It's not just in Pakistan that relief efforts are hampered by logistical challenges, writes Tracy Corrigan.
The hidden diaster: famine in Niger Photo: Paul Grover
By Tracy Corrigan
7:00AM BST 21 Aug 2010
3 Comments
The floods in Pakistan represent a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale. But is the relief effort, with its almost unimaginable logistical challenges, also heading towards disaster?
It was certainly sounding that way. The Pakistani government came under fire for failing to get help to victims quickly enough, and charities claimed that international action through the United Nations had been inadequate. Added to which, the initial public response to the disaster seemed sluggish.
I was beginning to wonder whether people were worried that local corruption could prevent aid from reaching victims, or, worse still, divert funds towards terrorism. David Cameron's undiplomatic comments about Pakistan's exporting of terror weren't exactly reassuring.
I have to admit that these thoughts did briefly cross my mind, too. But as the images of devastated villages and stranded families filled the screen, I realised that my feelings about the Pakistani government didn't affect my feelings about people in dire need.
If anyone is still uncertain about donating, they should consider how much more fertile the ground for extremism would become if Western help were not forthcoming.
In fact, it seems likely that the initially slow pace of donations reflects the cumulative nature of the emergency. Ian Bray, of Oxfam, explained: "Usually, when we have a disaster of this magnitude, a great deal of money comes in for a few days, and then slowly peters out. For this one, the flow of donations is rising each day, which reflects the increasing level of need in this particular crisis."
The Disasters and Emergency Committee, which co-ordinates relief in this country, says it has raised £24 million since its first appeal on August 5 – £9 million since Monday. That surge corresponds with the mounting realisation of the scale of the tragedy. On August 2, there was talk of 2.5 million people being affected. Current estimates are 15-20 million, and there are growing problems as a result of cholera, the lack of drinking water and loss of livestock and agricultural land. And still the rain falls. The monsoon season is expected to last until early October and it is impossible to predict when the flood waters will subside.
It is going to be a long haul. But we seem to be rather better at dealing with apocalyptic natural disasters than addressing the effects of poverty in the poorest countries of the world. While the cameras continue to roll in Pakistan, more than half of the seven million population of Niger does not have enough to eat. The World Food Programme has said it will feed children and babies under two, but has insufficient funds to make the same commitment to older children. For those who do receive help, it will do little more than tide them over until next time.
I'm glad we are pitching in to support the flood victims in Pakistan, but we are not doing so well in West Africa, where there is no cataclysm to attract our attention.
I wish I had a past on Facebook
Eric Schmidt, the boss of Google, thinks teenagers should be allowed to change their names on reaching adulthood, in order to wipe out the virtual record of their youthful indiscretions.
I disagree. Posting compromising photos of oneself on the web causes lots of problems for teenagers, not least of which is that it’s now a doddle for parents to find out what they were up to at that sleepover. But when they themselves reach middle age, they will have great fun looking back on their misspent youth. The secret is to observe a strict cut-off at, say, 21. I only wish I had a guilty past on the internet, rather than a load of articles on bond markets.
It’s not all play for Obama
Is President Obama taking too much holiday? Absolutely not. He may be spending 10 days in the inappropriately swanky Martha’s Vineyard – but he’s still a workaholic compared with some of his predecessors.
According to Mark Knoller of CBS, who has covered every president since Ford, Obama clocked off for 26 days during his first year in office. Reagan squeezed in 42 days off in 1981, while Dubya managed 69 at his Texas ranch in 2001.
I can see why it’s a sensitive subject for Americans, who get just 13 days of paid vacation. But we Brits, who average 28, can surely afford to be a bit more laid-back.
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3 Comments
simon_coulter
08/24/2010 12:01 PM
Political holidays - the more the merrier? Would it not have made more sense to relate the *time off* for Obama to that of other leaders around the world and to the amount of time the Diet in these countries is in recess? Full time salaries for part time jobs? Civil servants are running everything - with or without the politicians - anyway.
simon_coulter
08/24/2010 11:59 AM
By all means change your name at 18 - Google will have software that still recognises your face - as will everyone else accessing images of you from the millions of surveillance cameras in this world - and particularly in Britain.
simon_coulter
08/24/2010 11:58 AM Recommended by 3 people
Pakistan is disaster flavour of the month. What is the current situation in Haiti, Niger, umpteen other locations? How much of this is natural disaster and how much - even in the wake of disasters, is caused by the actions of men?
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What do you think ?
Các anh chị nghĩ thế nào, có ý kiến phê bình cũng như chia sẻ gì qua bài viết "The victims who don't reach our TV screens" và 3 ý kiến phê bình của đọc giả có nick simon_coulter ?
Ngay trên trái đất này, nào phải đâu từ hành tinh nào xa lạ mà người ta đang tìm kiếm, tìm hiểu, khám phá ?
Ngay trên trái đất này hằng ngày hằng giờ đã và đang có những sinh mệnh thuộc "lòai người" đã và đang CHẾT . Có lẽ họ đã mang MẦM CHẾT ngay khi chưa được sinh ra .
Có những con người đạo đức, nhân từ rất dễ rơi nước mắt khi thấy một nàng công chúa xinh đẹp, quyền quý bị ốm vì "diet" nhưng họ không bao giờ muốn nhìn thấy những hình ảnh như từ bài viết "The victims who don't reach our TV screens", những hình ảnh trẻ thơ CHẾT VÌ ĐÓI, CHẾT từ trong bụng mẹ, CHẾT từ lúc mới tượng hình ... Nhiều trẻ sơ sinh Phi Châu đã và đang CHẾT, CHẾT để không bao giờ hiểu được tại sao chúng PHẢI CHẾT .
Còn nữa, giữa thế kỹ 21, ở nước VN, vẫn còn có những "con người" VN phải đi BÁN MÁU để đổi chén cơm, phải đi BÁN từng bộ phận trong cơ thể họ để tô son cho cái gọi là "thiên đường" xuống hàng chó ngựa cộng sản họ đã và đang sống, để tô vẽ cho những bộ mặt nhơ nhớp bẩn thỉu bỉ ổi đê tiện của những "chính trị gia" trên thế giới này thêm việc để làm và cũng để cho những "trí thức", "kẻ sĩ" cùng nguồn gốc với họ được tự hào làm những con chó ghẻ, tay sai, đầy tớ bơm hơi tiếp máu chùi chân, lòn trôn, đội bô cho những thằng Việt gian cộng sản đã và đang sống trên xương máu của những kẻ khốn cùng này .
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
19092011
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CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
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