Bird's nest soup and the Bird Flu scare - Pt 2

I wrote about this back in September 2005.

It was the second posting I made on my maiden blog journey and written in response to the Bird Flu High Alert being declared in Indonesia after the first reported fatality in July 2005.

Until today, nothing is being done by our government to address the concerns of citizens who have been forced to live with the presence of these birds being reared close to the living and working environment.

Yesterday, blogger Carboncopy posted this letter he received via e-mail. I hope you will join us in raising awareness of this issue to the higher authorities.

Dear fellow bloggers,

I am asking for a favour from all of you ‘big’ bloggers, to get the word out about the hazards of the swiftlets that are flying around.

The bird droppings, the increase in the numbers of flies, and the potential H5N1 influenza, commonly known as ‘bird flu’. I know that there are a lot of shop-lots which are converted in ’swiftlet hotels’, and lots more are being built, in areas where people walk, eat, and even sleep.

How come there is no enforcement of the local by-laws prohibiting the building of such commercial ventures in residential areas??? And even if they are built in commercial areas, they are still too close to where people are living.

If this state of affairs continues ad infinitum, bird flu is bound to rip through our towns with a speed which will leave the authorities helpless.

Please let anyone know who has the ear of someone influential, because that is the only way things work here and we could get some light thrown on this very serious issue.

I am doing this to protect my family. I am not instigating trouble but my husband and I will fight to protect ourselves and our children. It is simply too dangerous to let this issue go unnoticed. –

Just Me,
Chiwi

Thank you.