Providing Relief in the Midst of Ruins
MAN’S effort to provide relief in the wake of disaster is certainly praiseworthy. Many relief programs have helped to rebuild homes, reunite families, and, above all, save lives.
When disaster strikes, Jehovah’s Witnesses make use of—and are grateful for—whatever provisions are made through secular relief programs. At the same time, they have a Scriptural obligation to “work what is good . . . especially toward those related to [them] in the faith.” (Galatians 6:10) Yes, the Witnesses feel as if they are related; they view one another as “family.” That is why they refer to one another as “brother” and “sister.”—Compare Mark 3:31-35; Philemon 1, 2.
So when a disaster affects a neighborhood, elders among Jehovah’s Witnesses make painstaking efforts to ascertain the whereabouts and needs of each congregation member and make arrangements for necessary assistance. Consider how this was true in Accra, Ghana; San Angelo, U.S.A.; and Kobe, Japan.
Accra—“A Mini Noah’s Day”
The rain began falling about 11 o’clock in the evening, and it poured down relentlessly for hours. “It was raining so hard that my entire family lay awake,” says John Twumasi, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Accra. The Daily Graphic called it “a mini Noah’s Day.” “We tried to take some valuables upstairs,” continues John, “but as we opened the door to the stairway, the floodwaters surged in.”
Authorities sounded the warning to evacuate, yet many hesitated, fearing that an empty home—even if filled with water—might invite looters. Some could not leave even if they wanted to. “My mother and I were unable to open the door,” says a girl named Paulina. “The water kept rising, so we stood on wooden barrels and held on to a rafter of the roof. Finally, at about five o’clock in the morning, our neighbors rescued us.”
As soon as it was possible, Jehovah’s Witnesses got to work. A Christian sister named Beatrice relates: “The elders in the congregation were searching for us, and they found us at the house of a fellow Witness, where we had taken refuge. Just three days after the flood, the elders and the younger members of the congregation rallied to our side and scraped the mud off the inside and outside of our house. The Watch Tower Society supplied detergents, disinfectants, paint, mattresses, blankets, cloth, and clothing for the children. The brothers sent us food for several days. I was deeply moved!”
John Twumasi, quoted earlier, reports: “I told the other tenants that our Society had sent us detergents and disinfectants—enough to clean the entire house. About 40 tenants helped clean up. I gave some of the detergents to my neighbors, including one man who is the priest of a local church. My workmates mistakenly thought that Jehovah’s Witnesses show love only to their own people.”
The Christian brothers and sisters greatly appreciated the loving assistance that was given to them. Brother Twumasi concludes: “Though the things I lost in the flood had greater monetary value than the relief items, my family and I feel that because of this touching provision from the Society, we have gained far more than we lost.”
San Angelo—“It Sounded Like the World Was Ending”
The tornadoes that ravaged San Angelo on May 28, 1995, uprooted trees, snapped power poles, and threw live power lines across roads. Winds gusted up to 100 miles per hour [160 km/hr], damaging utility structures. More than 20,000 homes experienced blackouts. Then the hail came. The National Weather Service reported “golf ball-sized hail,” then “softball-sized hail,” and finally “grapefruit-sized hail.” The onslaught was deafening. Said one resident: “It sounded like the world was ending.”
An ominous calm followed the storm. People slowly emerged from their battered homes to survey the damage. Trees that were still standing had been stripped of their foliage. Homes that were still standing looked as if they had been flayed. In some areas hail covered the ground in drifts up to three feet [a meter] deep. Thousands of windows from homes and automobiles had been shattered in the storm, so that now shards of broken glass glistened alongside the hail that blanketed the ground. “When I got home,” one woman says, “I just sat in my car in the driveway and cried. The damage was so bad, it just overwhelmed me.”
Relief programs and hospitals swiftly provided financial assistance, building materials, medical treatment, and counseling. Commendably, many individuals who were themselves victims of the storm did what they could to help others.
The congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses took action as well. Aubrey Conner, an elder in San Angelo, reports: “As soon as the storm ended, we were on the phone checking on one another. We helped ourselves and our non-Witness neighbors to board up windows, put plastic on roofs, and weatherproof the homes as much as possible. Then we made a file on every person in the congregation whose home was affected. About a hundred homes needed repair, and the material supplied by relief agencies was not enough. So we purchased extra materials and got organized for work. All told, some 1,000 Witnesses volunteered to help, about 250 each weekend. They came from as far as 460 miles [740 km] away. All worked tirelessly, often in 100-degree [nearly 40°C.] weather. Even a 70-year-old sister worked with us every weekend except one, and that was when her own home was being repaired. And on that weekend she was up on her own roof helping with the repairs!
