As I write this post the residents of Brisbane are preparing for some of the worst floods the city has ever seen. I've been on the phone to mum and dad getting the latest updates on what's been happening. I've also been following the situation on the ABC. An ABC reporter was on location in Caboolture (just north of Brisvegas) covering a story on a family preparing their house for possible flood damage. What struck me was that there was a guy, who did not know this family at all, giving them a helping hand. He didn't want his name disclosed and when asked why he was helping his response was something like "when someone needs a helping hand you give them one".
When black Saturday occurred in Melbourne back in 2009 we saw an amazing outpouring of human generosity and good will. My housemate at the time had volunteered to join some colleagues up in Alexandria. I ended up joining them for a day. I'm sure there are plenty of similar stories. When the Asian Tsunami hit Australians made a significant contribution to the relief effort. I had a mate of mine, who is an engineer, request to be on location to help out.
Whether it be a suburb of Caboolture, a region of Victoria or a country in South East Asia disasters like the current Brisbane floods always seems bring out such incredible human spirit. I might be being slightly patriotic but I do think in general Australians punch above their weight when it comes to responding to such events. And for the majority of us our motivation is free from religious, political or personal biases and views. In one way or another we belong to a community and when our community is in trouble we respond with passion, generosity and good will. This seems to be part of our make up and instinctive way of behaving in the face of adversity. It's events like these that give me faith in humanity.
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