An editorial from The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Some of the victims of widespread flooding in West Virginia late last month will never recover fully from the disaster. For those who lost loved ones, life can never be the same.
Many lost everything they owned, including irreplaceable keepsakes. Many others lost all the necessities of life except for the clothes they were wearing when they escaped or were rescued from the raging water.
News coverage of the disaster already is beginning to slow. For those of us outside the disaster area, the tragedy will be forced by other events to the backs of our minds.
Don’t let that happen. Not yet. These people are West Virginians. To us, that means a lot. It means they are our neighbors, no matter how far away they live. To many of us it means that no matter what their names, they are family.
We in the Mountain State don’t let neighbors in need down. We don’t forget about our families.
Please, keep that in mind during the coming months and even years. Thousands of people in mountain counties will need our assistance – and by the way, money is most helpful – for a long time.
So, if your means permit it, try this: Go ahead and give what you feel appropriate now to help flood victims. Then, put some money aside and find a way to remind yourself in, say, a couple of months, to send it to neighbors in need.
The effects of last month’s flooding will linger for a long, long time. So should our determination to help the victims.
