Real Numbers

There's something weirdly reassuring about the fact that we know the figures for the number of dead in the Bahamas following the devastation resulting from the terrible hurricane of recent days will inevitably climb. It will confirm the reality of the horror that's taken place, even if we're learning what at some level we already know. (Everyone seeing the film of that devastation will know what I mean.) In contrast, the lies about levels of casualties following Chernobyl, or those incurred in the invasion of Iraq in the early days of reporting, simply added another level of awfulness to the horror involved.

Having said that, the word unimaginable got thrown about on the news just now, so we'd better prepare ourselves for something deeply shocking. What we can't possibly imagine is the suffering of the victims, not at the reality of its intensity. We never can, no matter what the numbers.