Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
News
Original poster

New Zealand is in a National State of emergency and it feels like the world doesn't care

259 replies

HelpNZ · 15/02/2023 23:12

I live in the UK but originate from NZ. They have just been hit by an incredibly destructive cyclone. Thousands are homeless. 5 people have died but there will be more. I appreciate this is not on the scale of the Earthquake in Turkey/Syria. I guess I'm wondering where the international support for NZ is? I've heard nothing and it's not even hitting the news in the UK (or just minor mention buried somewhere)?

OP posts:
2DemisSVP · 18/02/2023 08:22

thanks got the Red Cross link OP. The irony wasn’t lost on me that Red Cross NZ has an appeal for Türkiye / Syria, and I’m sure lots of kiwis have donated.

to those in the thread giving OP a hard time when she’s far from home and watching her country go through something so traumatic (some of the individual stories are heartbreaking) … I’m not a huge fan of the Be Kind mantra, but it doesn’t seem to be an unreasonable position to take here, when so many people are suffering.

we have historic ties to NZ. It’s a beautiful country with kind and pragmatic people. Can we please not burn that bridge too …

journeyofinsanity · 18/02/2023 08:50

Coxspurplepippin · 18/02/2023 07:52

It shows just how vulnerable humans are in the face of devastating natural disasters. It doesn't matter if you live in a wealthy country. If your home, business, town are destroyed, if, god forbid, a loved one is killed, it doesn't matter if you live in Syria, New Zealand or Scotland, on a personal level it's just as devastating.

Really hoping that the 3,000 people uncontactable are OK - there are reports that the figure is inflated due to cross reporting (people being included in the figures multiple times), but for this to still be an issue several days after the cyclone shows how difficult things are on the ground.

I doubt anyone is suggesting that on a personal level anyone affected by tragic events absolutely suffer in a personal level. Anyone losing their home down the side of a slipped cliff edge or who has to rebuild after a flood will be suffering immeasurably. People in parts of the UK are finding that their 'never flooded before' homes are now flooding annually. They can't get insurance. They can't sell up and move. Absolutely devastated.
That's not in question.
It's the OPs demanding that the world stop and give something (not clear what, they say not money so what? Facile social media messages?) and comparing the global response to that of Turkey/Syria which is a total humanitarian disaster that is tone deaf an wholly inappropriate.

2DemisSVP · 18/02/2023 09:18

I read it as just wanting empathy and acknowledgment of the tragic events. And not all kiwis will feel this way , but this poster was just feeling sad / helpless / forgotten about, which is not unreasonable given the circs. (They’re far from home so feeling disconnected, it’s taking a long time to get news from the more remote areas, some of the first stories out are heartbreaking).

I love that this place is a nest of vipers. But the replies on this thread were like the comments section of the Daily Mail…

Pureradio · 18/02/2023 09:54

WhenItIsRaining · 18/02/2023 07:39

Imagine whatever you like. How ignorant, tone deaf and downright unpleasant you sound. You are so far from understanding the situation that I am embarrassed for you.

Show quote history

Tone deaf and unpleasant? Honestly this is all a bit weird. I've sat over the last fortnight in tears watching as people have been literally dug out of the ground in Turkey, 11 days a bloke yesterday had been trapped in the wreckage of his home. I am very sorry that things are awful in parts of NZ but why can't you acknowledge that a tragedy in a very well off, very sparsely populated country is very different to one that covers this huge area with already 44,000 bodies in the no doubt temporary morgues - oh no wait, they're going straight into the ground many of them unmarked or hadn't you noticed? You will have the resources to rebuild, they won't, it's a fact, not me just being horrible to you.

journeyofinsanity · 18/02/2023 09:55

2DemisSVP · 18/02/2023 09:18

I read it as just wanting empathy and acknowledgment of the tragic events. And not all kiwis will feel this way , but this poster was just feeling sad / helpless / forgotten about, which is not unreasonable given the circs. (They’re far from home so feeling disconnected, it’s taking a long time to get news from the more remote areas, some of the first stories out are heartbreaking).

I love that this place is a nest of vipers. But the replies on this thread were like the comments section of the Daily Mail…

It didn't come across as wanting empathy. It sounded angry, demanding and self centred.
In particular, making a comparison with Turkey / Syria was just tone deaf and entitled

Whyisitsososohard · 18/02/2023 10:31

This op is in really bad taste. Turkey and Syria have been devastated by the earthquakes and are in a much worse position financially to have the capacity to provide aid themselves. NZ is a wealthy western country. With other countries much close who can provide aid more quickly.

