Ready to help,

Ready to help,
but no one asked.

I am interested to know why your country did not ask for
help with rescuing village people trapped in the aftermath of the
recent earthquake on the island of Nias.

I am a member of New Zealand's Specialized Urban Search And
Rescue task force, and we were saddened to watch international
media reports of people pleading for help days after the
earthquake.

Our country, as loyal neighbors of Indonesia, would have been
proud to help our friends. We have millions of dollars worth of
specialized searching gear available to help but we were never
asked. Why is this so?

KEITH NORTON
Christchurch
New Zealand