AMBASSADOR'S CORNER
WEEKLY
MESSAGE FROM AMBASSADOR JOHN BRUTON
September 6,
2005
The destructive power of
Hurricane Katrina
continues to horrify almost a week after it
struck the US Gulf Coast. With official
estimates of deaths in the thousands, and media
reports reminding us of the human suffering of
the survivors, little is left to the imagination
about how great a challenge it will be to
rebuild lives, reconnect families and revitalize
neighborhoods and livelihoods in towns now
underwater. It really was upsetting to see on
television a family return to their hometown in
Southern Mississippi to find not only their own
home destroyed, but almost every landmark in
their little town, everything that made them
feel at home, obliterated as well. Their
neighbors are scattered, perhaps never to come
together again, and the family despairingly
picked through ruins of their home to find
little mementos – cracked crockery and sodden
photographs – that might remind them of a past
that was never to return.
If there is any silver lining in the huge clouds
of Katrina, it is the realization, at all
levels, of the importance of good friends in
times of crisis. This is true for the
individuals and families displaced by Katrina,
but it is also true internationally as countries
and people around the world come forward to help
the United States deal with this catastrophe.
I am extremely proud of the rapid and generous
response from Europe,
which has been ready and willing to help ever
since this disaster struck. This past weekend,
just hours after a request from the United
States, the EU and its Member States mobilized
all available resources. Twenty-one of our
Member States, joined by Romania (EU
Candidate Country)
and Norway (member,
European Economic Area),
have already offered assistance, and new offers
continue to pour in. Under the coordination of
the United Kingdom’s
EU Presidency
and the EU Commission, aid is being matched to
needs on the ground. It includes everything from
medical teams to high-speed water pumps, water
purification units, meals, first-aid kits, beds,
blankets, tents, mobile telecommunications
units, generators and even cruise ships to
accommodate the displaced. Several cargo
aircraft carrying food and supplies have already
arrived in the US, and teams of experts in
various fields of disaster management are on
their way.
No country is immune from natural disasters.
Returning from Europe, which has seen both
extreme flooding and forest fires this summer, I
have never been more aware of the need for
preparedness and coordination at the
international level. Fortunately, the EU has
recently set up a mechanism to coordinate the
relief efforts of all our Member States if any
nation, inside or outside the European Union,
needs assistance. Established in 2002, not long
after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, this "Civil
Protection Mechanism," as it is
known, has proved its worth in bringing relief
to victims disaster around the world.
The challenge facing the US and its citizens at
this moment is enormous. But true to the
American way, lives will be rebuilt and lessons
will be learned.
Perhaps one of those lessons will be that rugged
individualism is not always enough in such a
crisis, particularly if an individual does not
have the material and psychological means to
escape the fury of a hurricane in time. These
crises are a salutary reminder of the fragility
of our societies and the need to protect the
most vulnerable as we continue to work for
democracy around the world.
Please send me your
comments
about this or any of my weekly messages, or
other EU matters. I look forward to hearing
from you!
John Bruton
