Published on September 01, 2005

Though many find fault with US foreign policy, Americans hit by Hurricane Katrina deserve support. Our hearts go out to the millions of American people who have weathered the worst hurricane season in decades.

Hurricane Katrina has left in its wake untold destruction along the Gulf of Mexico coast in the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, as well as in parts of Florida. The human toll and property damage is difficult to gauge at this time due to the widespread and devastating nature of the destruction, and the breakdown of communications and transport systems.

The hurricane hit the coast on Monday packing maximum sustained winds of more than 230 kilometres per hour and destroyed everything in its path, including a number of oil rigs in the gulf. Television footage of the calamity cannot convey the terrifying magnitude of this powerful hurricane. Yet unlike with the earthquakes that can quickly unleash tsunamis, hurricanes can be predicted, and so evacuation of people can be done more or less in an orderly manner. But the outcome was still less than predictable. Many lives have been lost, and damaged properties will take years to rebuild.

But as previous hurricanes have shown, only after the storm dies down can the real, hard work of search and rescue operations begin. The long-term rebuilding of communities and individuals’ lives will take longer still. This is hardly the first time that the United States has been hit by a big hurricane. In recent memory, there were Hugo and Camille, among others. Longer ago, hurricanes in the US were even more devastating, when without the hi-tech weather-tracking systems of today that allow warnings to be issued, many more lives were lost.

As it has done in the wake of other natural disasters, the United States will recover.

For those of us in this part of the world who witnessed the tsunami disaster last December, the Katrina effect has strong resonance. We wish we could help more than by just offering prayers and condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Even though the US is one of the world’s most affluent countries and it is well prepared to cope with so big a disaster, the search and rescue efforts can be very daunting, particularly in the most crucial two or three days immediately after the disaster. The aftermath of Katrina’s fury will be tremendous. Already, there have been estimates that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas and families will surpass US$20 billion (Bt827 billion).

It is a crisis that the US must deal with effectively, and we are confident that it can. America’s civic groups, charitable organisations and the great generosity of American corporations and individuals, which react swiftly to bring relief to major disasters no matter where in the world they take place, have sprung into action. The professionalism and dedication of disaster relief agencies has also lived up to their best standard in this hour of need.

Sadly, the outpouring of compassion and courageous rescue operations so far witnessed have been marred by widespread looting and some violence reported in New Orleans, which was particularly affected by the storm, and in other places.

It will make months and years to return to normalcy in the hardest-hit areas.

Thailand, both its government and people, should provide whatever assistance it can to aid the Americans. We still remember when the US government dispatched dozens of aeroplanes and thousands of soldiers, to help tsunami victims in Thailand and other Asian countries. Furthermore, Washington has pledged $950 million out of the estimated US$12 billion promised by all Western donors.

The rest of the world that has benefited from American generosity should show solidarity with Americans who are now picking up the pieces.

Regardless of what other peoples think of the US government and its foreign policies, most of the world owes it to themselves to reciprocate goodwill to the American people.

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