UAE | Media
Of much gloom and doom and a Mother for charity
Our lives were brightened by an Albanian nun amidst a tsunami of challenges.
- By Alex Abraham, News Editor, International
- Published: 01:18 September 30, 2008
It was the day after Christmas 2004 when people around the world came to grips with a relatively new phenomenon and a new word - tsunami (literally "harbour wave").
The first reports on television said that seven people were confirmed dead in an undersea quake off the island of Sumatra. That same quake unleashed a tsunami so ferocious that it eventually killed about 300,000 people in countries as far apart as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives. Not to speak of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were changed forever.
As we pored over the list of wars, coups, assassinations, discoveries and internal strife across Asia over the past 30 years, we wondered if any other single event could have been more striking and have a lasting impact not just on one country, but on mankind as a whole.
We discussed the Bhopal gas leak of 1984 when deadly fumes from a pesticide factory poisoned hundreds of people and left a toll on the health of those around. More than 20 years later, the survivors are still fighting for compensation.
Asia had its share of assassinations in the past 30 years. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in 1979 after army general Zia-ul Haq overthrew him. Gen. Zia himself died when a military transport plane carrying him and some senior military officers exploded minutes after take-off.
Philippines Opposition leader Benigno Aquino, returning to his country after three years in exile, strapped on a bullet-proof vest as his plane approached Manila. But even that could not save him as the lone assassin who fired at him as he descended the steps of the plane aimed for his head and neck.
India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was mowed down in cold blood by two of her own securitymen in 1984, ostensibly because she ordered troops into the Golden Temple to rid it of militants.
Her son Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber while campaigning in South India because of his role in sending Indian troops into Sri Lanka to fight the LTTE.
And recently, we all witnessed the killing of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun-and-bomb attack.
Trail of violence
There were also times when frenzied mobs acted against reason, led on by leaders who had one eye focused firmly on the polls. The destruction of a mosque in Ayodhya and the violence that enveloped the country in the days that followed left an indelible mark on the people of India. So also the violence that followed the burning of a train in Godhra. India's secular credentials are still being questioned as serial blasts go off at periodic intervals.
Elsewhere, when Great Britain handed over Hong Kong and its people to China, there were many who could not hold back a tear or two.
The world also saw what people could do when they wanted to throw out a corrupt government. Indonesia's Suharto finally had to bow to the wishes of the masses, and the Philippines' Marcos had to rely on a US helicopter to ferry him to safety after decades in power.
But in the midst of all this doom and gloom, our lives were brightened by the work of a woman who heard God's call and thought it best to obey Him. Albanian nun Mother Teresa devoted herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Kolkata and in the process started the Missionaries of Charity which has spread its wings around the world today.
In 1997, when she died after a prolonged illness, the world paid homage. But those who missed her and grieved for her the most were the homeless, the dying and the destitute, the orphans and the lepers, for whom she was more than a mother.
So should the past 30 years be remembered for its violence or its achievements, assassinations and coups or Nobel laureates like Mother Teresa and Mohammad Younus? It's subjective and we will leave the choice to you. But here's hoping that over the next 30 years, we will at least try to live at peace with our fellow humans and with nature.
1
Former Pakistan PM Bhutto hanged
April 4, 1979: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is hanged after President Zia-ul Haq, who overthrew Bhutto on July 5, 1977, rejected all appeals for clemency. Bhutto was convicted for ordering a political murder.
2
Korean president killed
October 26, 1979: President Park Chung-Hee, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years, dies during a fight between two of his security chiefs. Park, 62, is hit by a bullet during an "accidental" clash in which five other people also die.
3
Ousted Afghan president executed
December 28, 1979: Ousted Afghan President Hafizullah Ameen is executed and the new administration receives a Soviet pledge of urgent assistance. Ameen was convicted by a revolutionary court after a coup led by former Vice-President and deputy premier Babrak Karmal.
4
Indian PM's son Sanjay Gandhi dies in accident
June 23, 1980: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son Sanjay Gandhi, 33, dies in a light plane crash when his glider plunges to the ground 5km from the flying club in New Delhi. Sanjay Gandhi was an MP and was widely credited with having masterminded his mother's return to power in a general election triumph in January.
5
Aquino shot dead by gunman
August 21, 1983: Philippine Opposition leader Benigno Aquino is shot dead by a lone gunman as he steps from an airliner after three years in self-imposed exile. His assassin is shot dead by the guards escorting Aquino.
6
Indira Gandhi assassinated
October 31, 1984: India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, 66, dies after she is mowed down in a hail of bullets fired by two of her bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi. She first became PM in 1966, two years after her father Jawaharlal Nehru's death.
7
Bhopal gas leak proves deadly
December 3, 1984: Deadly fumes leaking from a pesticide factory owned by Union Carbide produces a cloud that envelops Bhopal, India, killing more than 400 people. Representatives of the company claim the leak at the plant was plugged within minutes of its discovery and the factory was shut down.
