World unites to help tsunami victims<\/p>\n
Associated Press,
\nLondon\/Crawford, Texas<\/p>\n
People around the world pitched on Wednesday to help the millions
\nleft homeless and destitute by the Indian Ocean tsunamis,
\ndonating money, clothes, blood and even air miles to ferry
\ndoctors to the disaster scene.<\/p>\n
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday the United
\nStates, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international
\ncoalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction
\nefforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and
\ntsunamis.<\/p>\n
\"We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their
\ncommunities,\" Bush said from his Texas ranch in his first
\ncomments on Sunday's disaster.<\/p>\n
Bush pledged a multifaceted response from the United States
\nthat goes far beyond the US$35 million initially pledged,
\nincluding U.S. military manpower and damage surveillance teams in
\nthe short term and long-term rebuilding assistance. He also
\ncalled on Americans to donate cash to relief organizations to
\naugment the response.<\/p>\n
Villagers in rural England, Hong Kong tycoons and Singapore
\ncab drivers contributed to the aid effort as the death toll rose
\nagain to over 70,000 on Wednesday. Thousands more were missing
\nwhile hunger and disease threatened to claim tens of thousands
\nmore lives, according to the UN health agency.<\/p>\n
In the village of Hatfield Broad Oak, 55 kilometers northeast
\nof London, residents were collecting clothes and money for the
\nearthquake victims.<\/p>\n
\"We are asking for children's clothes in particular,\" said
\nJoan Miller, who works at the village Post Office Stores, where
\nthe Sri Lankan-born owner is coordinating the collection. \"People
\njust feel they need to do something.\"<\/p>\n
The British government and aid agencies in Italy, Australia
\nand Japan stressed, however, that money was the most appropriate
\ngift because it afforded the most flexibility to respond to
\nchanging needs on the ground.<\/p>\n
\"As far as we are concerned, the only concrete and useful help
\nis funds,\" said Paola Ferrara of the Italian branch of Medecins
\nSans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people have offered to go to quake-stricken areas
\nto help or to give medicines or even take in injured or lonely
\nchildren, UNICEF said. \"But we do not need untrained people to go
\nto the area or to shelter children outside their home countries,
\nalthough this widespread response is a very positive sign that
\npeople care,\" UNICEF spokeswoman Donata Lodi said in Rome.<\/p>\n
Italians had contributed some 5.6 million euros (US$6.82
\nmillion) -- many sending their donations by text message -- in
\nresponse to an appeal launched by Italy's best-selling daily
\nCorriere della Sera and private TG5 television.<\/p>\n
Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer urged fellow
\nGermans to help tsunami victims by spending a bit less on New
\nYear's Eve fireworks this year and donating to charity instead.
\nGermans spend about 100 million euros ($135 million) on the
\nfireworks every year.<\/p>\n
Aid agencies in Denmark and Norway said the response to their
\nappeals had been overwhelming. Some 2,700 Scandinavians are
\nmissing in southern Asia after the tsunamis.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, engineer William Lee, 44, said he'd sent 50 text
\nmessages to friends and relatives appealing for donations. \"Money
\ncannot bring back lost lives, but we can help out those who
\nsurvived,\" Lee said after contributing to the Red Cross.<\/p>\n
Movie star Jackie Chan donated HK$500,000 ($64,282) to UNICEF,
\nthe agency said.<\/p>\n
The screen star's pledge was more than matched by the city's
\nleading businessman, Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and head of
\na global commercial empire. He pitched in HK$24 million ($3.1
\nmillion).<\/p>\n
The Asia Miles frequent flier program -- used by Hong Kong's
\nCathay Pacific Airways Ltd. -- sent an urgent e-mail to
\nparticipants, asking them to donate their frequent flier miles to
\ncharities such as Oxfam Hong Kong and UNICEF.<\/p>",
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