Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidst the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
Stories about loss of life at sea have dominated the headlines over the past few days.
The 5 wealthy men who were on a mini sub, diving down to the wreck of the Titanic. Lost in the Atlantic
The 500+ desperate refugees looking for sanctuary. Lost in the Mediterranean
The young father, a British firefighter, swimming the English Channel alone to raise funds for charity. Lost in the Channel, just off the French Coast.
One man, wanting to do some good, wanting to help the British Heart Foundation. A man whose life's work had been fighting fires and saving lives. But his story was almost completely eclipsed by the others.
Five hundred people, wanting to have a fresh start and build new lives in a safe place. But it seems that many people didn't think they should have tried to do that. Our government wants to"Stop the Boats"
Five men, wanting to go on the 'trip of a lifetime' and have a 'unique experience', just for the thrill of it - and millions of pounds have been spent trying to locate their mini-sub.
All such sad stories, many bereaved families - yet the media coverage of the three events has been so different. Talking about this on Thursday, I discovered that nobody else in the group I was with even knew about the man in the Channel- or that his name was Iain Hughes.
What a crazy world we live in. The rich get their names plastered over the headlines, but the anonymous poor, and the 'little man' go almost unnoticed, quickly forgotten.
Morning Angela, my heart breaks for Ian the young firefighter who lost his life doing a charity event. The sub story is sad too and the loss of the refugees at sea even more so.
ReplyDeleteA crazy world we live in. I hope the families of all find some comfort.
💔 It is heartbreaking
ReplyDeleteWell said Angela
ReplyDeleteSiobhan x
😢
DeleteI hadn't heard about the fire fighter either. A very sad story. You're right that the media coverage, and the money spent on the rescue attempts is very different in each case. As someone on FB said, showing a picture of the doomed migrant ship "It should have been carrying a billionaire".
ReplyDeleteAll the stories are heart breaking for those who loved the people who have been lost, I don't deny that, but the differing reactions to each
shows a lack of humanity, I fear... Love FD xx
💔
DeleteIain vanished despite having a support boat nearby. He wasn't on a very expensive 'jolly', he was trying to help three different charities.
ReplyDeleteLife can be very unfair at times.
I feel there is still much about the sinking of the refugee boat that we will never hear.
It's dreadfully sad to have lost five men aboard the Titan submersible, but they went into that adventure knowing the risks, and with absolutely no thought for the effort and cost of a 'rescue' should it be needed. One thing I know for certain is that, no matter how much my husband wanted it, my 19 year old son would never have been on Titan! If a grown man wants to take risks, fine, but taking a nineteen year old boy with him. That's a hard 'no' in my world.
The wreck of Titanic, and now Titan, is a grave site and as such should be respected and left alone. X
😢
DeleteIt's been a sad week somehow. I had heard about the young man who was swimming the Channel, and it is heartbreaking. No fanfares, very little news coverage, but what he was trying to do is worth a million times more than some other events.
ReplyDelete💔
DeleteI hadn't heard of Ian's story and barely heard of the refugees that are missing. It seems you are only newsworthy if you have a shed load of money to your name. We live in a sad society.
ReplyDelete😢
DeleteAgree with you 100% Angela.
ReplyDeleteChristine
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DeleteI agree with your post. I'd not heard about the firefighter. One major news paper here did have an article comparing the migrant boat sinking to the Titan, pointing out the difference in response. It's all very sad.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad 😢
DeleteSadly true.
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my favorite hymns.
Hugs!
😢
DeleteI'm thankful we have a Heavenly Father who sees us no matter how insignificant we are in the world's eyes.
ReplyDeleteYes - I love that old hymn with the line "his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he cares for me"
DeleteI remember at the time of the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster in 1988, someone commented that it was just as hard, say, for the widow of a farmer whose tractor rolled over, as it was for all those affected by the high profile disaster. Every loss of life, however insignificant to the news media, is a tragedy for someone.
ReplyDeleteEvery life is important. Each death brings sadness to someone
DeleteThe death of the British fire fighter didn't make it to our news and the migrant boat sinking was covered more on the international news networks that I sometimes watch than on our local news networks. The sinking of the mini-sub was on the news, though.
ReplyDeleteNews coverage is often variable depending on location. The sub was in the Atlantic, nearer the USA, the other two were in European waters
DeleteWe have also noticed the difference in levels of reporting of these tragic stories. All equally sad for the families affected by their losses. I couldn't understand the lack of reporting of the young firefighters story, such a selfless effort compared to the titanic tourists, or adventurers as they were identified. And will they be sending robot subs down to the refugee ship? Somehow I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that overpaid TV stars and millionaire businessmen command more attention
DeleteYour post reminds me of the poem of John Donne; "Each man's death diminishes me,
ReplyDeleteFor I am involved in mankind."
A very true comment. Thanks PP
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