The Beirut blast

brought a slew of work yesterday.

Those of you who know me well know I am trying to "retire". I have managed to cut back on the amount of work I do. I am managing to pass more work on to other people. It still isn't enough to call me "retired". I may never reach that point but I hope the future workload will be more manageable.

Sometimes though a situation is so dire that people get together and work on it.  This is what happened yesterday.

I was alerted to the "situation" in Beirut almost as soon as it had happened. Someone who would be on the front line asked about the work we had done for earthquakes. There would be similar needs here. I promised to make contact with the two people who had helped then. One of them was already looking out the necessary information. The other told me he would get his partner to do it "as soon as she has the kids at school". He was going into his office to see if he could sort things out and drive to a place just outside Beirut. He has family there and will stay with them while he helps to restore an essential service.

Then he asked, "Do you suppose Y.... and I.... would be free for a few days? I can probably get permission for them to travel."

I reminded him that they are Israelis. Their language abilities are minimal - but they are experts in that particular field.

We worked on it. Emails went backwards and forwards. Permission to travel was granted. They were on their way within hours. I updated their communication tools so that they had access to English, French and Lebanese-Arabic all in one place. (This is not as fancy or  difficult as  it sounds. It was a matter of combining things which already existed.)

Other work came in, mostly requests for things other people and I have worked on over the years. They might need a bit of "tweaking" for the present situation. We had to add some Covid-19 material in an attempt to keep people safe but we got through the day.

Middle Cat and I had a meeting with a financial advisor in the early afternoon. After it was over I went back to work. Middle Cat went off to see the Senior Cat and tell him I was working. It was very late last night before I felt I could go to bed and, as always, I didn't sleep well. It isn't the sort of thing where you can "just switch off".

What we all managed to do together must have been okay because there was very little in the in-box this morning, just over thirty messages.

But I thought of needing to add the Covid19 material and the enormous risks that aid workers take at all times. I thought of Y... and I... going in to help knowing that some people will be hostile to their presence even though they need the help being freely given. I thought of R... leaving his wife and children and risking his life among the rubble. I thought of much more...

I have an easy role compared with all of them. I've never met any of them and am never likely to meet them. I just know them through computer messages and I just hope they come out safely.