A flood of compassion, pledges

A flood of compassion, pledges

Amando Doronila, Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network, Manila

The emergency summit of 21 nations in Jakarta last Thursday to
coordinate aid to more than 1.5 million homeless people in 12
countries devastated by the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami unlocked
more than US$4 billion in aid pledges from more than 50
countries, both rich and poor.

Although the torrent of pledges moved UN officials to describe
it as a display of "competitive compassion," they warned aid
donors not to engage in one-upmanship, and to make good the
pledge, reminding them that the UN had a bad history of
unfulfilled pledges.

The more reassuring and heart-warming aspect of the flood of
compassion around the globe was the outpouring of cash donations
from common people and the private corporations. Even before
governments could make up their minds about their donations, it
was the spontaneous public donations that generated the cash
flows that financed food and medical supplies that were the first
to reach the victims at the hour of their greatest need.

Indeed, it was the private outpouring of aid that may be
credited for the recovery of the bodies of more than 150,000
dead, and for blunting the second wave of deaths from diseases
and hunger.

Although U.S. President George W. Bush has been criticized by
UN officials for his miserly initial offer of $15 million in the
first few days of the disaster, forcing him to increase the
amount to $350 million in the following days, American private
donations have surpassed their government in generosity and lead
private donations all over the world, with the Australians
competing with them in generosity.

U.S. charities have reported raising more than $337 million
for emergency relief, that could dwarf the $350 million committed
by the Bush government. Bush himself has donated $10 million
after urging the American people to give personally cash
donations and drafting his father, former President George W.
Bush, and former President Bill Clinton to lead the appeal for
private donations from Americans.

The American Red Cross alone has raised nearly $150 million.
American private donations were much smaller than the $2 billion
raised for the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist
attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Tsunami donations
to the Red Cross have averaged between $81 and $104 million.

Heart-warming was a donation of fourth-grader Will Molnar of
Elverta, California, who gave up his ninth birthday celebration
and asked his mother to donate the money she would have spent on
his party as presents to children tsunami victims.

A prisoner in the U.S. donated his wages earned from prison
labor to tsunami charities. A group of children in a Seattle
suburb stood out in the rain offering "hot chocolate for Tidal
Wave Relief" and raised $255.

Private Australian donations have been pouring in. A rock
concert on the weekend at the Sydney Opera House raised more than
$20 million for World Vision Australia as more than 160,000
Australians called in with pledges. The concert proceeds pushed
Australian private donations over the $150 million mark.

The Australian public has been donating up to $12 million a
day since the tsunami hit 12 countries in South Asia, Southeast
Asia and Africa two weeks ago, ranking them among the world's
best per capita donors. The Red Cross has raised almost $62
million; World Vision, $50.8 million; Care Australia, $18
million; and Oxfam at least $14 million-bigger than the $39
million government pledge of oil-rich Saudi Arabia, together with
its $41 million private donation.

The bulk of the Australian cash donations comes from small
donors: Ordinary people, chipping in a few hundred dollars. Money
is raised from cricket matches, church collections and pubs, and
ethnic communities.

More than 50 Thai restaurants from Albert Park, Melbourne,
donated up to 50 percent of their earnings last Sunday to the
Thai disaster fund.

A lottery winner donated the bulk of her $500,000 winnings to
tsunami charities. An 80-year-old pensioner in Brisbane gave to
the Red Cross his $10,000 savings, straight out of his mattress
where he had kept it for many years.

Australian corporate donations are lagging far behind private
individual donations. Business donations have been less than $20
million, compared to the more than $100 million private
individual donations. Corporations have been criticized for their
miserly response, despite the fact that they are making record
profits. Australian corporate response compares poorly with that
of U.S. corporations whose donations were outstripping the U.S.
official aid pledge package.