As the malign exaggerations embedded in the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina continue to come to light (today’s exposé was of the toxic water myth), the conclusion that biens pensants drew from them remain unshaken: Katrina demonstrated that only government can cope with natural disasters – and not just any government. It must be a government with a firm disdain for capitalism and the profit motive.
Last week, Hurricane Stan killed more people than Katrina. You’d hardly know it from watching TV, because Stan struck Central America, a region of as little interest to our media as the far side of the Moon (except, that is, when something occurs that can be blamed on Wicked Uncle Sam). Completely ignored was the relief effort there. But the invaluable (and only $3.95/month) OpinionJournal Political Diary today carried an interesting account:
Hurricane Stan’s torrential rains sparked landslides that have left hundreds dead in hard-to-reach Indian villages along the southern coast of Guatemala and in the western highlands. The ill-equipped Guatemalan military is short of aircraft, and U.S. helicopters are on the way. But in the meantime, it's a good thing Guatemala has a private sector.
Just as survivors of Katrina relied on Wal-Mart in the early days, Guatemalans affected by Hurricane Stan are depending heavily on Guatemala’s City's Aero Club, whose members have been ferrying donated beans, corn, sugar, water, medicine and clothing to the victims. Some 50 small, privately-owned airplanes have been flying into the area and handing off parcels to privately-owned helicopters that have been making runs to remote towns continuously for the past week.
Also playing a crucial role is a private gold mine owned by Glamis Gold Ltd., based in Reno, Nevada, which is working with the air bridge to distribute goods to Red Cross centers in the devastated highlands. The mine just opened last month despite opposition from U.S.-based Friends of the Earth and local activists. Now the only road bridge still standing in the area is one Glamis built.
The Aero Club has been inundated with goods from Guatemalans of all walks of life and from corporations. To its credit, the Guatemalan government has understood its limitations and let this market for goodwill thrive. This, in a political culture that has long made a living off of demonizing for-profit business activities, may be the silver lining in Stan’s dark clouds.
Had Friends of the Earth succeeded in keeping Glamis Gold out of Guatemala, environmentalists everywhere would be cheering, and a few hundred or thousand human beings would now be dead.
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