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Tsunami aid 'went to the richest'
BBC News ^
| 06/25/05
Posted on 06/27/2005 7:17:40 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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Last Updated: Saturday, 25 June, 2005, 02:48 GMT 03:48 UK
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Tsunami aid 'went to the richest'
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Thousands in Aceh have not been able to move out of camps
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Six months after the Asian tsunami, a leading international charity says the poorest victims have benefited the least from the massive relief effort.A survey by Oxfam found that aid had tended to go to businesses and landowners, exacerbating the divide between rich and poor. The poor were likely to spend much longer in refugee camps where it is harder to find work or rebuild lives. Oxfam has called for aid to go to the poorest and most marginalised. They must not be left out of reconstruction efforts, the charity said.
The tsunami in the Indian Ocean on 26 December killed at least 200,000 people in countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia. David Loyn, the BBC's developing world correspondent, says it is perhaps not surprising that the poorest suffered the most from the disaster itself. Living in frail shelter, on marginal land, they were literally swept away by the waves, and the survivors among the poorest communities had less access to medical help than richer people did. Intolerable gaps The survey points to the marginalisation of dalits - outcasts in India - and specific problems in Sri Lanka where aid has gone to businesses and landowners rather than the landless.
This poverty gap is worst in Aceh, the Indonesian province which was the most badly affected area, already impoverished by conflict before the tsunami hit. Half a million survivors were homeless. Yet the wealthier among them have already been able to move out of temporary camps. Another survey by a group of British academics monitoring the delivery of aid has found that, six months on, there is little evidence of permanent accommodation being built for most people. It says starkly that these failures would not be tolerated after a disaster in the developed world. All aid agencies, as well as regional governments must share some blame for this failure, our correspondent adds. The unprecedented international response to the tragedy means that the immediate humanitarian demands could be fully funded. Failure to deliver assistance effectively to the poorest, or to plan properly for the future, reveals fundamental weaknesses in the system.
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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: corruption; humanitarianrelief; oxfam; povertygap; relief; sumatraquake; tsunami
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To: riri
Just like in the US after a hurricane, you get compensation for what you had before. If you had nothing you get nothing.
21
posted on
06/27/2005 8:16:39 AM PDT
by
txroadhawg
(Don't believe any statistics unless you made them up yourself)
To: TigerLikesRooster
"It says starkly that these failures would not be tolerated after a disaster in the developed world." Yes, but Indonesia is the Islamic world and how they have dealt with the disaster is plain to see.
The Hindus are just as bad discriminating against the dalits, it means "broken people", even in the midst of this disaster. The Hindus treat them as nothing more than slaves. It is central to their religion.
"The survey points to the marginalisation of dalits - outcasts in India"
22
posted on
06/27/2005 8:20:48 AM PDT
by
protest1
To: Mr. Mojo
"Foreign aid is the process of taking money from poor people in rich countries giving it to rich people in poor countries."
Truer words were never said.
Remember the coffee cans on retail counters that you would find in small towns in America? They were filled up by people making $30K a year who felt sorry for the tsumani victims. Considering where their money really went, we should feel sorry for them.
To: txroadhawg
"...Aid money goes to business and land owners..."
Maybe.
Or maybe it goes to the rulers and politicians and, thence, directly to private bank accounts in Switzerland, having no benficial effect whatsoever on the afflicted country.
To: txroadhawg
Just like in the US after a hurricane, you get compensation for what you had before. If you had nothing you get nothing.
***
Well, the last round of hurricanes last year -- some people who had something got little or nothing...while we sent bazillions in aid (public and private) presumably to the tsunami victims.
To: henderson field
Can't argue with that one, I was just going on the premise of the article, Your probably right
26
posted on
06/27/2005 8:37:47 AM PDT
by
txroadhawg
(Don't believe any statistics unless you made them up yourself)
To: Zeppelin
Exactly! Thank you for spelling all that out. I was so offended by all that b*tchin at the time. We were the first ones there, and providing all that fresh water from our ships, and providing food and medical care. If our Navy hadn't been there to help, so many more people would have died, and we just got sh*t on!!
As you can see, I'm still so po'd about this!!!
27
posted on
06/27/2005 9:16:08 AM PDT
by
meema
To: meema
I am too.
Another thing I didn't mention before is the fact that money does no good for the victims. Give a sick and starving person in a 3rd world country the choice between a slice of bread and $1000, and theyll take the bread every time.
The UN thinks it can just throw (our) money at every disaster. Hell, America is rich enough to pay for all the damage done by nature's wrath. Money will fix everything. Nevermind the thousands of volunteers and countless resources from the good ole U S of A. Money. Money.
28
posted on
06/27/2005 10:06:57 AM PDT
by
Zeppelin
(Keep on FReepin' on.....)
To: TigerLikesRooster
si.
look to mexico, run by white or light-skinned euros, who yell "racism" at the united states.
they dump the poor, dark-skinned, that they have only contempt for, on the united states.
29
posted on
06/27/2005 10:09:43 AM PDT
by
ken21
(it takes a village to steal your child + to steal your property! /s)
To: TigerLikesRooster
I gave through established Christian aid agencies, and all we can do is give with the hope that the money will be distributed fairly.
30
posted on
06/27/2005 10:15:09 AM PDT
by
Ciexyz
(Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
To: TigerLikesRooster
And this is why I refused to give a nickle for "Tsunami Aid".
31
posted on
06/27/2005 10:27:12 AM PDT
by
PsyOp
(After things go from bad to worse, the cycle will repeat.)
To: PsyOp
And this is why I refused to give a nickle for "Tsunami Aid".
***
We have enough worthy causes in the U.S. to give our charitable dollars to.
To: Rodney King
I did not donate either since a lot of those people would just as easily have your head in one hand and a machete in another because you don't carry a copy of the same book they do...
To: Zeppelin
"Where will the UN be on this one?"
BWA HA HA!! Like you have to ask--they're the first ones taking their cut off the top!
34
posted on
06/27/2005 3:37:23 PM PDT
by
LibertarianInExile
("Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist." -- John Adams. "F that." -- SCOTUS, in Kelo.)
To: Zeppelin
That's why we should oversee (at the very least) every penny we as Americans donate.Isn't that why Bill Clinton was put in charge of tracking the money? The last I heard was that 10 billion was given for tsunami relief. Lots of traveling can be done on 10 billion.
35
posted on
06/27/2005 4:29:23 PM PDT
by
taxesareforever
(Government is running amuck)
To: Zeppelin
Where will the UN be on this one?It's more like, "Will the UN be in on this one. too?"
36
posted on
06/27/2005 5:31:55 PM PDT
by
HIDEK6
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