January 8

Page Two

Our Changing World​—Where Are We Headed? 3-13

Change is a constant in our daily lives. It is also part of the world scene. In what ways is our world changing? What does the immediate future promise? Does the Bible have anything to say about it?

Things Hurricane Andrew Could Not Destroy 14

Hurricane Andrew in Florida, U.S.A., destroyed thousands of homes and made over 200,000 people homeless. How well did the relief efforts function? What lessons were learned?

Can Drinking Really Get Me Hooked? 22

This question concerns everybody, especially young people. How can alcohol affect you and your future? Some precautions are suggested here.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 2]

Alfred/​Sipa

Cover, middle: Kevin Frayer/​Sipa; right: Falco/​Sipa

How Has Our World Changed?

HAS your world changed? The ancient Greek philosopher Heracleitus said: “Nothing endures but change.” Change is a constant in the life of all of us.

As you look back over the last 10, 20, 30, or more years, what changes have you seen? You may have seen change come in the guise of modernization and in the discarding of traditional values. Doubtless, you see some changes as positive and others as negative.

If you are over 70, what changes have you seen from the time of your youth? You remember a time when TV did not exist, when planes plodded along at a hundred miles an hour [150 km/​hr], when most international travel was by ocean liner, when drug abuse seemed to be limited to opium dens, when automobiles were few and far between. Yes, your world has certainly changed.

The Changed Consumer Society

But the world has changed even for younger persons. Just 45 years ago, world markets were dominated by Western products and know-how. Now, Oriental nations of the Pacific rim have become leaders in automobile production, computers, cameras, TVs, and many sorts of electronic gadgets.

This is illustrated by what Awake! was told by an experienced Chinese traveler: “Just 30 or 40 years ago, the dream of the average Chinese was to get a bicycle and a sewing machine. Those were the current status symbols. Now the dream is to possess a color TV, a VCR, a refrigerator, and a motorbike.” The consumer society, whether in China or elsewhere, has changed its tastes and demands.

This kind of change in viewpoint has happened in many nations as their economy has improved. Pedro, a Catalan in his early 40’s, stated: “In Spain 30 years ago, the ambition was to own at least a little 600 cc Seat [Fiat] car. Now Spaniards yearn for a German BMW!” Jagdish Patel, a resident in the United States, commented on a recent trip to his native India: “I was struck by the number of automobiles now on Indian roads. The highways still sport the same Hindustan cars, but now they are joined by modern versions of cars, motor scooters, and motorbikes made in India under license from foreign companies.”

Changes in Science

Just 25 years ago, many still viewed the moon as an intriguing mystery. Since then, man has left his footprints and scientific instruments on that alien moonscape and has brought back rock samples for analysis. Flights of the American space shuttle are now a regular occurrence, and U.S. scientists talk of establishing a permanent space station and of going to Mars.

Who had heard of AIDS 15 years ago? Now it is a worldwide scourge, and millions live in fear of it.

Political Changes

Only four years ago, an apparently unbreachable wall divided the city of Berlin; there was a Communist Soviet Union and a Cold War. Now Berlin has been chosen as the capital of a united Germany, and 11 of the 15 republics of the former Soviet Union have formed a Commonwealth of Independent States.

Just a few years ago, the United Nations was mainly an arena for the struggle between capitalist and Communist powers, with the so-called unaligned nations hedging their bets and looking on. Now the nations of East and West are talking about peace and security, and the United Nations has more teeth. It can send military forces to crisis areas all over the world. Three years ago, there were countries known as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Now both have fragmented into smaller independent States.

With all these changes, has the world progressed very much toward true peace, justice, and a fair distribution of food and resources? Has the world become more civilized? Can you walk the streets without fear of criminals? Have we been educated so that we no longer hate others on the basis of their race, religion, politics, life-style, or language? Is change leading to real progress for the human family in general and for our home, the earth? Where are we headed? The following articles will examine these and other questions.

Our Changing World​—Where Is It Headed?

SOME changes are having a deep and long-lasting effect on the lives of millions, even on the whole world population and future generations. Violent crime, drug abuse, the spread of AIDS, water and air pollution, and deforestation are just a few of the developments that are making an impact on us all. The end of the Cold War and the spread of Western-style democracy with its market economy are also changing lives and influencing the future. Let us examine some of these factors.

How Crime Has Changed Our Lives

How are the streets in your neighborhood? Do you feel safe to walk outdoors alone at night? Only 30 or 40 years ago, many people could even leave their homes unlocked. But times have changed. Now some doors have two or three locks, and windows are barred.

People today are afraid to wear their best clothes and jewelry on the streets. Some city dwellers have been killed for a leather jacket or a mink coat. Others have died in the cross fire between drug gangs. Innocent bystanders, including many children, are being wounded or killed on an almost daily basis. Cars cannot be left safely on the street without some ingenious device to try to thwart parasitic thieves. In this distorted world climate, people have changed. Honesty and integrity are almost forgotten values. Trust has disappeared.

Crime and violence are a worldwide phenomenon. The following news headlines from various sources illustrate the point: “Cops and Robbers, Gangs and Vice; Moscow Finds Out It Has Them All”; “A New Era Comes to Korea, Followed by Crime”; “Street Crime Hits Prague Daily Life”; “Japan Takes On the Mob, and the Mob Fights Back”; “The Grip of the Octopus​—Italy’s Top Mafia-Fighter Is Blown Up.” Crime is a universal problem.

Today’s crime is also more violent. Life is cheap. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an area of slums on the edge of the city has been “officially recognized by the United Nations as the world’s most violent place. More than 2,500 people are murdered there every year.” (World Press Review) In Colombia, drug lords send out their adolescent sicarios, or paid killers, on motorbikes to settle accounts with competitors and debtors by means of their special kind of swift death penalty. And often, woe betide you if you witness a crime​—whether in Colombia or anywhere else. You may be the next victim.

Another big change is that more and more criminals are carrying lethal automatic weapons, and more and more of the public are resorting to carrying guns for self-defense. This escalation in arms automatically means an escalation in fatalities and casualties, whether by crime or by accident. It is now a universal truism that a gun in the pocket or in the house can turn anyone into a potential killer.

Crime and Drugs

Fifty years ago, who even dreamed of drugs as a world problem? Now it is one of the prime causes of crime and violence. In his book Terrorism, Drugs and Crime in Europe after 1992, Richard Clutterbuck foresees that “in the long term the growth of the narcotics trade could prove to be the greatest of all threats to human civilization. . . . The profits not only give enormous economic and political power to the drug barons [Colombia is a clear example], but also finance a horrifying amount of crime all over the world.” He also states: “One of the greatest generators of terrorism and criminal violence in the world is the cocaine trade from the coca fields in Colombia to the addicts in Europe and the USA.”

The prevalent crime wave and the world’s increasing prison population show that there are millions of people with criminal intent and little desire to change. Too many have seen that crime does pay. As a result, our world has changed​—for the worse. It has become more dangerous.

AIDS​—A Catalyst for Change?

What first appeared to be a disease affecting mainly the homosexual population has become a scourge affecting people of every race and life-style. AIDS no longer has any favorites. In some countries of Africa, it is decimating the heterosexual population. As a result, sexual promiscuity for some suddenly seems out of fashion, not for any reasons of morality, but because of fear of infection. “Safe sex” is now the slogan, and the use of condoms the main recommended preventive barrier. Abstinence is the least-favored safeguard. But how will AIDS affect the human family in the immediate future?

Time magazine recently reported: “By the year 2000 AIDS could become the largest epidemic of the century, eclipsing the influenza scourge of 1918. That disaster killed 20 million people, or 1% of the world’s population​—more than twice the number of soldiers who died in World War I.” As one expert said, “this epidemic is of historic scale.”

In spite of the millions of dollars and other currencies poured into AIDS research, no solution is in sight. A recent conference on AIDS in Amsterdam, Netherlands, brought together 11,000 scientists and other experts to study the problem. “The mood was somber, reflecting a decade of frustration, failure and mounting tragedy. . . . Humanity may not be any closer to conquering AIDS than when the quest began. There is no vaccine, no cure and not even an indisputably effective treatment.” (Time) For those presently HIV positive, already likely to fall sick with AIDS, the prospects are bleak. Here, too, change has been for the worse.

