Up to 500 people died last Friday due to a landslide in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. After two days looking for survivors, the local Governor declared “We cannot continue the search and rescue operation anymore, as the houses are under meters of mud. We will offer prayers for the victims and make the area a mass grave”.

A few thousands of kilometers from there, hundreds of people have been working since March 8th, to find, in the middle of the ocean, missing flight MH370 and its 227 passengers and 12 crew members. It represents, according to the estimations, more than USD100 million spent for the operation (and therefore more than ICRC’s budget  in Afghanistan for 2013).

How much are we ready to invest to find the mortal remains of relatives? Is there a limit to everything, a maximum cost to truth? I wonder…

02 May 2013: Lucia, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan