THIS POOR VS. THAT POOR

Excerpts from a letter to the editor of The Toronto Star (registration required):

I recently returned from Bombay, India where I survived the worst floods to hit that city in 100 years. While not on the catastrophic scale of Katrina, the floods that hit Bombay on July 26 sent the city reeling under five metres of water in some places. Thousands died.

Yet, in the midst of this chaos this fragile city hung together by a slender thread that is the city's indomitable spirit and heart. People dwelling in shanties and apartments came out in droves to feed the helpless stranded in their cars and buses for more than 16 hours. Passengers marooned in trains on the outskirts of the city were greeted by poor villagers bearing food and water — even though these villagers can barely scrape together one square meal a day!

Despite an utter breakdown of communication, law and order held. Not one women or child was attacked or harmed. Compare this with the mayhem, looting and rape in New Orleans. As a North American, I hang my head in shame.
- Meyer Moses, Thornhill

Via Faramin.