Tsunami assistance: It's time to deliver

Thang D. Nguyen, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

As a United States military aircraft carrying former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior touched down in Banda Aceh, the area worst hit by the Asian tsunami, the only buildings they saw still standing were a few mosques and churches. The rest were, to put it simply, gone with the tsunami, which hit on Boxing Day last year.

Clinton said: "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. Ever." Bush, whom his son, current U.S. President George W. Bush, appointed, along with Clinton, to lead a nation-wide fund- raising campaign in the U.S. for Asia's tsunami victims, added: "I don't think there's ever been a tragedy that affected the heartbeat of the American people as much as this tsunami has done."

It was heartening to see these leaders visit tsunami-hit countries together. Throughout the 1990s, they were political rivals. Today, they are working side-by-side for a good cause. Furthermore, their visits meant a great deal to those affected by the tsunami, for it was a sign that the world cares, and with help from the international community, victims believe they can rebuild their lives.

Shortly after the tsunami, many countries around the world sent troops, aid workers, and supplies to Indonesia and several other affected nations.

More importantly, some of the world's most powerful nations pledged generous aid. Altogether, about US$7 billion (S$11.4 billion) was promised. After their visits, however, the two ex- presidents warned that another $4 billion would be needed.

But while additional aid is welcome, the real challenge for countries affected by the tsunami is to actually receive the funds the international community had originally promised. In other words, a pledge is still a pledge until, and unless, it is "delivered".

While promises are easy to make, they are easy to break, too. This has happened before. After the earthquake that killed 25,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam in Iran -- which, coincidentally, occurred on Boxing Day of 2003 -- the international community pledged $1 billion to Iran. Yet, it is estimated that the amount of aid that has actually been delivered to Bam stands somewhere between $17 million and $115 million.

While the estimated range is wide, even at the most generous estimate, it is still far below the promised amount.

For a number of reasons, victims of natural disasters often do not get the aid that the world promises. First, a lack of coordination and monitoring means that a lot of international aid falls through the cracks. What's more, corruption in local governments can result in some aid being siphoned off. In addition, as Hugh Goyder, an independent development consultant, put it: "There is the risk of multiple funding of the same project."

Moreover, it is easy for countries or individuals from around the world to make pledges and fail to keep their word after the international media has moved on to other, newer global events.

This is often called the "CNN effect": Whatever event the media chooses to highlight, it must be important. By the same token, however serious an event, it factors little in the public consciousness if there are no cameras covering it. The world forgets.

That, however, is the world on TV. In reality, nearly three months after the disaster, the battle fought by its victims and aid workers is far from over. In fact, it has only begun.

It is easy for the international community to think the tsunami is a thing of the past and fail to deliver on the promised aid. But those who make such pledges should remember, to paraphrase American poet Robert Frost, that they have promises to keep, and victims of the Asian tsunami have miles to go before they sleep.

The writer is director of programs at the Jakarta-based United in Diversity forum, which is working on an initiative to help rebuild Aceh.