22 February 2013

Resiliant

I don't know if I'm cynical or realistic or if I've been living in high-security areas so long that I'm tired or desensitized, but I'm not that phased by the bomb blasts in Hyderabad last night. I'm sad for the victims and their families. I'm angry that cowards can do this to happy young people and get away with it. But it's life as usual in so many parts of the world.

New York Times: Two Explosions Kill at Least Eleven in Hyderabad
Washington Post: Explosions Rip Through Southern Indian City
Local news, NDTV: Hyderabad Blasts: At Least Fourteen Killed

People were just getting off from work, waiting at the bus stop, shopping at the market, getting snacks at cafes, and waiting in line for movies -- the same things people do every evening in cities all over the world -- when apparently bombs attached to bicycles went off, two of them within a couple hundred meters of each other, a few minutes apart. Numbers of the dead and injured vary from newspaper to newspaper, but there are certainly more than ten people dead and the number of injured has topped out at more than seventy. People frantically tried getting the injured to hospitals, but as one friend noted, even with the well-trained doctors here what chances do the injured have in poorly maintained hospitals? I wouldn't be surprised if secondary infections raise the death toll.

There were rumors of a third blast; there were rumors of unexploded IEDs being found around the city. As of yet those are just rumors as far as I know. No terrorist group claimed responsibility but people have their suspicions about who did it. The government shut down cell phone networks, claiming it's best people don't use their phones to spread rumors. Spectators rushed to the scene of the blasts, rather than staying safely at home, and now police have the convenient excuse of the crime scene being contaminated, in case they can't, or don't, find the culprits. One political party has called for a strike today, in protest of something or other regarding the government and the suspected terrorist group. It feels like there's a lot of frenzy but not a lot of real work.

This happened on the other side of town and in our neighborhood it's nearly business as usual today. Muffin's school and Mike's office are closed, although Mike has a lot of work to do from home. There are no busses due to the strike, so traffic is light and I took Muffin to the park this morning to run off some steam. She has no idea what's going on, other than that she and Daddy are home on a school day and Daddy's on the phone a lot. She has no idea that last night, just in case, I moved bottled water, boxes of milk, and cases of granola bars into our bedroom and had a plan in mind in case I had to grab her and hunker down. My laptop and cell phone were fully charged and I made sure there were chargers in the room, as well as flashlights and batteries. It's not the most prepared I could be for an emergency, but it was something. Having a plan helps me stay calm.

Hyderabad has endured for hundreds of years. When we first told people we were moving here, people told me they'd never heard of it and asked what its name was during colonialism. It was always Hyderabad. It will recover from this too.

6 comments:

Nomads By Nature said...

So senseless. Not only for the deaths, but all those horribly injured whose lives will never be the same.

Connie said...

This is a terrible event. I can never understand why these murderers think such evil and selfish acts do anything to 'help their cause'. It's senseless. I am glad you all are safe and keeping a positive outlook.

Stephanie said...

It's all so crazy. But I don't feel like I'm going to safe or immune once we're back in the US either. I feel like I always have to be on alert.

Unknown said...

You'll feel much better when you get home. Here in the US, all that stuff is distant news from faraway lands. When you get back, you'll heal and you'll be stronger for it all. Somebody said we're strongest in the broken places.

Take care and be strong. Big hugs to you and Sophie and Mike from the Waritu-Thompson family in Virginia!
:-)

Linda Roy said...

So scary and so senseless. Sending you good thoughts and wishing you well and safe.

Jester Queen said...

Sheesh, what a nightmare. I'm glad you had a plan (just in case) and also that you have the presence of mind to NOT freak your daughter out over something completely out of both of your control. But scary is a serious understatement. Visiting from the ModMom linkup :)