Disasters at Christmas

Tuesday 30th December

Why do disasters seem to happen at Christmas.  Or is that they just seem more poignant at this supposedly happy family time.  A few years ago we had the Lockerbie disaster, when a plane full of people was blown up above the Scottish town, killing passengers and those on the ground.  We had the Boxing Day Tsunami, where hundreds of thousands died, many bodies never recovered or identified when an underground earthquake caused a huge tidal wave.

And this year, though a smaller tragedy – a rubbish truck runs amok in Glasgow killing six people a few days before Christmas.  And now the loss of yet another plane.  One hardly ever hears of aircraft going missing, literally falling out of the sky – and this year we have had two, and another one probably hit by a missile over Ukraine.  And also a fire on a ferry off Italy, where in terrible conditions people were trapped between the icy sea and the fire on the ship.  It looks as if most of those people have been rescued, but even so – what a terrible thing to happen at Christmastime.  Just how does one cope with the sudden loss of a husband, a wife or a child?  Terrible just to think about it.  But life goes on, and despite disasters the World’s population continues to grow.  I am reading a book just now about the unstoppable effects of Climate change, which unless we completely alter our whole way of life and economic models will make these disasters seem very small indeed.  And it is at this time of year that we think maybe of other people and how we might be able to help, though in truth we are very very helpless against the forces both of nature and man’s overwhelming greed.  Hopefully 2015 will see some sense return and fewer disasters next Christmas.