After the tsunami

After the tsunami

The unprecedented generosity in response to Asia's tsunami has
reflected the sense that this is a different sort of tragedy.

The success of the relief effort, by contrast, is bound to
depend on the competence of governments. National pride may prove
an obstacle: India's government refused foreign help, and then
was slow to deliver assistance to the remote Andaman Islands;
Indonesia's government has forbidden U.S. Marines from staying
overnight on its soil, which has restricted the U.S. role in
clearing rubble and in reconstruction; Burma's dictators as usual
seem more interested in preserving their positions than allowing
help to reach their citizens.

Indonesia has also announced that foreign aid workers must
register with its officials before leaving the two main towns in
Aceh, a requirement that may become onerous if implemented
restrictively.

Disasters can generate a tragic clash between humanity's two
sides: Fortunate westerners are spurred to admirable generosity,
but desperate survivors in the stricken regions may steal the
gifts or bend them to their own ends. The result frequently is
disillusionment with the whole idea of aid.

If Indonesia and the other tsunami-struck countries can manage
disaster relief well, they will be helping the wider cause of
foreign assistance as well as their own people.

-- The Washington Post, Washington DC