Thousands stranded beyond hope (100,000 people on island near epicenter still unaccounted for)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | December 29, 2004 | Lindsay Murdoch in Banda Aceh and Sean Nicholls

[kidd]

I gave to Catholic Relief Services. You can direct your contribution to the tsunami relief effort. I believe that 98% or so of you contribution is used for relief aid.

www.catholicrelief.org

[adam_az]

"This is becoming close to unfathomable. My husband and I really want to help out financially, but it's hard to know which aid organization is the best to give to. We were thinking Oxfam America, but I'm willing to entertain suggestions from fellow FReepers as well...I just want my money going to the place that it most useful right now."


Hugh Hewitt likes these guys - World Vision

http://donate.wvus.org/OA_HTML/xxwvibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?section=10025&item=1168287&lid=tsunami_donate&lpos=main1text

[sweetiepiezer]

I was thinking I was a little ahead to finally donate some to freerepublic after donating $300.00 to the Red Cross this year, but it looks like I will have to make another donation to the Red Cross. Hope you understand Jim Robinson.

[Pete]

I know what you're saying, but the 100,000 or so killed in the tsunami are in addition to the usual mortality rate, excluding those few who happened to be washed away on the day they were scheduled to have their fatal heart attack.

I didn't mean to imply that they weren't. I guess my point is that when I first heard the numbers, my first thought was that it could have a material impact on annual global mortality. Once I looked at it, I was surprised to find that is was less than one days worth.

As I go back and read this post, I realized it is an example of some of the weird thoughts people have when faced with such a dramatic event. It's hard to get your mind around it.

[mountaineer]

Here's what World Vision is doing so far in the tsunami-affected countries.

[eureka!]

"My husband and I really want to help out financially, but it's hard to know which aid organization is the best to give to."

Hugh Hewitt spoke highly of World Vision (www.worldvision.org) as being a very honest, respected and efficient faith based aid group, indicating over 90% of your donation will go to good use. Stay way from the Red Cross, that's for sure...

[RaceBannon]

One charity that flies food and medicine is Americares

http://www.americares.org/

[EQAndyBuzz]

I am having a difficult time understanding how Somalia fits into this. I thought Somalia was in Africa.

[Mr. Jeeves]

The tsunami apparently made it all the way to Somalia while retaining significant force.

[Strategerist]

Somalia is part of Africa. But it borders on the Indian Ocean. They were hit by the tsunami. 6 hours after the earthquake.

There were many killed and a lot of damage from a tsunami in Japan, in 1960, caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile, South America.

[Godzilla]

The Jakarta Post reports that Simeulue escaped largely unscathed

Since the island of Simeulue has been heard from and all is well there, perhaps the thread title should be modified to make that clear.

[RaceBannon]

AmeriCares Foundation | 88 Hamilton Avenue | Stamford, CT 06902 | (800) 486-HELP | (800) 486-4357

[RaceBannon]

AmeriCares Foundation | 88 Hamilton Avenue | Stamford, CT 06902 | (800) 486-HELP | (800) 486-4357

http://www.americares.org/

[RaceBannon]

It IS in Africa, the tsunami travelled that far. Even Kenya got hit.

[RaceBannon]

Somalia does not border the Indian Ocean, it borders the Arabian Sea. :)

[cwiz24]

Ahh!! The geography police have arrived.

[Jhensy]

Simeulue island off the western coast of Sumatra escaped the worst of the damage from Sunday's powerful earthquake and tsunamis, a television station reported on Tuesday.

Thank God for a bit of good news. I also had my eyes on those islands off the western Sumatran coast, thinking THAT was where the very, very worst would be.

Let's hope for a miracle in the Andamans now, where 30,000 (!) were still missing.

[bboop]

World Vision is VERY good. I hear nothing but good about their work. 95% of money donated goes directly to the disaster. That's where we are donating.

[dfwgator]

Interesting in that I would have figured Bangladesh would have had many more casualties, it doesn't take much there to kill thousands.

[Strategerist]

Somalia does not border the Indian Ocean, it borders the Arabian Sea. :)

CIA World Factbook: Somalia Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia

Even if one made the strained case that the Arabian Sea wasn't part of the Indian Ocean, and that there was some invisible line separating it from the Indian Ocean, most of the coast of Somalia would be south of that invisible line dividing the Arabian Sea from the Indian Ocean.