Change in World Politics

The changed political climate of the last four years has taken many leaders by surprise and perhaps none more so than those in the United States. Suddenly it finds itself without a plausible competitor in the political field. It has been compared to a highly motivated, unbeatable basketball team that suddenly discovers that nobody wants to play against it anymore. This quandary is summed up in an article in 1990 by the editor of Foreign Policy magazine, Charles William Maynes: “Today the task of U.S. foreign policy is not extricating the country from a disastrous war but institutionalizing the unexpected peace that has broken out between the United States and the [former] Soviet Union.”

The proliferation of nuclear know-how presents new threats, while war with conventional weapons continues to flourish​—much to the delight of the world’s arms dealers. In a world crying out for peace, many political leaders are beefing up their armies and their weaponry. And an almost bankrupt United Nations is kept busy trying to put Band-Aids on the world’s chronic ulcers.

The Unchanging Curse of Nationalism

As Communism began to disintegrate, U.S. president Bush popularized the concept of “a new world order.” However, as many political leaders have discovered, smart slogans are cheap; positive changes are much more difficult to accomplish. In his book After the Fall​—The Pursuit of Democracy in Central Europe, Jeffrey Goldfarb says: “Boundless hope about ‘a new world order’ has been followed quickly by the realization that the most ancient of problems are still with us, and sometimes with a vengeance. The euphoria of liberation . . . has often been overshadowed by despair over political tension, nationalist conflict, religious fundamentalism, and economic breakdown.” Certainly the civil war in what was Yugoslavia is a clear example of the divisive influence of politics, religion, and nationalism.

Goldfarb continues: “Xenophobia [fear of foreigners] and personal insecurity have become Central European facts of life. Democracy does not automatically deliver the economic, political, and cultural goods, and a market economy does not only promise riches, it also creates unfathomable problems for those who don’t know how to work in it.”

But it is evident that these are not problems of Central Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union only; xenophobia and economic insecurity are worldwide. The human family pays the price in suffering and death. And the immediate future holds no hope of change in these deeply entrenched attitudes that generate hatred and violence. Why is that? Because the education most receive​—whether from parents or from nationalistically oriented school systems—​inculcates hatred, intolerance, and notions of superiority based on nationality, ethnic and tribal origin, or language.

Nationalism, called by the weekly magazine Asiaweek “the Last Ugly Ism,” is one of the unchanging factors that continues to provoke hatred and bloodshed. That magazine stated: “If pride in being a Serb means hating a Croat, if freedom for an Armenian means revenge on a Turk, if independence for a Zulu means subjugating a Xhosa and democracy for a Romanian means expelling a Hungarian, then nationalism has already put on its ugliest face.”

We are reminded of what Albert Einstein once said: “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” Nearly everybody gets it at one time or another, and it continues to spread. Back in 1946, British historian Arnold Toynbee wrote: “Patriotism . . . has very largely superseded Christianity as the religion of the Western World.”

Is there any hope for change in human conduct in the present context? Some say it can be achieved only by a radical change in education. Economist John K. Galbraith wrote: “People are the common denominator of progress. So . . . no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and educated. . . . Conquest of illiteracy comes first.” What hope is there that the world’s educational systems will ever teach love and tolerance rather than hatred and suspicion? When will deep-seated tribal or ethnic animosities be replaced by trust and understanding, by recognizing that all of us belong to the one human family?

Clearly, positive change is needed. Sandra Postel writes in State of the World 1992: “The remainder of this decade must give rise to transformations even more profound and pervasive if we are to hold on to realistic hopes for a better world.” And where are we headed? Richard Clutterbuck states: “The world, however, remains unstable and dangerous. Nationalist and religious fervour will continue. . . . The 1990s could be the most dangerous or the most progressive decade of the century.”​—Terrorism, Drugs and Crime in Europe After 1992.

Our Changing Environment

Over the last few decades, mankind has become conscious of the fact that human activities are having a dangerous impact on the environment. Massive deforestation is killing off untold species of animals and plants. And since the forests are part of the planet’s lung system, the destruction of forests is also reducing the earth’s capacity to convert carbon dioxide into life-sustaining oxygen. Another effect is to weaken topsoil and eventually lead to desertification.

Some warning voices have been raised on this issue, and one of them is that of U.S. politician Al Gore. In his book Earth in the Balance​—Ecology and the Human Spirit, he writes: “At the current rate of deforestation, virtually all of the tropical rain forests will be gone partway through the next century. If we allow this destruction to take place, the world will lose the richest storehouse of genetic information on the planet, and along with it possible cures for many of the diseases that afflict us. Indeed, hundreds of important medicines now in common use are derived from plants and animals of the tropical forests.”

Gore believes that man’s impact on the environment represents an imminent threat to survival. He states: “As we continue to expand into every conceivable environmental niche, the fragility of our own civilization becomes more apparent. . . . In the course of a single generation, we are in danger of changing the makeup of the global atmosphere far more dramatically than did any volcano in history, and the effects may persist for centuries to come.”

Not only is our atmosphere threatened but, according to Gore and others, our vital water supply is in danger, especially in the developing world, “where the effects of water pollution are most keenly and tragically felt in the form of high rates of death from cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea.” Then Gore cites the fact that “more than 1.7 billion people do not have an adequate supply of safe drinking water. More than 3 billion people do not have proper sanitation [toilet and sewerage facilities] and are thus at risk of having their water contaminated. In India, for example, one hundred and fourteen towns and cities dump their human waste and other untreated sewage directly into the Ganges.” And that river is the liquid lifeline for millions of people!

Gautam S. Kaji, a vice president of the World Bank, warned an audience in Bangkok that the “water supply in East Asia may well be the crisis issue of the next century. . . . Despite the well known benefits of safe drinking water in terms of health and productivity, East Asian governments are now faced with public systems that fail to deliver potable water . . . This is the forgotten issue of environmentally sound development.” All over the world, one of the basic elements for life​—clean water—​is being neglected and wasted.

These are all aspects of our changing world, a world that is being transformed into a dangerous cesspool in many areas and that is threatening mankind’s future existence. The major question is, Do governments and big business have the will and the motivation to take steps to prevent the massive depletion of earth’s resources?

Is Religion Changing the World?

In the field of religion, we find perhaps mankind’s greatest failure. If a tree is judged by its fruits, then religion has to answer for the fruitage of hatred, intolerance, and war within its own ranks. It seems that with most people religion is like beauty​—only skin deep. It is a veneer that quickly peels off under the pressure of racism, nationalism, and economic insecurity.

Since Christianity is the religion of ‘love your neighbor and love your enemy,’ what has happened to the Catholics and the Orthodox of the former Yugoslavia? Will their priests absolve them of all their killing and hatred? Did centuries of “Christian” teaching produce only hatred and murders in Northern Ireland? And what of the non-Christian religions? Have they produced any better fruitage? Can Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and Shintoism point to a peaceful record of mutual tolerance?

Rather than serving as a positive influence toward the civilizing of mankind, religion has played its own fanatical role in fanning the flames of rabid patriotism and in blessing the armies in two world wars as well as in many other conflicts. It has not been a progressive force for change.

Therefore, what can be expected from religion in the near future? In fact, what can we expect the future to hold for our present world system​—what changes will there be? Our third article will discuss these questions from a unique viewpoint.

[Picture on page 7]

An upsurge in violent crime is another symptom of change

[Pictures on page 8]

Nationalism and religious hatred continue to generate bloodshed

[Credit Lines]

Jana Schneider/​Sipa

Malcom Linton/​Sipa

[Pictures on page 9]

Man’s abuse of his environment is changing the delicate balance of the biosphere

[Credit Lines]

Laif/​Sipa

Sipa

[Picture on page 10]

Hitler greeted by papal nuncio Basallo di Torregrossa, 1933. Historically, religion has been involved in politics and nationalism

[Credit Line]

Bundesarchiv Koblenz

Our Changing World​—What Does the Future Really Hold?

