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ハリケーン・カトリーナが去って
8月末、超大型のハリケーン・カトリーナが米ルイジアナ州のニューオーリンズなどを直恵オました。ちょうどそのころ車でカナダ旅行中だった雅子さんは、カーラジオやホテルのテレビでニュースを追いましたが、昨年末に現地を訪れた記憶がまだ新しく、とても人ごととは思えません。あれからひと月たった今、有名人の運動から会社ぐるみの支援プログラム、個人的な募金活動まで、義援の輪は広がっています。
Dealimg with disasters
I don't have a TV at home so the only time I watch the news is when I'm traveling. My boyfriend and I were on a road trip in Canada when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. We heard snippets of news on the car radio as we drove and remembered that we'd visited the vibrant city less than a year ago. Especially troubling were the reports that thousands of evacuees had been trapped in a sports stadium for days without basic resources like food, water, electricity and toilets. We were aghast.
At one hotel, we saw a news clip of Celine Dion crying hysterically. Celine Dion is French Canadian and I was not surprised to see her on Canadian news. What surprised me was that she was so passionate about a tragedy that was, in a certain sense, not really hers. It turns out her feelings were shared by citizens across the world.
Many news reports suggested that one of the reasons the government response was so slow was because many of the victims were poor blacks. Celine Dion criticized the United States for spending money to send troops to Iraq and not spending money to feed, clothe and shelter its own people for a few days. She personally donated a million dollars (¥111.5 million) toward relief efforts.
I wonder whether Celine Dion felt particularly close to New Orleans because it's a city that was originally settled by French Canadians. Even now, descendants of these immigrants are called "Cajuns."
I have a friend who's Cajun. His name is Steven. He said many people at work have asked him how his friends and family are doing and whether they could help. He said that, at first, he didn't know how to answer the questions ... partly because he couldn't get in touch with his loved ones and partly because he couldn't collect his racing thoughts. He did say, however, that even though he couldn't answer, he was glad that people had asked.
This weekend, Steven is hosting a personal fund-raising party to help his relatives living around New Orleans. One of his uncles outside the city has been housing dozens of relatives who have lost their homes and jobs. Steven has asked us to donate practical items he can ship to his uncle, as well as money to help defray the cost of taking care of such a large number of people.
What a comfort it must be for one to have loving relatives on whom one can rely. However, many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina do not have such support networks. This is where the government, churches and non-profit organizations must step in to help. I believe the religious foundation upon which the United States is based (including Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths) encourages citizens to help complete strangers.
Many feel that the best way they can contribute is by doing hands-on work, but the fact of the matter is that in these scenarios, cold-hard cash is probably the best thing one can contribute. New jobs also need to be created to enable displaced residents to earn their own money. My company has established a Hurricane Katrina disaster relief fund where the company contributes a dollar for each dollar that employees donate. Many of my colleagues have participated in this program.
Shukan ST: Oct. 7, 2005
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- Dealimg with disasters
- 災害に対処する
- were on a road trip
- 車で旅行中だった
- snippets of news
- 断片的なニュース
- vibrant
- 活気ある
- troubling
- 心配になったこと
- thousands of 〜
- とても多くの〜
- evacuees
- 避難者
- had been trapped in 〜
- 〜に閉じ込められていた
- resources
- 物資
- were aghast
- がくぜんとした
- news clip
- ニュース映像
- Celine Dion
- フランス系カナダ人の歌手
- hysterically
- 取り乱して
- passionate about 〜
- 〜について真剣な
- tragedy
- 惨事
- in a certain sense
- ある意味
- It turns out her feelings were shared by 〜
- のちに〜も彼女と同じように感じていたということが分かる
- citizens
- 人々
- government response
- 政府の反応
- victims
- 被災者
- criticized 〜 for 〜
- 〜を〜したとして批判した
- troops
- 軍隊
- feed, clothe and shelter 〜
- 〜に衣食住を提供する
- donated 〜
- 〜を寄付した
- relief efforts
- 救援活動
- was originally settled by 〜
- もともとは〜が住みついた
- descendants
- 子孫
- immigrants
- 移民
- Cajuns
- ケージャン(カナダの旧フランス植民地からルイジアナ州に移民した人々の子孫)
- at first
- 初めは
- get in touch with 〜
- 〜と連絡を取る
- loved ones
- 大事な人たち
- couldn't collect his racing thoughts
- いろいろな思いが脳裏をよぎり、考えがまとめられなかった
- fund-raising
- 募金集め
- relatives
- 親せき
- has been housing 〜
- 〜を泊めている
- dozens of 〜
- たくさんの〜
- practical items
- 実用品
- ship to 〜
- 〜に送る
- defray 〜
- 〜をまかなう
- What a comfort it must be for 〜 to have 〜
- 〜にとって〜がいるのはどんなに心強いだろう
- churches
- 教会
- non-profit organizations
- 非営利団体
- step in to 〜
- 介入して〜する
- religious foundation
- 宗教的な土台
- Christian, Jewish and Islamic
- キリスト教、ユダヤ教、イスラム教の
- faiths
- 信仰
- encourages 〜 to 〜
- 〜に〜するよう勧める
- complete strangers
- 赤の他人
- hands-on work
- 現地で実際に手助けすること
- fact of the matter
- 実際のところ
- in these scenarios
- これらの場合
- cold-hard cash
- 現金
- enable 〜 to 〜
- 〜に〜させる
- displaced residents
- わが家を失った住民
- earn 〜
- 〜をかせぐ
- for each dollar that 〜
- 〜の1ドルにつき
- employees
- 従業員
- colleagues
- 同僚