The World at Large - Modest Mouse

Why wasn't this all over the news this week???????

After thirty years of civil war on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, the guns have been laid down to rest for the sake of........

the people of the Sumatra.

In the hardest hit area of the Asian Tsunami, Aceh Province on the western coast of Sumatra there has been absolutely zero rebuilding that has taken place since January of this year. While other "tourist centers" like Phuket, Thailand have already been returned to their former glory, this place has remained a catastrophic mess as no funds from the tens of billions of dollars raised have been given to the devastated region. Why? Because aid workers could not get to the affected areas without fear of being kidnapped or killed. Fighting has ran supreme for thirty years between the Aceh Rebels and the Indonesian Gov't, when finally both sides recogniized, for the welfare of their own people, the need to lay down the guns to allow funds and foreign aid workers to enter the region and begin the rebuilding process.

And guess who laid down their weapons first? The Government, who have immediately withdrawn 7,000 of the aremed forces out of the region. In exchange the GAM Rebels are handing over a quarter of their firearms immediately with the remaing 75% to be handed over in stages by the end of the year. In turn, the government will remove their remaining 30,000
men simultaneously at each stage through to the end of the year.

So while you sit there and complain about President Big Shrub not immediately coming to the aid of a washed out city that sits well below sea level, think about the other side of the world in one province that 170,000 people were swept out to sea, dead or missing. A place you never hear about because there are no five star touist hotels. A place that is finally getting help some nine months later.

And while you sit there and watch endless coverage of the Gaza strip as wild dogs ravage, loot and smuggle away the peace process and turn it into something with as much prestige as Free Big Mac day at a fat camp!!

Its good to know that a little common sense still remains supreme in some parts of the world.

Finally some news that has brightened up my day!

And why again hasn't this been plastered all over the news!!