PULLING TOGETHER

Feeling humbled by recent events, Will Johnston reminds us to look after ourselves and others.

What a summer it’s been. And by summer, I mean winter. Global warming? Bad luck? Freak events? All of the above? I can’t imagine there will be a lot of newborns named Gabrielle in the next few years, huh? Which is a shame, because it’s a nice name.

If you’re in a waterlogged, windswept region, it’s likely you’ve experienced a lot more than a bit of rain. Waves literally coming through houses and washing children away is a solid foundation for a nightmare. Loss of life, loss of property and livelihoods, loss of possessions, and huge mental anguish in processing your new reality are just some of the problems people have to face.

The repetitive response I get from locals in the BOP when talking about these horrid weather events is that we feel a bit disconnected with it and almost like it happened in a different country. It was the same here in the Bay when the Christchurch earthquakes happened, and with the mosque shootings. It’s an intrinsic coping mechanism; rather than trying to mentally and empathetically put ourselves in that space, we go the other way and only touch the surface with a bit of sympathy and a donation and feel better about moving on with our lives, guilt-free.

I suppose it’s how we all deal with any tragedy that doesn’t directly involve us. Take it from someone who’s worked in media for over 20 years. Not that I’m saying any of this is wrong. It’s just so… 2023.

I have great mates living in Hawke’s Bay, Northland and the Coromandel Peninsula. These people have chainsawed their way into properties to get people out, removed God knows how many hundreds of kilos of silt from friends’ and strangers’ properties alike, and watched years of hard work literally float away or get buried. Not to mention what used to be 30-minute drives now taking three hours in some cases. As I sit writing this, it would currently take seven hours to drive to Napier from Tauranga. Just when you thought COVID was bad for tourism, not being able to get to the region puts a real dampener on your holiday (pun actually intended).

Cyclone Gabrielle has really hammered home to me the strength and compassion Kiwis show to people in need. It’s also made me a little more focussed on all of the things we should be thankful for here in the Bay.

We are going about our lives here, not covered in silt, with the power still on and running water out of the tap. The roads are drivable (well, mainly).

If you’ve already donated but still feel helpless, do something for someone you know in an affected region this week. I know it’s been a while, and I’m not saying you need to organise the entire Tauranga Aero Club to fly supplies to a stricken region, but maybe give someone you know there a text or a call this week. Sometimes connection and knowing you haven’t been forgotten is all it takes to help make someone’s day a little brighter.

RADIOWILL