IF OUR world is to change for the better, what options do we have? One choice is to believe that the world’s rulers and leaders will eventually become altruistic and start leading mankind into the ways of mutual tolerance, understanding, and peace.

That means believing that tribalism and nationalism will be eradicated and replaced by a supranational attitude that can bring harmony to the world.

It also involves believing that leaders of capitalist economies will recognize that profit motive alone is an inadequate ethic in a world of massive unemployment, homelessness, and huge medical bills.

In addition it means believing that all the arms manufacturers of the world will start yearning for world peace and will beat their swords into plowshares.

Further, it means that the criminal elements of the world, including the capos of the Mafia, the bosses of Oriental crime gangs, and the drug lords of South America, will repent and turn over a new leaf!

In other words, it means believing in a man-made Utopia​—an impossible dream. If God is taken out of the equation, then we are in a situation similar to that described by the historian Paul Johnson in his book A History of the Modern World. He wrote that one of the underlying evils contributing to the “catastrophic failures and tragedies” of our century is “the arrogant belief that men and women could solve all the mysteries of the universe by their own unaided intellects.”​—Compare Isaiah 2:2-4.

However, there is a valid choice for positive change. That is to believe that the earth’s Creator, our planet’s Landlord, the Great Architect of change, Jehovah God, will intervene in human affairs in order to save his handiwork. Bible history shows that God has taken action in the past to further his purposes, and Bible prophecy indicates that he will soon take action again in order to fulfill his original purpose for mankind and the earth.​—Isaiah 45:18.

A Unique Source of Reliable Information

The unique Source of real knowledge of what the future holds for mankind is described in the words of the Bible prophet Isaiah: “Remember the first things of a long time ago, that I am the Divine One and there is no other God, nor anyone like me; the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done.”​—Isaiah 46:9-11.

Why should Jehovah God have foreknowledge of the events that are due to affect mankind? Again Isaiah answers: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God’s thoughts for mankind’s future are expressed in the Bible.​—Isaiah 55:9.

“Critical Times Hard to Deal With”

What has God’s Word, the Bible, foretold for our generation? The Christian apostle Paul warned: “But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” (2 Timothy 3:1) Ever since 1914 and World War I, we have been living in times that have become more and more critical. Man’s selfishness, greed, and lust for power have led him to commit worse and worse atrocities not only against his fellowman but also against nature itself. Man’s indifference to his environment is threatening the future existence of his children and grandchildren.

This critical danger was highlighted by former president of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, who wrote about conditions in that country. In effect, his words have worldwide application: “These are but the consequences of . . . man’s attitude toward the world, toward nature, toward other humans, toward being itself. These are the consequences . . . of the arrogance of modern man, who believes he understands everything and knows everything, who names himself master of nature and the world. . . . Such was the thinking of man who refused to recognize anything . . . higher than himself.”

The previously quoted Al Gore wrote: “I am convinced that many people have lost their faith in the future, because in virtually every facet of our civilization we are beginning to act as if our future is now so much in doubt that it makes more sense to focus exclusively on our current needs and short-term problems.” (Earth in the Balance) Certainly pessimism regarding the future seems to be a prevailing attitude.

This situation has come about partially because Paul’s further words have been fulfilled: “Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away.”​—2 Timothy 3:2-5.

A Better Alternative

But God has purposed that things will change on this earth​—for the better. He has promised that he will bring about “new heavens and a new earth . . . , and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) To restore this polluted earth to the condition of Paradise, Jehovah God must first “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) How is this going to take place?

Using symbolic language, the Bible indicates that God will soon put it into the hearts of the political elements, including the United Nations, to destroy the power and the prestige of perhaps the most negative force in mankind’s history​—the nationalistic and divisive influence of religion earth wide.a According to Martin van Creveld, in his book The Transformation of War, “there appears every prospect that religious attitudes, beliefs, and fanaticisms will play a larger role in the motivation of armed conflict than it has, in the West at any rate, for the last 300 years.” Possibly because of meddling in politics, religion is going to suffer at the hands of the political powers. Yet, those powers will unwittingly be fulfilling God’s will.​—Revelation 17:16, 17; 18:21, 24.

The Bible goes on to show that God will next turn his attention to the exploitive, beastlike political elements of Satan’s corrupt world system and engage them in his final war, or battle of Armageddon. After the removal of the ruthless political systems and their master manipulator, Satan, the way will be clear for the peaceful new world that God has promised.b​—Revelation 13:1, 2; 16:14-16.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been preaching from house to house about these coming changes for nearly 80 years. During that time, they too have seen and experienced the many changes that mankind has wrought. They have been through Nazi prisons and concentration camps because of their Bible-based principles. They have experienced the agonies and suffering of life in many parts of Africa, including civil wars and tribal strife. They have endured persecution at the hands of most political and religious systems because of their neutrality and their zealous preaching activity. Yet, in spite of it all, they have seen God’s blessing on their worldwide educational work as they have grown from a few thousand in 1914 to about four and a half million in 1993.

Reasons for Optimism

Rather than being overcome by pessimism, the Witnesses have an optimistic outlook because they know that the best and greatest changes are soon to take place on this earth. Events since 1914 have fulfilled the prophecies that Jesus gave, marking the time of his invisible presence in Kingdom power and indicating that we are in the time of the end for any human-inspired “new world disorder,” as a French writer in Le Monde described the prospects of the immediate future. Jesus said: “When you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.”​—Luke 21:7-32.

Man’s “new world order” is vulnerable to the flaws of human nature​—ambition, lust for power, greed, corruption, and injustice. God’s new world will guarantee justice. Of him it is written: “The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.”​—Deuteronomy 32:4.

Man’s “new world order” is open to what McGeorge Bundy, U.S. expert on foreign policy, called “narrow nationalistic feelings to which demagogues can appeal.” Continuing, he said: “We know from history how economic and social failure can give strength to such extremists. We also know that no matter where it happens, that kind of nationalism is dangerous.”

God’s new world guarantees harmony and peace between people of all tribes and nations because they will be educated in Jehovah’s ways of impartiality and love. Isaiah prophesied: “And all your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.” (Isaiah 54:13) And the Christian apostle Peter said: “For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 10:34, 35.

Without a doubt, there will be dramatic developments in the immediate future in the world as we know it. However, the greatest changes, the permanent and beneficial changes, are those that God has promised to bring about, and he “cannot lie.”​—Titus 1:2.

[Footnotes]

Things Hurricane Andrew Could Not Destroy

THERE are hurricanes, and then there are hurricanes.a Some are little more than strong winds, bringing heavy rain and uprooting trees. Then there was Hurricane Andrew in south Florida (August 24, 1992) and Louisiana (August 26, 1992), Hurricane Iniki in Kauai, Hawaii (September 12, 1992), and Typhoon Omar in Guam (August 28, 1992).

These wrought devastation that ran into the billions of dollars. Dozens of people perished in Florida. Thousands of families were left homeless. Insurance agents were scurrying around ruined homes looking for owners and writing checks.

A report from the Fort Lauderdale Relief Committee of Jehovah’s Witnesses said that 518 of the 1,033 homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the region could be repaired. Applied in general, that would mean that at least 50 percent of all homes in Andrew’s path were destroyed. Afterward, those fortunate enough to have a home still fit for habitation were trying to dry out their furniture and drapes and clean out the white slime created by ceilings that fell under the deluge of rain that came through damaged roofs. Many could hardly face looking at the ruins of their homes. Those who perhaps fared worst were the ones living in less sturdy mobile homes or trailers.

Hurricane Andrew Spared No One

One such couple was Leonard and Terry Kieffer. When they went to revisit their mobile home park in Florida City, they had to identify themselves at a military checkpoint in order to enter the area. What they saw was a mobile home park that looked as if it had been hit by hundreds of high-explosive bombs​—without leaving any craters. Trees were uprooted. Sheets of mangled aluminum, formerly the walls and roofs of homes, were wrapped around trees and hanging from limbs like some kind of grotesquely festive trimmings. Power lines were down everywhere, the wooden poles snapped like matchsticks. Cars were overturned and smashed.

