A Prayer for New Orleans, Mississippi

This past week has been a very trying time for the people in the Gulf States of America. Hurricane Katrina has left a wide swath of destruction across several southern states and tens of thousands of people homeless and others in dire straits.
Even in a great and powerful nation like the United States, suffering and hardship have come down hard at a time when it seems the US may be immune to such natural disasters of biblical proportions.
For the past seven days, the cries of the desperate have reached critical levels. The shouts of the deprived and desperate have reached the farthest corners of the White House. And now, the cries for help have resonated across the globe.
We, in this part of the Pacific, have heard the cries of our brethern from the other side of the ocean. We acknowledged that our American brothers and sisters are now in pain. We take heed of their sorrow.
Even as I write this, moves are being made to extend the big hand of mercy to the courageous survivors of one of America's worst natural disasters. The proud city of New Orleans is now under water.
The levees that protected the city of music have been broken by the powerful forces of nature. As New Orleans struggles to get back on its feet, Americans across the continent have heeded the calls of their own countrymen and are rallying to bring hope to the suffering and desperate.
America has been on the forefront of most crisis points across the planet for decades. Always, it has been US that answers the calls of the poor, hungry and the destitute. Now American needs help. I believe those who have been on the receiving end of American generosity have not forgotten her kind deeds.
Surely, it is our turn to lend our US cousins a hand so that she could get back on her feet. CNN today broadcast an urgent message across its global network, alerting the citizens of the world of America's desperate hour.
The SOS is seen and heard, crystal clear, across the regions where men have found shelter. I think America will find out swiftly that all those years she has helped others have not been forgotten.
The world is now amassing its armies of mercy and succour to come to the rescue.
It is our turn and it will soon be our mission to pull America back on her feet. We all belong to the brotherhood of men. No call for help will go unanswered. No cries of desperation will go unnoticed.
America will find out soon, she has friends aplenty across the seven seas. In these times of darkness that have come to haunt America, her friends abroad will bring lanterns and candles of light to shine the way clear for Americans to find their way home again.