The role of technology in crisis situations
All innocent life is sacred
You get a notification
Something terrible has happened where your family lives
Your heart drops
Every thought rushes through you
You call but there is no answer
You keep calling hoping someone will answer, but no one does…
You wake up under the rubble of your own house.
Your first thought is where is my son?!?!
You have too much adrenaline coursing through you to realize your injuries.
All you have to do is find your son.
You yell his name over and over again.
Digging through the rubble, your fingertips are bleeding and the pain starts to kick in, but you can’t stop—every second counts.
You finally see him but he isn’t responding.
You know this isn’t looking good but you cannot, you will not allow yourself to give in to that thought. You will get him out. You will save him.
Eventually, your neighbors come by to help you and everyone is frantically working to move the debris.
You are able to touch him now you call out his name and there is no response.
Tears start to trickle down your face, but you have to hold him. Just one last time.
You finally hold him and tell him “that everything will be okay, and that “I am here now.”
All you are hoping for is for him to yell and scream. You just want to be able to yell at him and tell him to stop.
You just want to hear his laugh.
But there is nothing….
You find your phone to call for help and notice you have 13 missed calls 50+ messages.
What are you going to tell them? What can you tell them?
This is the reality of many people right now. We live in a time where we find out instantly of an event across the world but we can’t help or do anything about it. How can technology help in these kinds of situations?
‘I am ok’ check-in for disaster areas
You can set up an application for letting your loved ones know you are ok. We have seen this used in many disaster situations. You can also set up something where you can mark areas where help is needed. One of the biggest problems in situations like these is you don’t have much time to react so you need to make sure you are being efficient with your efforts.
Remote surgeries and telehealth
Many times during a time of crisis the local hospitals and staff are overwhelmed and overrun. This is where telehealth can help ease some of the burden. Anyone who is not in serious condition is triaged to a telehealth provider leaving the staff to care for the people most in need.
This goes for surgeries as well. There have been great advances in remote surgeries. Having surgeons from all across the world being able to help could save many lives.
Messaging without reception
One of the biggest issues in a time of crisis is there is no way to send a message. Well, there are ways to still send messages without a cell signal. There are many people who have or are developing messaging applications that can send messages via Bluetooth or direct connection via WIFI.
Is there hope?
I want to direct you to a group of students who are helping the world through code. They work under the name of InternetActivism. It’s groups like these and others that are trying to provide for refugees and disenfranchised communities. They aren’t the only ones but their story really struck a chord with me. I hope that we have more groups like this pop up for the general good of humanity.
The one thing about technology is that it doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter what your name is or what your race is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank. Can it be used for nefarious reasons? Yes, but that should not stop us from pushing forward and trying to help.
Why am I talking about all this?
There is a lot of carnage and destruction in the world these days. You can’t open your phone or the news without hearing about a tragedy across the world or close to home. We have almost become numb to it.
I am a Muslim born in Pakistan. I have lived in the Middle East and now live in the United States. Thankfully I have lived a very privileged life. I never had to worry about a roof over my head or when my next meal would be. I have experienced occasional hate speech but nothing I couldn’t handle. The truth is most people who engage in that are cowards and don’t tend to go after people who can actually stand up for themselves. I don't have a beard so that people will identify me as a Muslim. Everyone has their way of spreading a message. Some do it with their words some use their money and some use their actions. The ones that know me I hope can say that I am a fair and just person that looks beyond peoples background and creed. That’s because its what my parents and religion taught me to do.
As a Muslim there is obvious bias because we all get our news from family and friends and we care most about news that affects people like us most.
No one should be looking to me for advice on world politics. That is why I ask you to educate yourself and understand the history. Don’t listen to my bias and come to your own conclusions.
All I ask of everyone is that you look at every life equally. Don’t demonize a group of people based on the actions of a minority. If you are advocating for the genocide of innocent people behind closed doors or on your social feed then you have no place in healthcare. We don’t need you amongst our ranks.
If you are angry after that statement then I am talking to you.
Don’t let them divide us. At the end of the day, we all are more similar than different.
I will leave you with this quote from Malcolm X.
“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
END THE WAR(S) AND END THE OCCUPATION
If you want to donate here are a list of organizations that provide relief in the area:
There are so many more. Please be generous a little goes a long way.
I know some will unsubscribe after reading this and that is okay. I want you to know that I care about you too. One day I hope that we all can live in peace.
Reach out to your loved ones today and tell them you love them.