“We often heard expressions from onlookers such as, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if other religions would do this for their members?’ Our neighbors were impressed to see a crew of 10 to 12 volunteers (including sisters) show up early Friday morning at the home of a fellow Witness, prepared to repair or even rebuild the entire roof free of charge. In most cases the work was completed in one weekend. At times, an outside contractor would be well into a roofing job when our crew arrived next door. We would strip and rebuild our roof and have the yard cleaned up before they were finished with theirs. Sometimes they stopped their work just to watch us!”
Brother Conner concludes: “All of us are going to miss the experiences we’ve enjoyed together. We have come to know one another from a different perspective by showing and being shown brotherly love as never before. We feel that this is just a sample of what it will be like in God’s new world, with brothers and sisters helping one another because they truly want to.”—2 Peter 3:13.
Kobe—“A Wreckage of Wood, Plaster and Human Bodies”
The residents of Kobe were supposed to be prepared. Indeed, every September 1 they observe Disaster Prevention Day. Schoolchildren practice earthquake drills, the military rehearse helicopter rescue missions, and fire departments bring out their earthquake-simulation machines, in which volunteers practice their survival skills inside a room-sized box that shakes and shudders just like the real thing. But when the real thing occurred on January 17, 1995, all the preparation seemed for naught. Tens of thousands of roofs fell in—something that never happened in the simulators. Trains flipped on their sides; sections of highway disintegrated; gas and water mains ruptured; houses collapsed like cardboard. Time magazine described the scene as “a wreckage of wood, plaster and human bodies.”
Then came the fires. Buildings blazed while frustrated fire fighters were stuck in miles of backed-up traffic. Those who reached the fires often found that no water could be obtained from the city’s damaged water system. “The first day was total panic,” said one official. “I’ve never felt so powerless in my life, knowing there were so many people buried in those burning houses. And knowing there was nothing I could do about it.”
All told, some 5,000 people were killed, and approximately 50,000 buildings lay in ruins. Kobe had only one third of the food that it needed. To obtain water some resorted to scraping dirty liquid from beneath the ruptured water pipes. Many of the homeless fled to shelters, some of which rationed food, allotting each person as little as one rice ball per day. Dissatisfaction soon spread. “The authorities haven’t done anything,” complained one man. “If we continue to rely on them we’ll starve to death.”
The congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kobe and in nearby areas organized themselves immediately. A helicopter pilot who saw their work firsthand said: “I went to the disaster area on the day of the quake and spent a week there. When I arrived at one shelter, everything was chaotic. No relief work whatsoever was being done. Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only ones who rushed to the site, handling one thing after another.”
Indeed, there was much work to do. Ten Kingdom Halls were rendered unfit for use, and more than 430 Witnesses were without homes. An additional 1,206 homes in which they lived needed repair. Not only that but the families of 15 Witnesses who had died in the disaster were in dire need of comfort.
Some 1,000 Witnesses from around the country volunteered their time to help in the repair work. “When we worked on the houses of Bible students who were not yet baptized,” notes one brother, “we were always asked, ‘How much should we pay for all of this?’ When we told them that the work was supported by the congregations, they thanked us, saying, ‘What we have studied is now a reality!’”
Many were impressed with the Witnesses’ quick and thorough response to the disaster. “I was deeply impressed,” says the pilot quoted earlier. “You call one another ‘brother’ and ‘sister.’ I have seen how you help one another; you people really are a family.”
The Witnesses themselves learned valuable lessons from the quake. One sister admitted: “I have always felt that the bigger an organization becomes, the harder it is to show personal concern.” But the tender care she received changed her view. “I now know that Jehovah is caring for us not only as an organization but also as individuals.” However, permanent relief from disasters lies ahead.
Permanent Relief Soon!
Jehovah’s Witnesses look forward to the time when human life and livelihood will no longer be cut short by disasters. In God’s new world, man will be taught to cooperate with earth’s environment. As humans put away selfish practices, they will be less vulnerable to natural hazards.
Further, Jehovah God—the Creator of natural forces—will see to it that his human family and earthly creation are never again threatened by the forces of nature. Then the earth will truly be a paradise. (Isaiah 65:17, 21, 23; Luke 23:43) The prophecy of Revelation 21:4 will be gloriously fulfilled: “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”
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Beatrice Jones (left) demonstrates how she and others formed a chain to pass through the floodwaters
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Relief work after the tornadoes