 |
| A prophet recognised by both faiths: Spring sunlight shines through one of the windows at St Johns. |
That was the Wikipedia link that caught my eye at the bottom of the page detailing the story of the UAF 571 plane crash in the Andes. As macabre as it sounded, I was too tempted not to click, and when I did, it revealed one of the most fascinating of Wikipedia pages I had ever laid eyes on.
The Incidents of Cannibalism page listed out in neat alphabetical order 66 of the most gruesome moments of our collective history. I immediately saw it was remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, this kind of grouping would have never been possible with an ordinary encyclopaedia. To maintain cross-indexes of this sort would be a nightmare with traditional print media. Sure, if you looked up "Cannibalism" in the old Funk & Wagnalls, along with the definition they might cite a few of the famous cases. But to listing every single incident would be impractical, plus it would mean a lot of legwork to look up each story you were interested in. Wikipedia however, presented all 66, each one being just a simple mouse click away - it was a revolution in accessibility.
The second reason I found this page remarkable is that the subject so clearly illustrated the two extremes of humanity. Of course there were loads of serial killers demonstrating the terrifying capabilities of wayward individuals, but bizarrely, when environmental circumstances drive people to break that most horrifying of taboo's, it also showed the greatness that our kind are capable of.
The most recent and impressive example of this greatness listed was of course the previously described UAF Flight 571 plane crash. Surviving for 72 days in a lifeless icy wasteland necessitated the consumption of already dead passengers by those still living. A dreadful thing to be forced to do, but the manner in which it was conducted was nothing short of exemplary. The decision to engage in cannibalism was not taken lightly and they only proceeded after lengthy discussion and mutual agreement of the group. After the rescue, the survivors confessed their actions (and their infinite gratitude) to the families of the people consumed. Thankfully the families were very understanding and forgiving - much more so than the sensationalist and damning initial reporting by the mainstream media.
But there was another link on the Incidents of Cannibalism page stood out at me. Being in France I couldn't help but be intrigued by the heading "French frigate Méduse (1810)".
The story of the Méduse is quite the opposite to that of UAF Flight 571. When the ship ran aground 160kms off the coast of Africa, there were not enough life-boats to carry everyone to safety. The 233 privileged passengers including the captain and his family boarded the available boats while a makeshift raft was constructed for the remaining 150. The raft was being towed by the lifeboats until the captain realised that it was slowing their progress. He decided to cut the rope and left the 150 people on board to their own fate. Seeing that they had been abandoned, panic erupted on the raft. Fights broke out and valuable food rations were thrown. On the first night 20 people were either murdered or committed suicide. By the fourth day they were eating each other and by the eighth day the strongest were throwing the weakest overboard. Thirteen days later, when another boat chanced upon the raft, only 15 men remained alive.
While comparisons between the stories of the Méduse, UAF Flight 571 and myself encountering difficulties during Ramadan may be slim, I feel that they bear consideration. In each case they are the stories of the different ways people cope in a situation with limited resources. Often feelings of hunger and fatigue during Ramadan can leave you short on temper, but you soon realise that fighting with the people you love (or even with strangers) won't fill the gap in your stomach. Though the suffering in Ramadan is "make-believe" and not nearly upon the same scale, I see Ramadan as something of a fire-drill for sticky situations. Its another reason why I feel wider participation would benefit more than just the islamic community. You never know who you might wind up with on a make-shift raft!
A scene from the harrowing story of the Méduse is depicted in Gericault's huge and famous painting that hangs prominently in the Louvre. But I have often wished that someone would paint an equally proportioned scene from the story UAF Flight 571. Then, as we enter an age of realisation that planet earth is itself like a life-raft with limited resources, at least people could be presented with a positive alternative as to how we can behave together in dire circumstances.
