The Diplomad Blog: Some Good Guys in Tsunami Relief

By now we think most of our readers have figured out the very low opinion The Diplomad has of the UN and its wasteful, cynical "relief" agencies, in particular the notably odious UNICEF. The Diplomad has tried to give our readers a taste of just how truly obscene these agencies are and how they feed off the misery of the world's poor and the money of world's rich. The Diplomad also has been and remains very critical of the response of local people to the tragedy that has befallen their compatriots.

That said, The Diplomad does not want to get a reputation as just a bearer of very bad news. There are some people out there doing a lot for the victims of the December 26 quake and tsunami. We've already repeatedly mentioned the Australian and American militaries, and we can add the armed forces of Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand to that list.

We've had many readers ask us about good NGOs. We do not want to get into the endorsement business but we want to acknowledge some VERY good organizations doing exceptional work. If you want to give money to them that's your business.

All of these have very dedicated people working under very tough conditions for a fraction of the salaries earned by the UN blowhards. All of these organizations moved extremely quickly (especially IOM) in the wake of the tragedy and have saved countless lives.

By the way, as we wrap up day sixteen, the UN still has not begun saving people in the corner of the tsunami-blasted Far Abroad. The UN has distributed ZERO on the ground -- an absolutely disgraceful performance.

Follow-on story from The Diplomad:

The Diplomad has gone soft: two postings in a row with good news from the tsunami front (The Diplomad is a copy cat of the Great Chrenkoff? You can copy worse.)

This comes from State Department press guidance re the USA's tsunami relief effort, with data accurate as of January 9. It details American contributions over and above the $350 million officially pledged, thus far, by the US Government:

-- Americans have responded generously. The Chronicle of Philanthropy estimates $324 million have been donated by American citizens and corporations.

-- More than 14,400 U.S. military personnel and $20 billion in military assets are involved in Operation Unified Assistance at a cost of $5 to $6 million a day.

-- Almost 6 million pounds of relief supplies and equipment, including water, food and medical supplies (non-medicine), have been delivered to the region.

-- 25 ships, 37 cargo aircraft, 8 patrol aircraft and 51 helicopters are involved in the relief effort. U.S. aircraft have flown more than 835 sorties.

-- Approximately 150 USAID personnel are on the ground. USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Teams and the U.S. military continue to conduct needs assessments and provide supplies and essential logistic support.

Those are impressive numbers, showing a solid US commitment to saving huge numbers of lives. But, as The Diplomad has written before, just as important as the commitment to saving lives in bulk, is the demonstrated commitment to alleviate the suffering of individuals. Below we present some emails which show how US personnel have touched one life in Banda Aceh.

1) This email is from an FSO who just returned from several days in Banda Aceh:

The sailors on the Lincoln also put together their own money to buy toys and stuffed animals from the ship's store, which they brought to the USAID/IOM tent. They were given to children who were brought in.

An IOM worker pointed out one 15-year-old girl hugging one of the stuffed bears. The worker explained that she had no one to hug, as she had lost all of her family, but at least she could hug the bear.

We went over to talk to her for a while. Attached to the bear was a note:

"With love, from YN2 Arellano, USS Abraham Lincoln"

I hope that Yeoman Arellano knows that through this small act, he has brought some measure of comfort into a young girl's life.

2) This email comes from an officer on board the Lincoln addressed to a USAID worker in Banda Aceh:

I feel the need to convey our thanks for the support you gave to our efforts in Banda Aceh to move supplies to those in need. As you witnessed, we have a group of people who fully commit to a mission - this one being extremely urgent in nature. I am proud of the way our people have worked under difficult conditions and only hope we are making a difference. I am not prone to emotional outbreaks, but the extent of the devastation has opened my eyes and often I found myself choking back tears. These people need help,and though the task seems overwhelming, I reminded my people to focus on the good we are doing- one box of food, one bag of rice, one box of water at a time.

Before you left for Jakarta we spoke about boxes of stuffed animals and toys that my wife and friends are collecting for the children who have suffered a great loss. They have been touched by this tragedy and I suppose my emails home describing the loss has fueled a grassroots response. If you can help in any way point us in a direction, point of contact or place we can have these shipped to it would be most appreciated.

If we stay long enough I will certainly be looking forward to going ashore and continuing our mission. Despite losing a helicopter today we are still resolved to providing whatever assistance we can. Again, my personal thanks to you, xx, xx and all of the others.

Glad to report that all the crewmen on the damaged SH-60 are OK. The rest of the choppers keep on going.

The UN keeps on issuing press releases.

I am out of here soon.

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