8
Tokyo air crash one of worst in history
August 12, 1985: A Japanese Boeing 747 carrying 524 passengers crashes and burns in the mountains near Tokyo in one of the worst airline disasters in history.
9
Soviet soldiers begin Afghan pullout
May 15, 1988: The first convoy of Soviet troops pulling out of Afghanistan ride into Kabul after a harrowing eight-hour ride from the eastern base of Jalalabad through rebel-infested mountains and dusty plains.
10
Zia-ul Haq killed in air crash
August 17, 1988: Pakistan President General Mohammad Zia-ul Haq is killed along with some key army officers and the US Ambassador to Islamabad when the C-130 in which they were flying explodes minutes after take-off from the Bahawalpur Airbase.
11
Benazir nominated to be Pakistan PM
December 1, 1988: Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, is nominated to be Prime Minister of Pakistan. President Gulam Ishaq Khan also announces the lifting of the state of emergency with immediate effect and the dissolution of the Emergency Council.
12
China demonstrations result in bloodbath
June 4, 1989: Tanks with machineguns blazing patrol central Beijing in a show of force after troops backed by armoured vehicles quelled anti-government demonstrations with heavy loss of life.
13
Marcos steps down for safe passage
February 25, 1986: President Ferdinand Marcos, his 20-year hold on the Philippines shattered, steps down in exchange for safe passage out of the country and he flies to a US air base.
14
Former Philippines president dies in exile
September 28, 1989: Ferdinand Marcos, 72, dies in bitter exile more than three years after a popular revolt drove him from his opulent presidential palace.
15
Rajiv assassinated in suicide attack
May 21, 1991: Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a suicide bomber seconds after he alights from his car in Tamil Nadu where he was campaigning for the general elections. A dozen other party activists are also killed in the explosion.
16
Najibullah thrown out of power
April 16, 1992: President Najibullah, installed by the Soviets, loses power to a coalition of generals and a key Mujahideen commander as fighters close in on the capital.
17
Demolition of mosque sparks anger in India
April 6, 1992: Thousands of Hindus storm and destroy an ancient mosque in Ayodhya, sparking nationwide outrage and fears of large-scale Hindu-Muslim violence.
18
End of an era as Deng dies
February 19, 1997: China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, whose historic reforms made him a seminal 20th century figure, dies at the age of 92. Deng dies in Beijing from respiratory failure caused by the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease.
19
Britain hands Hong Kong over to China
June 30, 1997: Prince Charles hands Hong Kong, its 6.4 million people and its capitalist treasures to China's President Jiang Zemin, head of the last great communist party on earth. Beijing pledges that the region may keep its freewheeling capitalist lifestyle for another 50 years under a "one country, two systems" formula.
20
Mother Teresa passes away
September 5, 1997: Mother Teresa, the frail nun whose devotion to the poor and suffering illuminated the concept of love, dies of a heart attack in Kolkata only months after staging a miraculous recovery from debilitating illness. Indian President K.R. Narayanan describes the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner as an "angel of mercy" and adds: "Such a one as she rarely walks upon this earth."
21
Pol Pot dies after heart attack
April 16, 1998: Pol Pot, blamed for the deaths of two million people in Cambodia's "killing fields", dies of a heart attack.
22
Suharto forced to resign
May 21, 1998: Indonesia's veteran President Suharto resigns, crushed by a wave of popular pressure, and hands power to his vice-president, bringing his 32-year reign to a dramatic close.
23
Sharif ousted in Pakistan military coup
October 11, 1999: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is ousted in a military coup hours after sacking the country's powerful army chief of staff, General Pervez Musharraf.
24
North-south deal for ending Korean conflict
June 14, 2000: The leaders of North and South Korea sign an agreement aimed at easing half a century of conflict on the heavily armed Korean Peninsula and working toward its eventual reunification.
25
US attacks Afghanistan
October 7, 2001: The US and Britain launch powerful air and missile strikes against command bases, airports and training camps across Afghanistan, and US President George W. Bush says the country's rulers are about to "pay a price" for supporting terrorism.
26
Karzai sworn in as new leader of Afghanistan
December 22, 2001: Soft-spoken aristocrat Hamid Karzai is sworn in as leader of Afghanistan in the first peaceful hand-over of power in 28 years, facing the daunting task of rebuilding a land decimated by hunger.
27
Tsunami wreaks havoc
December 26, 2004: The world's most powerful undersea earthquake off the island of Sumatra unleashes a tsunami that crashes into Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives. Nearly 300,000 people die in the tsunami.
28
Quake causes severe damage
October 8, 2005: An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale kills thousands in Pakistan and India.
29
Serial blasts in Mumbai suburban trains
July 11, 2006: Powerful bombs explode on suburban commuter trains in Mumbai during the evening rush hour, killing more than 160 people and wounding hundreds.
30
Benazir killed
December 27, 2007: Pakistan opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi after an election rally.
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