28 May 2011

The Joplin Spirit

The following was submitted for publication in The Romney Marsh Times, an internet-based publication serving the Romney Marsh area of Kent.

When I relocated to the Kentish Riviera two years ago, one of the first things I did was review the history of the area I was soon to call home. Although my time in Folkestone lasted far shorter than I had hoped, I left having a greater understanding and appreciation for many of the aspects that form common characteristics in our rechristened “essential relationship”.

One of these common traits is the can-do attitude that a people who fervently believe in their way of life and fellow man, woman and child can overcome any oppressive, seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The Dunkirk Spirit—the rescue of thousands of British soldiers from the onslaught of the Third Reich’s Blitzkrieg—reverberates to this day in the many war memorials, community events, and appeals that bring together villages and towns across Britain. The challenge proved difficult with the arrival of the Blitz, especially in Hellfire Corner. But Britain persevered.

Two years today marks the first time I walked through the garden on Sandgate Road, where Christ Church once stood. Its clock tower remained intact following persistent cross-Channel bombardment, a testament to the Dunkirk Spirit. In the past week, I’ve been reminded of that testament as Mother Nature unleashed her worst on my home state Missouri.

It only took a matter of minutes for a tornado to descend on the south end of Joplin and carve a path of devastation six miles long and in some places a mile wide. The numbers and pictures from the area are jarring: 142 dead, at least 100 still unaccounted for, tens of thousands homeless, nearly $3 billion (£1.82 billion) in damage, and street corners unrecognisable. The cyclone has been described as the eighth-deadliest in the record books, the worst in almost sixty years. And storms causing flash flooding and more tornado scares have only added insult to injury.

While it will take years for Joplin to physically recover, its spirit is far from broken.

Within hours of the storm’s damage airing on local and national television, donation drives and volunteer efforts began sprouting up. The next morning, Americans from every walk of life offered their change, blood veins, and labour to help. Over 65,000 people joined a Facebook group expressing support for Joplin's recovery, also giving survivors a chance to reconnect with loved ones. Church congregations and businesses from Springfield, Tulsa, Northwest Arkansas, Kansas City and beyond sent lorry after lorry containing much-needed essentials. Donation appeals emerged in bank parking lots, hotel lobbies, and even a furniture outlet store collecting stuffed toys. Major sport clubs are in the effort, with the owner of Kansas City’s NFL franchise taking a hands-on role in packing bottled water.

Amid the damage, the rebuilding has already begun. Flags fly full-mast at Joplin’s damaged school buildings, including the high school that must be razed and rebuilt. The St John’s Regional Medical Center, whose nine-storey shell has become the icon of this disaster, is already crafting plans for a new facility to continue their 126-year ministry. While these are critical pillars of any community, it falls on the people who call Joplin home to revive and sustain their wounded hometown.

One would only need dial into any of Joplin’s radio stations to hear their spirit endure. Since 4 p.m. Sunday Joplin’s main ownership cluster has provided continuous coverage, allowing residents to call and tell the world they’re OK, find out information about shelters, and look for loved ones who have gone missing. Several staff members remain at the studios with nothing but what they brought in that weekend, and they remain committed to getting their community back on their feet. I can barely imagine how I would be able to endure were I to find myself in a similar situation, prioritising the needs of my community over the pain of personal loss.

While it is expected of any licensed broadcaster, canine search and rescue team, or national guardsman to provide their public service during a crisis, it takes community spirit to overcome the personal grief and dismay from living in the midst of a nightmare and pull together for the greater good.

The history books will look at the tornado of 22nd May 2011 not as the single twister that destroyed one-third of Missouri’s thirteenth-largest city, but as the calamity that cultivated the Joplin Spirit. An EF-5 cyclone may have uprooted the lives of tens of thousands, but millions of hearts, bound and beating together with prayer, charity for an afflicted neighbour, and sense of duty to restore some semblance of normalcy, will remain firmly entrenched in all who call Joplin and surrounding communities home.

Joplin will persevere. Its streets may resemble a war zone, but its people are resilient and their fellow Missourians stand in solidarity for their recovery.

The Joplin Spirit will prevail.