Bob van Dyk, whose new home was declared unfit for habitation, described the scene in his house: “The ceiling came crashing down, smashing the smashable, bending the bendable and scaring us, the scareable.”

Personal belongings, toys, clothing, photos, books, lay around as sad reminders of a former life-style. A lonely black cat wandered aimlessly through the rubble. It stared back at the Kieffers quizzically. Little lizards scurried over what had previously been someone’s precious possessions. The stench of rotting food, spilled from broken refrigerators, hung in the air. In every direction was a scene of violent destruction​—all caused by winds, powerful winds, gusting to over 160 miles per hour [260 km/​hr].

It was heartrending for the owners and occupants of these homes. After many years of raising a family and sharing their lives in their own special nests, they came back after the storm to find everything smashed and scattered. The Kieffers had salvaged some of their belongings on a prior visit, but it was too traumatic for them to pick through the domestic rubble that was left. However, they appreciated that they were still alive and able to serve God.

Hurricane Andrew spared nothing. Shopping malls, factories, warehouses​—all became the target of nature’s onslaught. Puny man’s building codes did not stand the test.

The Best and the Worst of Human Nature

Help began to pour into Florida from all over the country as different relief agencies got organized. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn, New York, reacted at once and appointed a relief committee to function out of the Fort Lauderdale Assembly Hall. They also assigned a considerable sum of money for the purchase of materials, food, and emergency items. As a consequence, the Witnesses were among the first to react to the situation and began calling for volunteers. In fact, many came without being called.

Witness workers turned up from California, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington State, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and many other places. A Virginia Regional Building Committee that usually builds Kingdom Halls sent a group of 18 Witnesses to repair roofs. It took them 18 hours to drive down. Relief workers took vacation time or leaves of absence and drove across the country, hundreds and even thousands of miles, to reach their fellow Witnesses in distress.

Of invaluable aid was the group that came from the Charleston area in South Carolina. They had had experience with Hurricane Hugo back in 1989. They knew what to expect and soon organized relief supplies, including electric generators and building materials. Within two weeks volunteer crews had dried out some 800 homes and had repaired many roofs.

Many non-Witness spouses and neighbors benefited from the help offered by teams of Witness repairmen. Ron Clarke from West Homestead reported: “Unbelieving mates have really been impressed with all of this. They have been in tears, overwhelmed at what the Witnesses have already done for them.” About the unbelieving husband of one Witness, he added: “He is just ecstatic​—Witnesses are over there now putting on his roof for him.”

Another Witness told of his non-Witness neighbors whom he checked on each night. They said they were OK. On the fifth day, the wife broke down and wept. “We don’t have any diapers for the baby. We’re low on baby food. We don’t have enough food and water.” The husband needed five gallons [20 L] of gasoline but could not get it anywhere. That same day, the Witness brought all they needed from the Kingdom Hall relief depot. The wife cried with gratitude. The husband gave a donation toward the relief work.

A critical role was played by the congregation elders and ministerial servants who worked together in organizing relief at the different restored Kingdom Halls in the disaster zone. They worked tirelessly to track down all the Witnesses and to check out their needs. In contrast, an Air Force officer was quoted as saying about the relief effort in another area: “All the chiefs just want to be chiefs, but nobody wants to get down and actually do the dirty work.”

Disasters can bring out the best and the worst in people. An example of the latter was the looting. One family of Witnesses decided they could at least save their refrigerator and the washing machine for use at the relief center at the local Kingdom Hall. They went to the hall to get a truck. Before they got back, looters had stolen both items!

An eyewitness reported: “As we traveled through the desolated streets, we saw homes with signs warning looters to keep away. Some of the signs said, ‘Looters Must Die’ and, ‘Looters Will Be Shot.’ Another said, ‘Two looters shot. One dead.’ Stores and malls had been plundered.” According to a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, at least one looter had been caught and lynched by the people.

Many arrests were made. It seems that in any disaster the criminal element is ready to swoop down like vultures. And even so-called ordinary people get swept up in looting. Religion, ethics, and morals seem to evaporate under the temptation of something for nothing.

Awake! was told that in the beginning a few soldiers even had their unloaded rifles stolen from them by armed looters. Some soldiers were heard to say that they viewed the Kingdom Hall relief center as an oasis in the desert “because,” as they said, “you people don’t carry guns.”

“Don’t Sit Around and Mope”

What have Jehovah’s Witnesses learned from their experiences with natural disaster? Renew spiritual activities as soon as possible. Ed Rumsey, an overseer in Homestead, told Awake! that one double Kingdom Hall was ready for meetings on the Wednesday following the Monday hurricane. Some of the roofing had gone, the ceilings had collapsed, and water had entered. The volunteers worked quickly to get the Kingdom Halls back in shape for meetings and to use them as command stations from which to direct the relief work in their devastated area. Kitchens were set up so that meals could be served to the victims and the relief workers.

Fermín Pastrana, an elder from the Princeton Spanish Congregation, reported that seven families in his congregation of 80 Witnesses had lost their homes entirely. What remedy had he suggested to his fellow Witnesses? “Grieve if you need to grieve. But then don’t sit around and mope. Get active helping others, and, to the degree possible, go out in the ministry. Don’t miss our Christian meetings. Solve what can be solved, but don’t fret about what has no solution.” As a result, Witnesses were soon preaching and taking relief boxes from house to house. Andrew had not blown away their zeal.

‘The Next Time We Will Evacuate!’

Sharon Castro, a 37-year-old woman from Cutler Ridge told Awake! her story: “My father decided not to evacuate. He felt that since the last hurricane had turned away from hitting the Florida coast, Andrew would do the same. He was not even going to board up the windows. Fortunately, my brother came around and insisted on covering the windows with plywood. Without a doubt his action saved our lives. Our windows would have been shattered, and we would have been cut to pieces.

“At about 4:30 a.m., the electricity went out. The noises outside were terrifying. It was like the sound of a huge railway train. There was cracking as trees and buildings snapped and broke. We found out later that a frightening squeaking sound was the noise of the long nails in our roof working themselves loose. The attic blew off, and one third of the roof went. We ended up, 12 of us, including my invalid mother and my 90-year-old grandmother, having to shelter in a middle room with no windows. We felt sure we were going to die there.”

What lesson did she learn from the experience? “The next time they tell us to evacuate, we will evacuate​—no questions asked. We will pay attention to warnings. I have also learned to share and to live on very little. And I know it is OK to cry, to grieve, and then face up to reality.”

Reactions of the Press

Even the media noted how well the Witnesses were organized. The Savannah Evening Press carried the headline “Jehovah’s Witnesses Find They Are Welcome in South Florida,” and The Miami Herald declared: “Witnesses Care for Their Own​—and Others.” It stated: “No one in Homestead is slamming doors on the Jehovah’s Witnesses this week​—even if they still have doors to slam. About 3,000 Witness volunteers from across the country have converged on the disaster area, first to help their own, then to help others. . . . Any military organization might envy the Witnesses’ precision, discipline and efficiency.”

The Witnesses are used to organizing mass-feeding operations at their assemblies and conventions. Furthermore, they have organized hundreds of Regional Building Committees all over the world to construct Kingdom Halls and large Assembly Halls. Thus, they have trained manpower ready to respond on a few hours’ notice.

However, there is another factor​—their attitude. The same report continued: “There’s no bureaucracy. There are no battling egos. Instead, workers seem impossibly cheerful and cooperative no matter how hot, grimy or exhausted.” How was that explained? One Witness answered: “This comes from a relationship with God that motivates us to demonstrate our love for others.” That was something else that Andrew could not take away, the Witnesses’ Christian love.​—John 13:34, 35.

An interesting comparison is that the Witnesses seemed to have learned from the trees. One eyewitness expressed it this way: “As I traveled around, I could not help but notice that hundreds of large Ficus trees had been uprooted and toppled to the ground. Why was that? They offered high wind resistance due to their bulk, and they had a widespread but shallow root system. On the other hand, most of the slender palm trees remained standing. They bent with the wind, some lost their fronds, but most stayed rooted in the ground.”

