My brother in law and my mom took a ride with a group of businessmen on 4×4 and a few trucks to go home to Segamat. The trucks were filled with supplies such as rice, water and other canned food to hand out to the affected people in the town since food ran out and shops were out of supplies. On their own initiative these guys donated got others to donate and bought food for the victims. Kudos to them, why wait for anything official.

Cars still cannot get tru the flood waters along the major roads and only 4×4s were safe to reach Segamat. I wanted to come along but there werenot enough space for me. Initially the sister’s maid was suppose to go to help clean up. But my mom told my sister not to since my sister had to take care of a 3months old and 2 year old daughter.

My brother-inlaw reports that the road outside the houses were laid with waste, muddied beds, rotten furniture, wet and stinking clothes. Cars overturned, trucks lying on the river banks. Plastic, paper and other waste everywhere. The streets were dirty and gloomy. The scenes reminded them of the Tsunami.

My brother in law to us that my mom cried when she saw all the destruction in our house. Her garden of plants carefully tended all those years destroyed. As she walked into the mud soaked and stained walls, she cried even more. The tv cabinet bloated and crumble. The book cabinet unrecognisable and all my hundreds of books destroyed. The kitchen cabinet torned down. The tv thrown outside the door, DVD broken. She was also broken. And I think she is not alone.

At that point, I lost all desire to celebrate Christmas if at all it was there. Yes, we had a dinner (low key one) with my sister who was here with her 2 kids and my mom and dad in law and my nieces. I wanted to blog how I cooked the Pasta but now, I kinda lost that interest too.

I am traveling home to Segamat with my brother-in-law and his maid tomorrow (and miss the Christmas service) to help with the cleaning up and more particularly to give my parents some comfort, that their son is there to help them when they need it. Zoe and Amy will stay back in KL. This would be the first time I am travelling without them since Zoe was born. I dont like to leave them alone. No choice now, since my brother in law is travelling back now as I write and he would be too tired to drive again.

My parents are considered somewhat “lucky” since they only lose the ground floor though it is painful. My auntie and uncle who owns a beauty saloon and a mobilephone shopped lost hundreds of thousand from the destruction and the looting. Another auntie, who just openned a car sales outlet lost all her cars from the flood. My aunt and uncle who lived in a single story house, lost almost everything. The bed, cabinet, tv, hifi, tables, sofa, clothes, everything. I am not surprised if thousands of others lost everything too.
Tragedies can bring the best and worst in people. There are people who are opportunistic and went looting and stealling in bright day light. Then there are those who see the need, donated, drove and went to help.

Christmas this year is different for me. It reminded me that whats more important is showing my parents I care for them than going to a service and sing a few songs when it is not in my heart to have any cheer. It reminded me also of the hit song that came out years ago – “Feed the World” song by Band-aid.

But say a prayer, pray for the other ones At Christmas time it’s hard, but when you’re having fun There’s a world outside your window, and it’s a world of dread and fear Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you.

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