The Times of London published an editorial last week in which it asked for the rain to stop. "Let us make our position crystal clear,” declared the editorial, “We are against this weather.” As denizens of Somaliland, a drought-prone country the fact that anyone would ask for the rain to stop would seem unusual to us. So naturally we wanted to know more about what prompted it. Unfortunately we could not locate the text of the editorial. But from references and excerpts we gathered that it has been raining for months in the UK which made life unbearable for many Britons. Even though the British are used to a lot of rain, this was too much for them, and thus the editorial.
On the opposite end, the US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has registered his deep concern about the drought ravaging much of the American Midwest. The Agriculture Secretary used a different kind of rhetorical flourish to make his point. He said he gets on his knees wishing for the drought to end, then added “If I had a rain prayer or a rain dance I could do, I would do it.”
The reactions of both the Times editorial and Vilsack show the frustrations of people in highly developed countries who believe their technological know-how gives them control over the environment. Then comes long periods of rain, floods, drought and the limits of human intervention is exposed.
Why are we talking about this? Because it reminded us of how prayers and poetic rhetoric are an integral part of dealing with disasters in Somaliland, and in this regard we are ahead of the British and the Americans. Where we fall short though and they are light years ahead of us in making plans for dealing with such eventualities as natural disasters. So there is here an opportunity for beneficial exchange for both sides. Perhaps we can learn from them how to plan for emergencies and they can learn from us how to use prayer and the proper words for dealing with disasters.














































 

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