Using the earthquake as political point scoring is gross. Seems wild to me we still have anything to do with NZ as a legacy of colonialism. But using the earthquake to make this point, no.

Sarahcoggles · 18/02/2023 13:57

oceanskye · 17/02/2023 22:27

NZ hasn't asked the UK for any assistance, the only international help requested has been a team from Australia. Posters keep saying they don't wan to/shouldn't have to help - you're not being asked to!

NZ hasn't asked for assistance but OP posted with that tone.

Pureradio · 18/02/2023 14:03

It's just been mentioned on Radio 4 news if that makes posters from NZ feel better, 9 deaths, awful but hardly the 46,000 and rising daily in Turkey Syria

Shelefttheweb · 18/02/2023 14:17

NZ is a wealthy western country

Off topic, but surely it is an eastern country? About as far east as you can go.

Pureradio · 18/02/2023 19:03

Shelefttheweb · 18/02/2023 14:17

NZ is a wealthy western country

Off topic, but surely it is an eastern country? About as far east as you can go.

In terms of being as developed as you can be I think that descriptor makes sense tbf.

Blackheath95 · 18/02/2023 19:55

Shelefttheweb · 18/02/2023 14:17

NZ is a wealthy western country

Off topic, but surely it is an eastern country? About as far east as you can go.

So much for the amazing British education system. 🙄. The west is what you call the developed world. 1st world.
I think this thread is awful. The sneering comments about 1st world country should help themselves. I really hope the next time something terrible happens in the uk you don’t expect or ask anything from the rest of the world. Or us to care. Obviously you don’t care about them.
Tyrkiye and Syria, is a massive disaster. 42,000 deaths and rising is horrific. Obviously. But so is whole towns and communities being washed away, it’s just different.

journeyofinsanity · 18/02/2023 22:39

@Blackheath95

Off topic, but surely it is an eastern country? About as far east as you can go.

So much for the amazing British education system. 🙄. The west is what you call the developed world. 1st world.

Huh?
Modern-day Western world essentially encompasses the nations and states where civilization or culture is considered as Western, the roots of which some historians trace back to the Greco-Roman world.
This is not the same as the 'developed world' at all. Japan, Hong Kong & China and Korea are all developed countries as are Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar but no one would call them 'western'. I cringe when someone derides an educational system then spouts a whole lot of nonsense themselves

Shelefttheweb · 18/02/2023 23:47

I really hope the next time something terrible happens in the uk you don’t expect or ask anything from the rest of the world. Or us to care. Obviously you don’t care about them.

what a lovely sentiment. Which recent natural disasters in the uk have you cared about about in the last few years? Which of the towns flooded, bridges destroyed and roads washed out have you posted concern about?

As for this:

Tyrkiye and Syria, is a massive disaster. 42,000 deaths and rising is horrific. Obviously. But so is whole towns and communities being washed away, it’s just different.

yeah sure 🙄

Blackheath95 · 19/02/2023 00:02

Shelefttheweb · 18/02/2023 23:47

I really hope the next time something terrible happens in the uk you don’t expect or ask anything from the rest of the world. Or us to care. Obviously you don’t care about them.

what a lovely sentiment. Which recent natural disasters in the uk have you cared about about in the last few years? Which of the towns flooded, bridges destroyed and roads washed out have you posted concern about?

As for this:

Tyrkiye and Syria, is a massive disaster. 42,000 deaths and rising is horrific. Obviously. But so is whole towns and communities being washed away, it’s just different.

yeah sure 🙄

None because the uk is a wealthy country of 67 million people. So obviously you can sort it all out yourself. Since you don’t have the comprehension skills to work through this yourself I’m going to leave it here.

Shelefttheweb · 19/02/2023 01:02

Blackheath95 · 19/02/2023 00:02

None because the uk is a wealthy country of 67 million people. So obviously you can sort it all out yourself. Since you don’t have the comprehension skills to work through this yourself I’m going to leave it here.