The Witnesses had deep roots of faith in God’s Word and were flexible in their reactions. Possessions and homes were not everything to them. At least they were alive and could continue serving Jehovah in spite of adversity. Life was something that Andrew did not take from them.

How Is It Done?

The Anheuser Busch company donated a truckload of drinking water. On arriving, the driver asked officials where he should deliver the water. He was told that the only ones who had something organized were the Witnesses. In fact, within a week after Andrew struck, some 70 tractor-trailer loads of supplies had arrived at the Fort Lauderdale Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

A volunteer there reports: “So we received a whole truckload of drinking water. We immediately included this among the other foodstuffs that we were sending to the distribution centers at the Kingdom Halls. It was shared with the brothers and with the neighbors in that area who were in need.” A paper company in Washington State donated 250,000 paper plates.

In the beginning, city authorities were sending non-Witness volunteers to the Kingdom Halls, saying, ‘They are the only ones who are properly organized.’ Eventually the military moved in and began to set up food and water relief centers and tent cities.

The original Witness staging area was set up by the relief committee at the Fort Lauderdale Assembly Hall, which is some 40 miles [60 km] north of the main disaster zone around Homestead. To relieve some of the pressure, a primary staging area was established at the Plant City Assembly Hall near Orlando, about 250 miles [400 km] northwest of the disaster zone. Most relief materials were channeled there for sorting and packing. The committee ordered its needs from Plant City on a daily basis, and huge tractor-trailers were used to cover the five-hour drive down to Fort Lauderdale.

In turn this staging station supplied food, materials, water, generators, and other needs to three Kingdom Halls that had been repaired in the center of the disaster area. There, capable Witnesses organized building and clean-up crews to visit the hundreds of homes that needed attention. Kitchens and feeding lines were also opened on the Kingdom Hall grounds, and anybody was welcome to come for aid. Even some of the soldiers enjoyed a meal and were later observed dropping donations into the contribution boxes.

While the men were busy fixing houses, some of the women were preparing meals. Others were out visiting any people they could find in order to share with them the Bible’s explanation of natural disasters and also to give away boxes of relief supplies to those in need. One of these was Teresa Pereda. Her home was damaged, and her car windows were smashed​—yet the car was loaded with relief boxes ready for her neighbors. Her husband, Lazaro, was busy working at one of the Kingdom Halls.​—Ecclesiastes 9:11; Luke 21:11, 25.

For many of the homeless, alternative accommodations were found in the homes of Witnesses untouched by Andrew. Others stayed in trailers lent or donated for that purpose. Some moved into the tent cities established by the military. Others just wrote off their homes as a loss and moved in with friends and relatives in other parts of the country. They had neither homes nor jobs. There was no electricity, no water, no adequate sewerage​—so they took the best way out for them.

One lesson all learned was well expressed by a Spanish-speaking Witness: “We are very thankful for the lesson that we learned about our goals in life. You know, you can work for 15 or 20 years building up your home, accumulating material things, and then in just one hour, it can all be gone. This helps us to identify our goals spiritually, to make life simpler and really think about serving Jehovah.”

It is much as the apostle Paul stated: “What things were gains to me, these I have considered loss on account of the Christ. Why, for that matter, I do indeed also consider all things to be loss on account of the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. On account of him I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse, that I may gain Christ.”​—Philippians 3:7, 8.

Natural disasters are a part of life in our present world. If we heed warnings from the authorities, we may at least save our lives. Maybe homes and possessions will be lost, but a Christian’s relationship with “the God of all comfort” should be strengthened. Even if some may perish in a disaster, Jesus promised a resurrection for them in God’s new world on a restored earth​—an earth that will never see misery and death caused by natural disasters.​—2 Corinthians 1:3, 4; Isaiah 11:9; John 5:28, 29; Revelation 21:3, 4.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 20]

Totally Amazed

A group of 11 white Witnesses traveled down from Tampa, Florida, to assist in the relief work. They obtained supplies and began repairing the roof of a black Witness. When a non-Witness nephew arrived, he could not believe his eyes​—he was totally amazed to find that a group of white Witnesses had arrived before him and were restoring his uncle’s home. He was so impressed that he even assisted in the construction work.

He said that the next time the Witnesses came by his house, he would ask for a Bible study. As he was talking with the Tampa group, it became evident that he was from their area. Without delay one of the elders in the group made arrangements for a Bible study the following week! As one Witness stated, this proves that you don’t just have to knock on doors to give a witness​—you can knock on roofs!

[Pictures on page 15]

Hurricane Andrew spared nothing, and few buildings could resist

The Kieffer’s mobile home​—and what is left of it

[Pictures on page 16]

Rebecca Pérez, her daughters, and 11 others survived in this small space

The military stepped in to prevent looting (above right); looted stores (right)

The hurricane ripped off roofs, and vehicles were tossed about

[Pictures on page 17]

Relief was organized at Kingdom Halls

Mobile homes were wrapped around trees; a child’s toys lie forlorn on a mattress; Bible literature is among the debris; Witnesses, such as Teresa Pereda, delivered supplies to their neighbors

Donated building materials. Sorting clothing

[Pictures on page 18]

Volunteers from all over the United States helped in the relief work

Young People Ask . . .

Can Drinking Really Get Me Hooked?

IT ALL started when Jerome was only nine years old. “I sampled some leftover drinks from a party held at home, got drunk, and liked the way I felt,” he explains. Buying, hiding, and drinking alcohol soon became Jerome’s daily routine. Yet, he admits: “I didn’t know I had a problem until I was 17. When others were having breakfast, I was downing a half pint [1/4 L] of vodka!”

Alcohol use and abuse are growing at an alarming rate among young people the world over. In the United States alone, over ten million​—one half—​of America’s 13- to 18-year-old students have had at least one drink in the past year. About eight million drink on a weekly basis. In fact, U.S. teenagers drink over a billion cans of beer and more than 300 million bottles of wine coolers, a carbonated wine drink, a year!

The Bible says regarding alcoholic drink: “Everyone going astray by it is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) Yet, millions of youths, like Jerome, are being led astray by alcohol. What are the dangers of alcohol abuse? How can you tell if you are getting hooked?

Alcohol and Alcoholism

When packaged as a brightly colored wine cooler or a frothy beer, alcohol looks pretty harmless. Taste and appearances can be deceiving, however. Alcohol is a drug​—a powerful one.

Doctors say that alcohol is a depressant that affects the brain, acting on the central nervous system. Taken in modest amounts by an adult, it may create a harmless, pleasant effect. “Wine . . . makes the heart of mortal man rejoice,” says Psalm 104:15. However, too heavy a dose of alcohol can cause intoxication​—a state in which physical and mental control is markedly impaired. Like Jerome, a person may be hooked, crossing the fine line from wanting a drink to needing or craving one. Why does this happen? The body can develop a tolerance for alcohol if it is overused. The user must then drink increasingly larger amounts in order to experience its effects. Before he realizes it, though, he is hooked. Once a person is hooked, his life is altered tragically. Nearly five million U.S. youths have a drinking problem.

Why They Drink

In the 1930’s the average U.S. teenager sampled his first alcoholic drink at about age 18. Today, he does so before age 13. Some start even younger. “I was six years old, . . . and I sipped a little beer out of my grandfather’s glass. . . . I was so light-headed!” Thus recalls Carlotta​—a recovering alcoholic. The earlier you start, the more likely you are to get hooked.

Of course, peers often exert considerable pressure along these lines. But sometimes parents also share some blame. Some overindulge themselves, use alcohol as an emotional crutch, or even brag about how much liquor they can hold. A booklet on alcoholism says: “Children who become responsible adult drinkers tend to come from families where alcohol is treated matter-of-factly and unemotionally . . . , where drinking has its proper place.”a

Television is another potent influence on youths. By age 18 the average American youth has seen 75,000 drinking scenes on TV​—11 a day. Slick advertisements, carefully crafted to make drinking seem like the doorway to fun and romance, portray sexy models drinking in rowdy party settings. Alcoholic beverages are given fruit flavors and catchy product names. The ads work. Every weekend, 454,000 youths in the United States go on drinking binges, prompting the U.S. surgeon general to say that many of them are “already alcoholics, and the rest may well be on their way.”

