Tragedy strikes Bangladesh

Currently in Bangladesh the death toll has risen to more than 3,100 people, with estimates that up to 10,000 could be dead once officials survey the other surrounding islands. I was reading a news excerpt about the disaster (read here) online and some of the stories were quite chilling. One 45 year old farm worker called Mridha who lived with his family in Barguna Bangladesh thought that nothing would come of the warnings he received about the storm. Between sobs he states that "Just before midnight the winds came like hundreds of demons. Our small hut was swept away like a piece of paper, and we all ran for shelter." Miridha was separated from his wife, mother, and two children. He found their bodies the next morning stuck in a battered bush along the coast. Such tragedies break my heart and are significant reminders. I am reminded that this is not my home, I belong to a heavenly place where there is no pain or death. Second, the call resounds even stronger to bring Christ's world to Earth. We could live in a world where aid to others is the priority, and not time and money spent on self pleasure. I consider myself guiltiest in such matters. We live in a world now where "What can I do?" no longer needs to be asked. Prayers can be prayed, money can be given (see here) , people can be sent. Marshal Macluhen suggests that we are a global village, but tragedy like these remind me that value is still found more in our residency than in our humanity. How truly global are we? The most destructive natural disaster in the history of the U.S., Hurricane Katrina, killed 1,600 people across our gulf coast and made 800,000 people homeless overnight; Americans showed an unprecedented outpouring of aid and public support. Twice as many people have died in Bangladesh and three million are effected and yet comparing to the previous disaster, little media coverage is given. Finally this disaster poses a question that has haunted me of late... assuming that altruistic action is the outpouring of compassion... Why don't I care?