Duty Free
So while most Americans feel "duty free" little to no responsibility for prisoner torture and Guatanomo, or according to Naomi Klein of the Nation, a misguided sense of responsibilty for the daily catastrophe of our making in Iraq, will the Asian tsunami disasters change our national consciousness of the world and amplify our awareness of the situation of people in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar?
It seems unlikely. I usually resist the MORALIZATION and DEPOLITICIZATION of responsibiity (faith-based charities) as well as the do-goodnik Christian impluse of most charities, but we should support the ngo's and UN here and give and continue to give to organizations such as Doctors Without Borders .
One of the most terrible consequences of US isolationism is that OTHER countries appear on our radar only when -- 1) there is a hideous disaster which inspires brief and fitful attentiveness (Somalia in the 90s, Kosovo in the 90s, Sudan now, sort of , Congo, and now South Asia, 2) when a country (Cuba, the former USSR, France, the new Germany) is getting uppity and stepping out of line, or 3) when a country is becoming too prosperous and (Japan of the 80s, the new China) threatens us with trade deficits and real estate investments in the center of our cities.
It seems unlikely. I usually resist the MORALIZATION and DEPOLITICIZATION of responsibiity (faith-based charities) as well as the do-goodnik Christian impluse of most charities, but we should support the ngo's and UN here and give and continue to give to organizations such as Doctors Without Borders .
One of the most terrible consequences of US isolationism is that OTHER countries appear on our radar only when -- 1) there is a hideous disaster which inspires brief and fitful attentiveness (Somalia in the 90s, Kosovo in the 90s, Sudan now, sort of , Congo, and now South Asia, 2) when a country (Cuba, the former USSR, France, the new Germany) is getting uppity and stepping out of line, or 3) when a country is becoming too prosperous and (Japan of the 80s, the new China) threatens us with trade deficits and real estate investments in the center of our cities.
5 Comments:
it's not true, as you allege, that the US and other western nations do not contribute enough to the relief effort. here's the latest tally of aid pledges:
World Bank $250m
UK $96m
EU $44m
US: $35m
Canada: $33m
Japan: $30m
Australia: $27m
France: $20.4m
Denmark: $15.6m
Saudi Arabia: $10m
Norway: $6.6m
Taiwan: $5.1m
Finland: $3.4m
Kuwait: $2.1m
Netherlands: $2.6m
UAE: $2m
Ireland $1.3m
Singapore: $1.2m
Source: Reuters, United Nations
The Disasters Emergency Committee - www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including Action Aid, British Red Cross and Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands. To call from the UK, dial 0870 60 60 900.
From a BBC listing of how to help:
The United Nations World Food Programme - www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake.
Medecins Sans Frontieres - www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations.
The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - www.unicef.org.uk - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR - www.unhcr.ch - which has been helping victims of conflicts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, is delivering relief supplies to tsunami survivors in both countries.
Save the Children - www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils.
Anti-poverty organisation Care International - www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka.
Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed.
The Red Cross, with its sister charity the Red Crescent, is supplying blankets, cooking utensils and other crucial goods. It has had to set up a new site - www.ifrc.org - because of the unprecedented demand from people wanting to make donations.
The Hindu Forum Disaster Relief Task Force - www.hinduforum.org - comprises 50 organisations and is raising money, clothes and medicines. Donations can be made online or by calling the ISKCON Disaster Appeal on 01923 856848 or Sewa International on 0116 261 0303.
Christian Aid - www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed.
Christian charity Tearfund - www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet.
Islamic Relief - www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected.
The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas.
Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - www.muslimhands.org- is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Medair - www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long-term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea.
World Vision - www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands.
Concern - www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst-affected state in India.
The International Rescue Committee - www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis".
The Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Muslim Aid - www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more.
Action Aid - www.actionaid.org - is the biggest charity working in south India. It is focusing its relief work on the coast of Tamil Nadu, where 7,000 people died. It is working on providing medical assistance and sanitation for the survivors.
Oxfam - www.oxfam.org - is active in Indonesia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka and India. Their relief operations include distributing food packs and hygiene kits and setting up water and sanitation facilities.
Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com
Hindu NGO Baps Care International - www.bapscare.org - is working in villages around Chennai in Southern India distributing food, drinking water, tarpaulins, utensils, stoves, clothes and blankets.
You can donate to all the campaigns via their websites.
OK- but proportionately speaking we're not spending much. How much money has been funneled through Iraq and into the pockets of the administration's share-holding buddies? Plus, were this generosity genuine these coastal cities may have had an infrastructure to speak of and could have potentially oraganized life saving evacuations as a result. I appreciate the effort being made but there is still an incredible amount of room for criticism. Has Bush visited Indonesia yet? Has he actually gone and met with anyone? Talk about missing a brilliant PR opportunity.
To Anonymous who Said that "it's not true that Western Nations do not contribute enough" -- I never fricking said that!
What I said was that WE ONLY PAY ATTENTION TO OTHER (ESPECIALLY SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE) COUNTRIES WHEN THERE IS SOME KIND OF HUMANITARIAN DISASTER AND WE CAN FEEL SUPERIOR AND FRICKING HELPFUL!
It really makes me mad that Americans can't even understand what I'm accusing them of.
My best friends didn't know what the problem was between Taiwan and China. I'm talking about a level of indifference to the everyday functioning and politics of the rest of the world.
We either think we've got to kick some one's ass or play Jesus to them.
Now South Asia really needs ALL our help, so I don't care about the Jesus complex for now -- thanks Anonymous #2 for providing a very good list of aid agencies, but I'm just SAYING that I don't think charity is going to cure us of our attention deficit disorder with regard to the rest of the world.
And I am going to find out statistics of PROPORTIONAL giving and I think you'll find that the US ranks very low among Western nations.
In addition, Gerhard Schroeder suggested that the G8 take this opportunity to forgive South Asian debt and Bush threw him the cold shoulder. So we'll help them out of this mess in order to collect interest from South Asians?
Ridiculous -- Happy New Year....
OK, I'm going to post the OECD stats here to confirm what Ryan's assertion and argue my point that we are the most myopic and stingy superpower ever!
OECD stats on foreign aid in proportion to GDP.
Oh, I know you'll tell me that the OECD is a Communist organization! Yeah, yeah, I know the shtick already, spare me.
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