Some youths, though, are driven to drink by internal turmoil. Kim revealed why she guzzled beer: “I used [alcohol] to change my mood and make me feel better about myself.” If a youth is shy or suffers from low self-esteem, drinking may seem an attractive solution. Yet others drink to block out some painful realities of life, such as parental abuse or neglect. Why did Ana begin drinking? “I never got the affection that I needed.”

Whatever the reason for getting started, in time a youth may find it increasingly difficult to control his drinking. At that point he may find himself face-to-face with alcoholism. Have you begun drinking? Then take the quiz entitled “Since You Began to Drink.” You may find the results to be quite revealing.

Alcohol​—Dangerous for Youths!

“Those staying a long time with the wine” are warned by the Bible that “at its end it . . . secretes poison just like a viper.” (Proverbs 23:29-32) Venom injected by a poisonous snake can slowly and painfully injure or kill a man. (Compare Acts 28:3, 6.) Likewise, prolonged and heavy abuse of alcohol can slowly kill you. It can damage or destroy vital organs, such as your liver, pancreas, brain, and heart. Developing young bodies and minds are particularly vulnerable to such damage, which is sometimes irreparable.

Alcohol abuse can be even more damaging to your emotions than to your body. A drink may temporarily boost your confidence. But the confidence it gives you is phony​—and the effects always wear off. In the meantime you retard your emotional and mental growth. Instead of sobering up and facing reality, you reach for another drink. But after being sober for 11 months, 18-year-old Peter says: “I’m having to learn how to face my feelings and find new ways to cope with situations booze got me through before. I figure that emotionally and socially I’m about thirteen years old.”

Then there are the dangers of drinking and driving. Alcohol-related highway death is the number one killer of young people in the United States. Drinking is also associated with homicides, suicides, and drownings​—the other leading causes of death for youths.

Furthermore, alcohol abuse can have devastating effects on your family life, friendships, schoolwork, and spirituality. Here’s the way the Bible puts it: “Show me someone who drinks too much, . . . and I will show you someone miserable and sorry for himself, always causing trouble and always complaining. His eyes are bloodshot, and he has bruises that could have been avoided. . . . You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship.” (Proverbs 23:29-34, Today’s English Version) This is a side of drinking that is never shown in glamorous TV ads.

Why Get Started?

Many countries therefore restrict youths from drinking alcohol. If you are a Christian, you have a compelling reason to obey these laws, as God commands you to be in “subjection to the superior authorities.” (Romans 13:1, 2) Even if the use of alcohol among youths is lawful due to local culture, is it really in your best interests to start drinking at this time in your life? As 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “all things are lawful . . . ; but not all things are advantageous.” Are you really ready to handle alcoholic beverages?

True, when peers offer you a colorful wine cooler, it may be tempting to see how it tastes. Realize, though, that you are being offered a potentially addictive drug. Godly youths in Bible times, such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had the courage to stand up to the Babylonian authorities and turn down the defiling foods and wine that were allotted to them by the pagan king of Babylon. You too can have the courage to say no!​—Daniel 1:3-17.

In time you will be old enough​—legally, mentally, emotionally, and physically—​to drink alcohol if that is your choice. Even so, you will be wise to exercise moderation and avoid getting hooked. Many youths have already become hooked, and a future article will discuss what they can do to recover.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 24]

SINCE YOU BEGAN TO DRINK:

◻ Do you have different or fewer friends?

◻ Is life at home more difficult?

◻ Do you have trouble sleeping, or do you feel depressed or anxious?

◻ Do you need a drink to feel at ease around others?

◻ Are you unhappy or disappointed in yourself after drinking?

◻ Do you lie about or hide the fact that you drink?

◻ Do you get embarrassed or angry when someone brings up your drinking habits?

◻ Has anyone ever counseled you or joked about your use of alcohol?

◻ Do you believe that wine coolers and beer are OK for you to drink because they are not hard liquor?

◻ Have you lost interest in or dropped hobbies and sports you once enjoyed?

If you have answered yes to more than two questions, it may indicate that you have a serious drinking problem. If so, you would be wise to seek help immediately.

Source: THE REGENT HOSPITAL, New York, NY.

[Picture on page 23]

Many alcoholics developed drinking problems at an early age

You Can Make Flying Safer

By Awake! correspondent in Finland

NOWADAYS, flying is a fast and common way of traveling. It is also considered to be one of the safest.

This safety is the result of determined and combined efforts by authorities and airline companies to eliminate potential risks. Safety depends on various factors. Airlines contribute by keeping their planes in good condition through checking and servicing at regular intervals. Furthermore, detailed loading plans and instructions are carefully designed for each flight. Luggage, freight, and mail are placed in the cargo space according to those instructions, and accurate weight-and-balance calculations concerning the flight are made. Did you ever think about all these preparations carried out behind the scenes?

But is this all there is as far as safety on a flight is concerned? By no means! There are additional features to which you as an airline passenger can directly contribute. In what way? Did you know that you may be a safety risk without being aware of it? Or that you can promote general safety on flights by knowing and observing some basic rules of aviation?

The Airlines and Your Safety

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), operating under the supervision of the United Nations, has made an effort to improve flight safety, working with the commercial airlines. IATA (International Air Transport Association) and ATA (Air Transport Association of America) have been in very close association with ICAO as far as safety matters are concerned. They have published instructions and requirements and prepared training material and information for the benefit of their members and the general public.

The development of various new materials and chemical compounds, as well as electronic devices used by passengers, has resulted in an increase in the number of risk factors. This has in turn increased the volume of safety measures and the need to inform the passengers.

What Kinds of Dangerous Situations Can Occur?

Fatal consequences could have resulted from the following situations:

(1) A suitcase of a member of a skiing team ignited on the luggage conveyor belt before it was loaded onto the plane. When examined, it was found to include a solvent for removing ski wax. The solvent had leaked out of its container. There was also a gas lighter in the suitcase, and a spark caused by the shaking of the suitcase set its contents on fire. Fortunately, all of this took place on the ground and not in the cargo space at 35,000 feet, [11,000 m] where it might have resulted in an extremely serious accident.

(2) In a similar way, ordinary matches ignited in a passenger’s suitcase by friction.

(3) At one airport, the personnel found a leaking container of bottled gas. The bottle was quickly developing into a delayed-action bomb!

(4) Acid leaking from the battery of a motorized wheelchair caused corrosion and significant damage to a plane’s structure. The plane was grounded for several days for cleaning and repair work, which resulted in financial loss to the airline.

What Must Not Be Taken on Board

The international associations mentioned above publish a handbook that is called the Dangerous Goods Regulations, which is available to airline companies and forwarding agents. Many of its stipulations form a part of the national aviation legislation in various countries. These stipulations include a listing of thousands of dangerous goods together with detailed directions for packing and transporting such items.

There are some substances and goods that you are not allowed to transport by plane at all. Furthermore, there are items that cannot be transported in luggage but may be approved as airfreight under certain preconditions. Then there are items​—though classified as dangerous—​that the rules of an individual airline may allow you to take with you in small amounts, for example in your hand luggage. Whenever you are uncertain, it is wise to consult your airline before the trip.

Where Can You Get the Necessary Information?

Most airlines print in their timetables the restrictions concerning hazardous items. Your ticket also has a listing of items and goods that are restricted. Furthermore, at their conference held in 1989, airlines around the world decided to direct the attention of the public to the risk factors that they may unintentionally create. At the beginning of 1990, the airlines launched a campaign directed at travelers. Posters were placed at airports and travel agencies to inform the public that hazardous items would be listed on a slip they would receive with their tickets.

What Is Included in Hazardous Goods and Items?

