Indonesia is joining the international community in lending a hand to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, where more than 3,200 people have been confirmed dead and tens of thousands of others are displaced and in dire need of humanitarian relief following Saturdayâs 7
ndonesia is joining the international community in lending a hand to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, where more than 3,200 people have been confirmed dead and tens of thousands of others are displaced and in dire need of humanitarian relief following Saturday's 7.8 magnitude quake.
As a country susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes, Indonesia has often received assistance from neighbors and good Samaritans across the globe. As such, it bears a moral responsibility to help those in need with concrete measures, as well as expressions of condolence.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo said Indonesia would send not only food and medicine to Nepal, but also medical workers and search and rescue teams, given the fact that many people remain missing and presumed dead or injured after the most devastating earthquake in 80 years struck the Himalayan state. Disease and famine commonly follow natural disasters, which wreak havoc on infrastructure and food supply chains.
Media reports say residents flooded streets and parks in the capital city of Katmandu after the deadly quake for fear of being crushed in the event of aftershocks if they remained indoors. The disaster has also flattened outlying villages and historic buildings, including the nine-story Dharahara tower and 300-year-old UNESCO world heritage Durbar Square.
Given the vast scale of the destruction sown by the quake, Nepal, among the world's poorest and least-developed nations, should not hesitate to accept neighbors' help to discover the missing and feed the survivors or to rebuild the areas affected.
Post-tsunami Aceh in 2004 and post-earthquake Yogyakarta in 2006 are good examples of joint international humanitarian efforts to mitigate the impacts of disaster on people and build their environment anew. Indonesia knows from experience that international assistance speeds up relief and reconstruction processes. Perhaps the multinational humanitarian operation in Aceh and Yogyakarta can be replicated in Nepal so as to help the quake victims emerge from their plight as soon as possible.
In Aceh, the calamitous tsunami had the result of bringing about peace processes after decades of armed conflict. Nepal, which only recently proclaimed its faith in democracy, has been facing a wave of political turmoil amid debate over a new constitution since it switched from monarchy to republic in 2008.
Disaster now is uniting Nepal. Let us pray and hope that after the dust has cleared and the slow process of rebuilding has begun, unity remains.
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