World unites to help tsunami victims

World unites to help tsunami victims

Associated Press,
London/Crawford, Texas

People around the world pitched on Wednesday to help the millions
left homeless and destitute by the Indian Ocean tsunamis,
donating money, clothes, blood and even air miles to ferry
doctors to the disaster scene.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday the United
States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international
coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction
efforts for the Asian region ravaged by a deadly earthquake and
tsunamis.

"We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their
communities," Bush said from his Texas ranch in his first
comments on Sunday's disaster.

Bush pledged a multifaceted response from the United States
that goes far beyond the US$35 million initially pledged,
including U.S. military manpower and damage surveillance teams in
the short term and long-term rebuilding assistance. He also
called on Americans to donate cash to relief organizations to
augment the response.

Villagers in rural England, Hong Kong tycoons and Singapore
cab drivers contributed to the aid effort as the death toll rose
again to over 70,000 on Wednesday. Thousands more were missing
while hunger and disease threatened to claim tens of thousands
more lives, according to the UN health agency.

In the village of Hatfield Broad Oak, 55 kilometers northeast
of London, residents were collecting clothes and money for the
earthquake victims.

"We are asking for children's clothes in particular," said
Joan Miller, who works at the village Post Office Stores, where
the Sri Lankan-born owner is coordinating the collection. "People
just feel they need to do something."

The British government and aid agencies in Italy, Australia
and Japan stressed, however, that money was the most appropriate
gift because it afforded the most flexibility to respond to
changing needs on the ground.

"As far as we are concerned, the only concrete and useful help
is funds," said Paola Ferrara of the Italian branch of Medecins
Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

Hundreds of people have offered to go to quake-stricken areas
to help or to give medicines or even take in injured or lonely
children, UNICEF said. "But we do not need untrained people to go
to the area or to shelter children outside their home countries,
although this widespread response is a very positive sign that
people care," UNICEF spokeswoman Donata Lodi said in Rome.

Italians had contributed some 5.6 million euros (US$6.82
million) -- many sending their donations by text message -- in
response to an appeal launched by Italy's best-selling daily
Corriere della Sera and private TG5 television.

Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer urged fellow
Germans to help tsunami victims by spending a bit less on New
Year's Eve fireworks this year and donating to charity instead.
Germans spend about 100 million euros ($135 million) on the
fireworks every year.

Aid agencies in Denmark and Norway said the response to their
appeals had been overwhelming. Some 2,700 Scandinavians are
missing in southern Asia after the tsunamis.

In Singapore, engineer William Lee, 44, said he'd sent 50 text
messages to friends and relatives appealing for donations. "Money
cannot bring back lost lives, but we can help out those who
survived," Lee said after contributing to the Red Cross.

Movie star Jackie Chan donated HK$500,000 ($64,282) to UNICEF,
the agency said.

The screen star's pledge was more than matched by the city's
leading businessman, Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and head of
a global commercial empire. He pitched in HK$24 million ($3.1
million).

The Asia Miles frequent flier program -- used by Hong Kong's
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. -- sent an urgent e-mail to
participants, asking them to donate their frequent flier miles to
charities such as Oxfam Hong Kong and UNICEF.