Show quote history

What you mean is you have no idea about any of the weather events that have hit the uk because they were mostly sorted out by communities themselves. And the New Zealand is also a wealthy country with skills to sort out adverse weather events. But to compare what happened in New Zealand to the scale of human catastrophe in Tyrkiye and war-torment Syria and say it is also a massive disaster just different 🤬

nats2010 · 19/02/2023 01:33

No money or aid left. Sure the Ukrainians got it all 🤔

Okunevo · 19/02/2023 07:07

I haven't seen any mention of the multiple avalanches in Tajikistan on here. There have been houses buried, destroyed, roads impassable. At least 17 dead but many others would be trapped under the snow.

JustKeepSw1mming · 19/02/2023 13:54

This is one of the most distasteful threads I have ever read on here. I hope all of you people sneering at the devastation in NZ feel ashamed of yourselves.
No, there isn't death at any where near the scale of Turkey or Syria, thank goodness, as what has happened there is utterly horrific.
But NZ has a population similar to Scotland, but an area the size of the UK. Vast swathes of country have slipped away, many vital highways and also locally important roads and bridges too. 30000 people still have no power a week on. Houses are utterly ruined. Orchards and vineyards are ruined, along with the years entire crop (and income). The trees and vines will die due to the huge volume of silt that has been deposited around them, those farmers will be bankrupt as well as losing their entire homes and possessions to the flood waters. There won't be insurance for their livelihoods. Livestock and pets are killed. Huge numbers of people are displaced and have either lost their homes or if they are lucky they may be able to repair them. Communication systems are still not functioning well, so there is limited information coming out so the extend of the damage is still yet to be made clear.
The death toll is unknown at this point. People have died trapped in the their roof voids, trying to escape the water. Or been washed away.
Entire communities have gone.
The floods were devastating and will affect NZ for decades. The repair job is huge, bigger than the Christchurch earthquake.

No, it is not Turkey or Syria, but it is devastating none-the-less.

Triflenot · 19/02/2023 13:58

JustKeepSw1mming

Agree 100%

Babyroobs · 19/02/2023 14:22

It's very concerning that 3200 people are still unaccounted for. Even accounting for them having no communication, surely rescuers have reached people by now. My thought are with all those affected. NZ is a beautiful country with lovely people and to see this kind of devastation is horrendous. For a small country with a small population this is devastating.

2DemisSVP · 19/02/2023 15:03

Great post.

2DemisSVP · 19/02/2023 15:04

clearly I need to learn how to reply ! Great post was directed to @JustKeepSw1mming …

magicthree · 19/02/2023 18:44

@JustKeepSw1mming - great post. I really don't think a lot of people on MN have any idea of how bad this actually is.

FiveShelties · 19/02/2023 21:19

@magicthree I live in Hawke's Bay and it is worse than I ever thought it would be. It almost feels like a film set has been created for a disaster movie - it does not feel real, even though you know it is real.

I am just so grateful that we have our home and all our friends are safe.

IceandIndigo · 19/02/2023 21:19

JustKeepSw1mming · 19/02/2023 13:54

This is one of the most distasteful threads I have ever read on here. I hope all of you people sneering at the devastation in NZ feel ashamed of yourselves.
No, there isn't death at any where near the scale of Turkey or Syria, thank goodness, as what has happened there is utterly horrific.
But NZ has a population similar to Scotland, but an area the size of the UK. Vast swathes of country have slipped away, many vital highways and also locally important roads and bridges too. 30000 people still have no power a week on. Houses are utterly ruined. Orchards and vineyards are ruined, along with the years entire crop (and income). The trees and vines will die due to the huge volume of silt that has been deposited around them, those farmers will be bankrupt as well as losing their entire homes and possessions to the flood waters. There won't be insurance for their livelihoods. Livestock and pets are killed. Huge numbers of people are displaced and have either lost their homes or if they are lucky they may be able to repair them. Communication systems are still not functioning well, so there is limited information coming out so the extend of the damage is still yet to be made clear.
The death toll is unknown at this point. People have died trapped in the their roof voids, trying to escape the water. Or been washed away.
Entire communities have gone.
The floods were devastating and will affect NZ for decades. The repair job is huge, bigger than the Christchurch earthquake.

No, it is not Turkey or Syria, but it is devastating none-the-less.

This x100.

All the comments about NZ being a wealthy country seem to ignore that it’s actually a very small country, population-wise. It might be relatively well off per capita but the enormous cost of the rebuild will fall on a small number of taxpayers. And many NZers will personally know someone who’s affected.