Indonesian villagers who have seen tsunamis and earthquakes, now have to deal with bird flu. No wonder they think it’s magic. One of the villagers said of the victims who evidently came from one extended family: “I think the family was cursed. It must be, because if it’s bird flu, why only their family? Their blood?” Good question. Why Indonesia in general?
At this moment Vietnam and Indonesia have the highest number of avian flu cases.
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5 Comments
1. Patrick S Lasswell:Roger,
Indonesia has 54,716 kilometers of coastline, according to the CIA World Factbook. It is on the ring of fire of geologic faults. It is heavily populated and heavily corrupt. It is going to be a problem forever, it just can’t duck trouble.
May 30, 2006 - 8:17 am 2. David Thomson:ìAt this moment Vietnam and Indonesia have the highest number of avian flu cases.î
This likely indicates the lack of hygiene in these backward societies. One does not normally contract avian flu if they properly cook the bird and keep their hands and cooking ware clean.
May 30, 2006 - 8:28 am 3. Word Guy:Hey, Raj,
Ain’t it “hast thou?” Or do I decline my verbs amiss?
Bill Walsh
May 30, 2006 - 3:09 pm 4. tioedong:Shoddy buildings are man made, often not from poverty but from corruption (failing to insist builders use rods to reinforce concrete for example, or allowing poor quality concrete, or failure for authorities to inspect buildings for safety).
Similarly, here in the Philippines, the mudslide victims were dead because greedy outsiders logged illegally, allowing the mountains to be denuded…and local inspectors took bribes to let them do it.
As for Avian flu, since it is unclear if the people caught it from huge chicken farm chickens or from freerange chickens in their villages, or from their fighting cocks, I’m not sure who to blame…however, it is interesting to note that a couple cases in northern Iraq among the Kurds was because they had been sold sick chickens by unscrupulous dealers…again, I wonder if the “flu” might be because people refuse to kill sick chickens or even that they sell sick chickens…while bribing officials to look the other ay…
May 30, 2006 - 11:18 pm 5. jace:I lived about 20k west of Jakarta (in Tangerang)for about 2 years and actually just left 3 weeks ago. I can vouch the typically shoddy construction of the buildings and roads. The concrete and steel they use is off exceptionally low grade (think Soviet Union quality) and even the paint is dilluted to within an inch of its life, all in an effort to save money. Building codes, such as they are, are flouted constantly because its far cheaper to bribe the local officials. There was a study done recently in Jakarta (which I don’t have in front of me) that concluded local government officials get upwards of 60~80% of their income from bribary, it’s just a way of life there. Airport officials are bribed so often in Jakarta that when a plane flys from Jakarta to Singapore it is normal for the passengers to be security screaned coming OFF the airplane in Singapore.
May 31, 2006 - 6:09 pm