There are plenty of seemingly harmless goods and items that under certain circumstances may react to form a danger on board an aircraft. In flight, variations in temperature and air pressure, for example, may cause leakage to occur. Certain materials may seem safe, but as they come in contact with some other normally harmless items, they may generate a chemical reaction. This may cause a fire or spread toxic fumes. Therefore, it is essential that you know what you are packing in your suitcase.

As mentioned earlier, the forbidden items include ordinary matches and cigarette lighters. You are permitted to carry them only in your hand luggage.

The transport of all kinds of flammable liquids is forbidden. Paints, varnishes, and adhesives may also prove dangerous, let alone such solvents as thinner and acetone.

All kinds of flammable gases, such as lighter or camping gas refills, are forbidden on board an aircraft.

Explosives, fireworks, and signal flares are also forbidden because of their hazardous nature.

You have probably become accustomed to using many kinds of chemicals and industrial products in your home. Did you know that when taking a plane, you may not be allowed to take certain ones with you? The forbidden items include many aerosols, pesticides, bleaches, and cleaners. They may cause corrosion or oxidation or damage the plane or other goods around them.

Magnetic items may disturb the function of the aircraft instruments, and radioactive items may cause damage through radiation.

You Might Affect the Navigation System!

In the last few years, you may have been able to enjoy the use of all kinds of new inventions in the field of electronics. Radios, small video cameras, CD players, and cellular telephones, as well as remote-control toys, have attained wide popularity. Usually, you are allowed to pack these goods in your luggage provided you have removed the batteries. Since the rules differ from airline to airline, you should consult your travel agent before packing. It is, however, a universal rule that you may not use this type of equipment during the flight since it can disturb the navigation system of the aircraft.

Each passenger is allowed to carry a limited amount of medication, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages for personal use, and aerosols such as hair spray and antiperspirants may usually be included in the luggage.

Are You Promoting Safety Aboard?

Do you observe all these regulations? Are you aware of your responsibility? Before packing for your next flight, sit down and carefully read the transport conditions, especially the rules concerning hazardous items. We have dealt with the general stipulations in this regard, but there may be variations among different airlines.

If you are uncertain about an item, do not hesitate to consult your airline just to make sure. Thus, you may avoid unintentional breaking of the rules. Thereby, you also avoid subjecting yourself, your fellow passengers, and airline property to dangerous situations. Yes, you can make flying safer.

[Picture on page 25]

Can you identify which of these items do not belong in your luggage?

Watching the World

Alcohol Deaths in Japan

Cases of acute alcohol poisoning have risen dramatically in Japan recently, reports The Daily Yomiuri. One contributing factor: the revival of ikkinomi, or chugalugging​—that is, drinking an alcoholic beverage without pausing. It often occurs under pressure or even under force from a crowd of onlookers who goad and cheer the drinker on. This fad had died down somewhat, only to see a resurgence last year. Miyako Omoto, an assistant professor at the medical school of Toho University, equates forcing someone to chugalug an alcoholic beverage with attempted murder. She said: “Ikkinomi is dangerous because a person consumes more alcohol than his body can handle before his body starts sending a warning signal.” The Tokyo Fire Department says that 9,122 people had to be taken to hospitals with acute alcohol poisoning in 1991​—an 8-percent rise over the previous year. Six of them died.

Intolerant Neighbors

Whom would you least like to have living next door? The European Value Systems Study Group posed that question to 20,000 persons in 14 countries in an effort to discover common fears and prejudices. “The most easy-going nation by far is Denmark,” notes The European, while Portugal was reportedly the least tolerant. Regarding neighbors with AIDS, people in such largely Catholic lands as Italy, Spain, and Ireland showed the most hostility whereas Belgians revealed more racial and religious intolerance. Germans were averse to political extremists as neighbors. Men and women exhibited little difference when it came to intolerance. But one factor seemed to be associated with intolerance in all countries​—age. Older persons in general were choosier about whom they wanted as neighbors.

Number of Tigers on the Wane

One of India’s top nature reserves is losing its rare Bengal tigers, reports New Scientist magazine. A recent census in the Ranthambhor reserve found only 15 tigers​—down from 44 just three years ago. The problem, not surprisingly, is poaching. But poachers these days are after more than the beautiful skins. The bones of the tiger are used to make “tiger bone wine,” which is popular as a tonic in some Asian countries. Poachers usually kill the tigers with poisoned bait, sometimes wiping out cubs along with mother tigers. Ironically, the Ranthambhor reserve was originally the showpiece of Project Tiger​—a conservation effort designed to save the Bengal tiger from extinction. In all, there are only an estimated 6,000 to 9,000 of these magnificent animals left in the world.

Smoking and Broken Bones

“The day has arrived when even orthopedists will order their patients to stop smoking,” reports the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. A study of 29 persons with bone fractures revealed that nicotine from tobacco smoke made the blood vessels of chronic smokers more rigid. In contrast, nonsmokers and those who had smoked for less than two years had blood vessels that were better able to contract and expand, which helps fractures to heal faster. On the average, fractures of nonsmokers recovered 28 percent faster than those of longtime smokers. Also, inhaling carbon monoxide when smoking reduces the flow of oxygen, so that the broken bone receives less nutrition.

Chagas’ Disease Spreads

The World Health Organization reports that some 18 million people in Latin America are infected with the parasite that causes Chagas’ disease, which can lead to serious heart trouble and even death. A total of 90 million people​—25 percent of the population—​in 17 Latin-American countries are at risk of contracting the disease, according to Bolivian newspaper El Diario. An insect commonly called the kissing bug often transmits the disease. Notícias Bolivianas recommends whitewashing all walls, keeping all animals in outdoor pens instead of in the house, and cleaning vigorously to rid the home of disease-carrying bugs. As to blood transfusions, the same journal notes that 47.6 percent of them carry some risk of transmitting Chagas’ disease. It concludes: “Abstinence from blood is recommended in harmony with the Biblical commandment.”

Endangered Birds

Of the 273 species of birds that breed in Germany, 166 are endangered, claims the German Conservation Society. The reasons are said to be the encroachment on available land by roads, industry, intensive farming, and tourism. The newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that even though many lakes, river courses, and wetlands in Germany have been declared protected areas, these measures are not enough to help such species as the black tern, the little bittern, and the white-tailed sea eagle. Conservation of breeding grounds achieves little unless the birds’ winter refuge areas, such as those in Africa, are also protected. Thus, the paper notes: “In many cases, conservation can only bring results following international cooperation.”

Benefits of Baby Massage

“Intuition and personal experience tell us that person-to-person touch is healthy,” comments Stress & Health Report. This principle was applied to the care of a group of premature babies, and the newsletter, published by Enloe Hospital in California, cites a scientific study of 40 such infants. Twenty of them were given three gentle, 15-minute massages per day. Twenty other premature infants received normal care. The 20 who had been massaged fared better than the other 20 in several respects. Their daily weight gain averaged 47 percent higher, their scores on behavioral tests were higher, and they seemed more active and alert. Stress & Health Report concludes: “What is good for very small babes probably is good for us all.”

A Smothering Lake

Africa’s spectacular Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, is facing a grim death by asphyxiation, some scientists believe. It seems that algae are flourishing on the lake bottom and sapping the water of its oxygen. The cause? In a word, man, through deforestation, farming, and overpopulation. High levels of nutrients from soil runoff, sewage, and wood smoke are feeding the algae. Also, fishery officials decided some 30 years ago to bolster the fishing industry by introducing the Nile perch. These newcomers thrived, and the fishing trade boomed as planned. However, the Nile perch devoured the tiny fish that had long kept the balance by feeding on algae. More than half the species of such fish have vanished. Now, because of overfishing and oxygen depletion, the perch may be endangered as well. Some 30 million people depend on Lake Victoria’s fishing trade.

