On Air: How do these disasters make you feel?
| 09:59 UK time, Monday, 2 August 2010
Extremes of weather are striking in various parts of the world with devastating effects.
The Pakistan floods have so far left 1,100 dead and 27,000 trapped. They were brought on by the worst rains since 1929.
Meanwhile the forest fires in central Russia have left 23 people dead and thousands homeless, while the capital Moscow has suffered its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching 39C (102F). A state of emergency has been declared in more than 20 drought-hit regions.
And in Niger, 12 million people - around 80% of the population - are. Charities say as many as 400,000 children could die this summer as a result.
But how do these disasters make you feel?
Furqan Ullah described his feelings on witnessing the devastation in Pakistan first-hand:
On the way I witnessed the destruction caused by the floods. There are relief camps established by civilians and near Nowshera there's a college building where many displaced families are staying. The scenes were heartbreaking and I felt hopeless
The despair is palpable in this Tweet from in Moscow:
What is this fire over Russia is all about? why us?
And giving his view on the Niger situation, said he is angry at groups like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace; in his view, they are at fault for encouraging foodstuffs to be turned into biofuel:
As Amartya Sen pointed out (and in doing so secured himself a Nobel) modern famines rarely happen because of a lack of food. They're because of a lack of purchasing power to secure that food... it wasn't the speculators, it was the idiots who insisted that food be put into cars instead of people. Yes, FoE, Greenpeace, this is your fault.
What are your thoughts on these events? Do you despair? Does your concern increase if you know someone directly involved? Do you have "charity fatigue"? Do such disasters make you question your faith - if you have any?
