The
wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami has left us all wondering, 'What cost can we put
on this human tragedy?'The
wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami has left us all wondering, 'What cost can we put
on this human tragedy?'
Well, if you've been following International Deathmatch, you'll know it ranges from USD$3,200 per inky Indonesian islander to USD$29,100 per Belgian bar-girl banger.
Let's look at how all the numbers wash up...
(For total data, charts, etc, check out this spreadsheet - Excel 28Kb)Out of 36 countries affected, the top 10 death tolls go to:
| Country | Dead |
|---|---|
| Indonesia | 236,012 |
| Sri Lanka (ex Tamil Tiger areas) | 35,861 |
| India | 16,389 |
| Thailand | 8,711 |
| Sweden | 1,890 |
| United Kingdom | 1,034 |
| Norway | 924 |
| Germany | 748 |
| Austria | 506 |
| United States | 490 |
There's great representation from both 'locals' and 'foreigners', but Indonesia carries the bulk with 78%.
*Total of Dead, Missing, and Unaccounted for as at 26 Jan 2005GDP per capita* is how much a citizen contributes annually to the economy of their country. The reason it is wildly heterogenous, unlike standard human capacity, is because some of us are more equal than others. Using GDP per capita to cost the lost gives us the following top 10:
| Country | GDP per capita (USD) | Dead | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | $3,200 | 236,012 | $755,238,400 |
| Sri Lanka (ex Mulativu) | $3,700 | 35,861 | $132,685,700 |
| Thailand | $7,400 | 8,711 | $64,461,400 |
| Sweden | $26,800 | 1,890 | $50,652,000 |
| India | $2,900 | 16,389 | $47,528,100 |
| Norway | $37,800 | 924 | $34,927,200 |
| United Kingdom | $27,700 | 1,034 | $28,641,800 |
| Germany | $27,600 | 748 | $20,644,800 |
| United States | $37,800 | 490 | $18,522,000 |
| Austria | $30,000 | 506 | $15,180,000 |
Again, good representation from foreigners and locals in the top ten. It's similar to the first, but some places have changed. Despite their deflated value, Indonesian and Sri Lankan locals top the ladder through sheer numbers. Indonesia has a lesser, but still sizable, share of the human cost: 63%.
*From the CIA World Factbook. Some figures may be more recent.| Dead | Cost (USD) | Av. per head | |
| Foreign | 7,011 | $206,011,400 | $29,384 |
| Local | 297,380 | $1,001,216,200 | $3,366 |
Although each foreigner is (apparently) worth roughly 9 times one local, the size of the headcount dictates that the local economies bear the brunt of the lost value.
*Nations affected by the tsunami split into:Nature is neutral. Actually according to my dad, nature is your enemy or your friend depending on whether you can set up a tree sniper as good as the gooks, but I don't subscribe to that Sir-yes-sir weirdness. No my friend, Mother nature does not discriminate on sex, age, religion, or the other arbitrary differences we use to divide ourselves. And if she has it in for you, you are screwed.
Still, out of all the other places to throw a 9.0 richter quake, she had to make it in the middle of the most populous - and poorest - seas on earth. Would it have been better placed in the Atlantic or even the English Channel? That would have satisfied anglo-phobes across the pigment spectrum, but it would still be a tragedy.
In one month it has claimed more than the war against terror. Yet how does any country mount an effective defence? Early Warning System? Pre-Emptive Strike? Don't be ridiculous. If you see an 18-foot wave coming just bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.
The tsunami illustrates our insignificance in the universal order. Whether existence carries purpose greater than eventual annihilation, or not, our individual journeys are not important to the uncaring world outside our skin and senses.
To the cleric who says it's Allah punishing the unfaithful, and family acquaintances who quote scripture and praise our jealous punctured trinity-God, go fuck yourselves. There is nothing divine or diabolic about this. Soapboxing on the tsunami is as unsexy as Ashlee Simpson.
Perhaps even more unsexy.
Let's get back to the numbers. The greatest cost has been borne by those who can least afford it. That sucks, but that's all it means. When you're done playing soldiers, kids, meet your new mother, nature.
Sources:
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