The journey has begun for the downed. The scene of a dilapidated old freight train pulling out of a station doesn’t give high hopes for dignity to be maintained in death. Having said that life wasn’t respected in the first instance, so one wonders why would dignity be respected. As they make their way home, […]
Read more "Bringing them home"The media coverage of MH17 has highlighted how the boundary between public and private has blurred. There is a shift from the event to the story, where it is no longer about reporting what happened but more about the so called human face of disaster. The level and type of reportage also kicks into hyperdrive. […]
Read more "In the fishbowl"Like everyone, the horror of MH17 touches us. We all fly, we have all been in that situation, a plane a cruising altitude, shoes off, headrest adjusted, checking the movies, waiting for dinner service (chicken or beef, sir). This is why we relate to this, more so than, say the Korean Ferry Sinking earlier in […]
Read more "MH17"So, it has been pretty quiet in the writing space since February. It has felt a little bit like writer’s block. Each time I have sat down to write something, it didn’t flow like most of the posts i have written. I do have a few half formed or somewhat trite posts which I didn’t […]
Read more "nicht neues im westens"The national broadcaster is under scrutiny, yet again. The government has announced an efficiency review. It will be interesting to see the terms of reference and how they determine what is valuable and what isn’t. I know what I think is valuable about it for disaster managers. One of the great assets of the ABC, […]
Read more "8 cents a day"One of the more fortunate things to happen to me in this work I do, was last Friday night a the Strathewen Remembrance gathering. I was given a chook. I’ll let that sink in. A chook. This is not any old chook. It’s a strathy chook, and rather than me go on about it, Barbara […]
Read more "Keith"Memories John Schauble from the Fire Commissioners Office, and ex Age journalist has penned a very thoughtful piece about remembrance. In it he poses the question about whether events such as Black Saturday should be remembered. It is a must read article. This is a very interesting question. Anne Eyre has written extensively on commemoration […]
Read more "Memories"Today marks the 5th anniversary of bushfires that devastated Victoria. They were dubbed Black Saturday, although I do often hesitate often to use that label. Some of the people I worked with in the bereavement support groups struggled with being labelled. They were already grieving in public, with media and public interest in the funerals […]
Read more "February 7"I haven’t written a post for a while. I have a few half written posts on geography and a few other ideas. However Typhoon Haiyan has come along. I haven’t been involved in any of the Red Cross response. This is all ably managed by our international team. The scale of Haiyan or Yolanda, has […]
Read more "Really Big"Says the fire services commissioner. I am in Sydney, helping out with some of the planning around the Blue Mountains Bushfires. It is somewhat surreal, being in an airconditioned office, dealing with bushfires. Even the weather conditions yesterday in Sydney were mild. Despite the NSW Chief Health Officer’s warning, I ran in the morning. It […]
Read more "This is as Bad as It Gets"
Sastrugi 