* ?

How do you deal with the idea of 14,000+ deaths in an earthquake? Of rescuers having to cease efforts to extract survivors buried under the rubble of schools and offices because to further attempt the rescue was unsafe. Of survivors trapped without the prospect of rescue - of their living only to die in darkness?

The answer is: you can't.

The quake in China's Sichuan Province has eclipsed the disaster of the cyclone in Burma (Myanmar). The extent of both natural disasters is beyond anything we can fathom. So: do we go on with our daily lives, our daily concerns, turning only to glance at the statistics or the "amazing" story of survival ("Girl trapped for 50 hours rescued"), nod, and proceed with our own petty workaday worries? Do we acknowledge our individual helplessness and decide that it's all too much, all to big, for us to wrap our imaginations around, and that our energies would be better served directed at the next sale, or project, or celebrity gossip, or the prospect of a nice lunch, or what to cook for dinner, or what new release is available at the video store?

I'm rapidly forming this impression as I watch the responses (or lack thereof) in my community.

It's easy to criticise - true - but in this context, what the fuck can we actually do? The scope of the disasters in both China and Burma is massive. How can affluent communities deal with this? How can we show our support beyond token donations to the Red Cross, MSF and similar organisations? How can we engage with this disaster in a way that is meaningful to those affected by it?

If anyone knows the answer, please share.

Because my helplessness is, ashamedly, converting into unconcern and I find myself forgetting about the breadth of the disasters, of the people affected, and wondering about lunches, dinners and what I'm supposed to do next at work.