for the earthquake; I really feel sorry for these people. But my main feeling is to a large extent - helplessness. My biggest problem today will be to mop my floors and go buy some shoes. How can my minor issues compare to a disaster where 38,000 people are dead half way around the world?

The reason I believe the earthquake isn't getting the coverage and possibly aid it deserves, is because of geography and culture. Societies generally tend to care about things when they hit closer to home. This applies geographically because if an incident is physically nearby - you can't ignore it. And if the affected societies share the same culture as your own, then you are more likely to be emphatic towards them.

It's easy to feel sorry for people hurt by this tragic event, but difficult to feel emphatic towards - what is to us - really a foreign place, and a foreign culture, and that's why I think the earthquake isn't getting the attention it deserves.