From: Saner [mailto:
saner@csend.org]
Dear Colleagues,
I have been watching the sad pictures of devastation on TV here in Geneva,
Switzerland and hope that those stranded in the New Orleans area find help
and solace as soon as possible.
We have had rain and inundations over here in the Alpine region of Europe
and in Romania two weeks ago. In the Alpine region, 51 people died which is
a small number compared with the hundreds if not thousands in New Orleans,
still, we are only 7 Million people in Switzerland and the devastation has
caused lots of suffering and destruction.
Two days after the devastating rains in Switzerland, our president, Mr.
Samuel Schmied, went to the most hard hit community of Brienz, talked to
people, volunteered to be a on the emergency phone to take calls and welcome
donations.
At the same time, Swiss experts from army and police moved in to secure the
sites, prevent further flooding and to help the farmers and villagers start
the process of reconstruction which will take more than a year in many
places.
At the same time, the Swiss President, Mr. Schmied, apologized for the
slowness of the relieve work, then promised support and build up of
infrastructure to prevent future flooding. The maire of Berne visited the
lower part of the city which got badly inundated (all inhabitants had to be
evacuated), then had to answer questions by angry citizens why she did not
do more to prevent flooding. She most likely won't be reelected next time.
Environmental catastrophes seem to have increased over here in Europe. We
have had extreme drought and terrible fires in Portugal and Spain; flush
rains in Central Europe and the Balkans, the hurricanes seem to have
increased in the Caribbean and the Taiphoons in East Asia. We need to do
more to be ready to fight future environmental challenges and extend our
hearts and wallets to help those who are destitute, no matter where they
live and not matter what skin colour and religious backgrounds they might
have and, put to use our management and organizational competencies for the
benefit of the communities we live in and for those we can reach out to.
Peace to all of you
Raymond Saner
www.csend.org