Brain Exercise

“Sound Brains.” That is the name of a Finnish campaign that emphasizes putting the brain to use. The premise is simple. The more we use our brain​—by pondering, designing, learning new things—​the better it works. “In the brain we have an endless potential to solve problems, but unfortunately man uses only a tenth of the brain capacity on the average,” stresses Juhani Juntunen, a brain researcher and hospital administrator acting as a project manager in the campaign. “Shape your brains up, learn new things, and you will have more capacity at your disposal,” he urges. He finds it annoying that so many idolize youth and underestimate the brain capacity of older people, for he believes that older brains tend to work even better than younger ones in some respects. “It is no coincidence that high posts are held by old-timers,” remarks Juntunen. “The brain may be a deteriorating instrument, but the old ones use it more skillfully than the young.”

Dwindling Diversity

According to the Brazilian magazine Superinteressante, several kinds of melons in Spain and varieties of onions in Central Asia are disappearing, and in Brazil there are species of sugarcane and corn that are already extinct. “The fault lies with industry and the consumers, who always prefer the same products,” Edouard Saouma, director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, is quoted as saying. The magazine adds: “Since farmers try to satisfy the market, the decrease of species is becoming more acute each day.” Because of such standardization, mankind may lose 40,000 kinds of vegetables in the coming decades, Saouma warns. Scientists fear that without biological diversity, harvests will become more vulnerable to plagues.

The Most Deadly Addictive Substance

Cigarettes not only are among the most addictive drugs of abuse but are “by far the most deadly,” observes the former director of the Institute for the Study of Smoking Behavior and Policy, Thomas C. Schelling. Quitting is hard, he says in the January 24, 1992, issue of Science magazine. The success rate for quitting for two years or more is 1 in 5 per attempt. Why is it so hard to quit? Schelling lists these reasons: Cigarettes are cheap, quickly available, portable, and storable; they produce no impairment of any faculty; and smoking requires no equipment. “The damage is slow in arriving,” he says. “The people who suffer cancer and lung and heart disease from smoking have typically smoked for three decades or more before symptoms appear.” Although nicotine is the main addictive substance in cigarette smoke, Schelling also suspects that the taste of tobacco smoke and the mood control produced by smoking may add to the addiction. Why is relapse so common? “Most smokers who have quit are rarely more than 5 minutes from the nearest cigarette, and it takes only the briefest loss of control to consummate the urge to smoke,” he says.

From Our Readers

Court Battles As an attorney involved in child custody battles and blood litigation, I cannot express how much encouragement I derived from the article “Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘Delivered Up to Local Courts.’” (September 22, 1992) This past week some doctors, ignoring specific instructions to the contrary, administered blood to a Witness. Such callous disregard for fundamental religious and personal rights is repellent. Your article encouraged me all the more so to keep up the fight!

P. P., United States

Women​—Deserving of Respect Thank you for the series “Women—​Deserving of Respect.” (July 8, 1992) It helped me to understand that taking women for granted is not a problem limited to one community, but one that occurs in many countries. I am also grateful for the suggestions on avoiding sexual harassment.

S. A., Nigeria

I appreciated the frankness of these articles. Your suggestions will make a lot of people, men and women, reconsider their attitudes. Thank you for showing how Jehovah views women.

J. P. L., Canada

I really feel that women were restored to their rightful position and were viewed as they ought to be. May Christian men also appreciate these articles so that, if need be, they may readjust their viewpoint regarding women. We will sincerely respect them all the more for doing so.

E. S., France

The articles give us permission to feel better about ourselves and show that men have a responsibility to act peaceably and respectfully toward us. I think these were very courageous articles, and they are much appreciated.

A. H., United States

It gave me a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes to know that I belong to an organization that takes such a firm stand on the treatment of women. They were the first articles I have seen that left no loopholes for abusive men to use as an excuse.

E. M., United States

I know this information regarding men’s view of women is not going to change the world, but it is very comforting to read words of truth, comfort, compassion, and understanding, realizing that Jehovah really does care for us.

H. Q., United States

The articles affected me deeply​—not that I have neglected my wife, but I am certain I could do more to help her. I esteem her very highly and feel that the articles will help all Christian husbands to recognize even more the value of our wives. They merit respect, dignity, love, and understanding from their husbands.

S. S., Brazil

Death Your issue on “When a Loved One Dies” (July 22, 1992) touched my heart. The very day we received it, my 16-year-old brother-in-law died of cancer. The articles were truly an encouragement in a time of distress. Our friends and family stepped in to assist us by providing food, comfort, and help in making funeral arrangements. Jehovah really provides consolation through timely articles like these.

C. C., United States

The Steenbok That Got Away

By Awake! correspondent in South Africa

BY INSTINCT the steenbok, a small African antelope, sets a wonderful example in hygiene. “A characteristic of steenbok,” explains Professor John Skinner in the book South African Animals in the Wild, “is that before they defecate or urinate, they first clear a spot with their front hooves and then, afterwards, carefully cover the contents by scraping soil over the spot.” Yes, this little creature goes beyond the law given to Israelite soldiers. (Deuteronomy 5:1; 23:13, 14) It even covers its urine.

The steenbok’s fastidious toilet habits match its graceful looks. “For me the steenbuck has always been one of the loveliest and most lovable of African buck,” wrote Laurens van der Post. In his book The Heart of the Hunter, van der Post describes how he tried to shoot a steenbok for a party of famished Bushmen in Africa’s Kalahari Desert. “His delicate ears,” wrote the explorer, “were pointed in my direction, his great purple eyes wide open, utterly without fear and shining only with the wonder of seeing so strange a sight at this remote back door of life. . . . I shot quickly before he should get alarmed or the sight of his gentle being weaken me. I would not have thought it possible I could miss at so short a distance. Yet I did. My shot merely made the little buck shake his delicate head vigorously to rid his ears of the tingle of the shock of the explosion from my heavy gun.”

After several more shots, the little fellow decided that human company was dangerous and fled. Though deprived of a needed meal, the hungry Bushmen companions of van der Post were delighted. Why? Bushmen have high regard for the steenbok’s ways, and this one lived up to their expectations. “Throughout the long hot day,” adds van der Post, “my mind returned to the vision of that gentle little buck standing untroubled amid blast after blast from my gun.”

Religious Tolerance​—500 Years Later!

FIVE HUNDRED years ago, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain. Just one day before Columbus’ departure, another fleet left Spain, heading in a different direction. Columbus and his men returned in triumph, having discovered new lands. But the other hapless voyagers were never to see their homeland again.

Who were these people, and why were they banished from their land? They were Spanish Jews. Two weeks before Columbus received royal backing for his voyage of discovery, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic sovereigns of Spain, issued an edict expelling all the Jews of Spain, “never to return again.” They accused the Spanish Jews of committing crimes against the holy Catholic faith.

This decree, along with the recently established Inquisition, marked the beginning of a crusade to make Spain exclusively Catholic. A decade after the expulsion of the Jews, any Moors who practiced the Islamic faith were also exiled. And the Inquisition quickly stamped out budding Protestant groups. Columbus, echoing the intolerant spirit of his royal patrons, spoke of excluding the Jews from any lands he might discover.

The spirit of religious intolerance in Spain prevailed, even down to this century. Under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, only the Catholic religion enjoyed “official protection.” Many who wished to practice another faith were arbitrarily arrested. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Spain were imprisoned on the charge of having offended the spiritual unity of Spain. In 1959 government minister Camilo Alonso Vega instructed the police force to proceed with the “extirpation” of the Witnesses’ activities. But happily, times have changed.

On March 31, 1992, exactly five hundred years after his predecessors signed the decree expelling the Jews, Juan Carlos, the present king of Spain, visited a Madrid synagogue in a symbolic meeting of the Spanish Crown with descendants of those exiled Spanish Jews.

“We have turned the page of intolerance in Spain,” declared the Spanish minister of justice, Tomás de la Quadra-Salcedo. Now Jews, Muslims, and Protestants worship without hindrance. And Jehovah’s Witnesses are no longer under ban. Madrid boasts a new mosque and a synagogue, as well as the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Spain. With over 90,000 active members, the Witnesses are considered to be the largest non-Catholic religion in Spain.

If you would like to have more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their beliefs, please write to Watchtower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, 11201, or to the nearest address listed on page 5.

[Picture on page 32]

Spain branch of the Watch Tower Society