Living in paradise

During the last weeks we have witnessed several catastrophes that have swept homes, knocked down structures, flooded neighborhoods and, more importantly, have taken hundreds of lives.

On this side of the border, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma impacted entire communities from Florida to Texas. Damages have been calculated in billions of dollars. Recovery is ongoing and the solidarity of Americans and many others from overseas is astonishing.

Within few days, two earthquakes have impacted central Mexico. Hundreds of residents — including many children — died, dozens of buildings crashed and thousands were left without communications and isolated. The Mexican government decided to cancel classes and many businesses are left with no other choice but to remain closed. Thousands of people are forced to live in shelters, at least for a few days before conditions allowed them to return home.

I personally have some friends living in central Mexico. After the temblor it was impossible to communicate with them for hours, leaving this writer worried about them. After trying social media and apps over the smartphone, I received no answer. This time I was really desperate, very close to tears. My only option was to pray and wait. Little by little my dear friends connected again to let us know they were fine. Relief came back.

These are just a few examples of how people in other areas of the world deal with unfortunate events. Many others have to confront conditions like severe drought and live with a scarce amount of water, if any is available, which brings in turn affects health, environment and economy. Some others are obligated to deal with winter snow and very low temperatures. There is actually a tale about a local individual who moves up north. At first, the individual enjoys the cool summers. However, with time, begins suffering a snowy nightmare that makes him move back home

All that makes me feel and think that we live in paradise. While it is true, sometimes we are shaken by earthquakes like the one that hit us on April 2010, at the same time we must not forget no person died in the Imperial Valley due to that temblor. It is also true we saw the disruption of services, but beyond that we had nothing to regret in terms of loss. We must also acknowledge that when showers recently impacted our region, hundreds of residents were left with no electricity. The great staff at the Imperial Irrigation District worked for hours to restore power. And regarding snow, the region has not witnessed a single snowflake for almost a century.

Yes, Imperial Valley has poor air quality. Our incomes are so low that even the richest men locally can be seen as less fortunate compared to the wealthy from other areas and states. And in terms of employment, the good jobs are hard to acquire, like fishing without a pole. Regardless of our environmental, socio-economic issues, no other nature-related problem causes afflictions to Valleyites.

These are great reasons to thank the One above.