Just moments ago, CNN reported that the U.S. has announced that it will increase its aid package to south Asia to $350 million.
In response to the anonymous comment on my previous post below, all I can say is I just wanted to point out that in the wake of this mind-boggling disaster, our initial offers of help came to less than we were planning to spend on a party next month. No wonder people call us stingy.
I shouldn't even really respond to the charge that us liberals don't have any ideas for solutions to the world's problems, that all we do is whine. If the poster took, oh, 5 seconds to search the internet to read such lefty journals as The Nation, The Washington Monthly, Alternet or the Village Voice you'd find more articles filled with suggestions and proposals than you could shake a freedom fry at.
But, in the interest of fairness, I concede that I didn't offer any suggestions in that last post. So here's one: cancel or dramatically scale back the inaugural festivities (there are nine different balls to go to this year) and donate the money to the disaster, thereby more than doubling the aid package. (Now that the proposed aid amount has increased tenfold, this is a moot point, of course.)
But, thanks for reading and thanks for your comment, whoever you are.
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4 comments:
I made a comment about this whole tsunami aid on my blog. Apart from the shameless self-promotion I just don't have the energy to repeat myself.
Thanks for your comment Andy on my blog about the tsunami. I did make a reply but will share it here as well.
Although our intial offering might have seemed meager at least it was something that was pushed through quickly to get aid out to the victims of the disaster. Was there any doubt that we were going to give more? It was like, "Here is the change I have in my pocket; wait a sec and I'll get my checkbook out." There are also things that we are doing that are hard to put a pricetag on. The carrier that is supporting the humantarian aid effort with airlifts of food and clothing represents such a monetary value. It brought a tear to my eye when a Helicopter pilot was interviewed after a drop and this young liuetenant said it was the most productive day of his life.
Conversely, I find it deplorable that the Arab nations, who's fellow worshippers comprise the largest population of Muslims in that part of the world, have given a little more than jack-shit to this disaster.
All the television stations have given ample time to the disaster showing the emotional and economic damage of the tsunami. The whole world is atuned to the efforts over there. I find it ironic that there was little coverage to the 2 million people who starved to death in North Korea./sigh
Well, if I may be a tad cynical for just a moment, this was a prime PR opportunity that Bush blew. Here is a predominantly Muslim area of the world, and we really should have -- tastefully -- made more of a show of our vows to help.
Actually, I think there was significant doubt, for a time, that Bush intended to give more. If we'd had such confidence, I don't think there would have been as big an international uproar.
What Bush should have said -- personally and immediately, instead of waiting a couple days while on vacation -- is something along the lines of, "We are prepared to give $15 million in immediate aid, and as the scope of the disaster becomes clearer we will adjust the package appropriately." He really needed to have been pro-active on this. By waiting long enough to give people time to complain that he wasn't doing anything, he couldn't escape the appearance that he'd been scolded and shamed into doing more. Granted, I'm sure we'll do very good work out there, but it's unfortunate, given America's current image in the world, that we didn't assume more of a leadership role right at the beginning.
You are definitely correct about aid from the Arab countries, too, but don't think there aren't Arabs who don't agree with you. An editorial in Kuwait's leading paper -- a country where basically 100% of the workforce is south Asian -- criticized the government, which has a multi-billion dollar budget surplus -- for not doing nearly enough. Similar accusations have been leveled in Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf states.
I think the reason that you see such an outpouring of aid, public and private, for the tsunami victims is that this was a dramatic catastrophe that captured the heart and the mind, much more than starving children in North Korea might. Additionally, this seems like a temporary situation that can actually be fixed...you know, we can rebuild houses and re-pave roads and maybe build some sea-walls or something. I think people figured they could really make a difference in this situation; other issues, like starvation and disease, seem a little more futile, sometimes.
A great article about the "Stinginess" of hte U .S. in light of the grwoing tsunami death toll and aid to those who need it.
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/fields010605.asp
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