I've been wondering when help from the rest of the world would come pouring into the United States now that Katrina has devastated parts of 3 states, has flooded New Orleans and who knows what other cities, and has made refugees of hundreds of thousands of people.
I've asked all day: where are the concerts? Where are the offers of assistance from other countries? Where is the UN, especially after Jan Englund called us "stingy" during the tsunami crisis? Who is offering to help?
According to this FoxNews article, our erstwhile ally (ahem) Venezuela has offered to help, and individuals in Switzerland are asking how they can help.
The rest of the article mentions which countries have sent sympathies, and which countries/groups have somehow managed to criticize the US in the wake of the hurricane.
"I've asked all day: where are the concerts? Where are the offers of assistance from other countries? Where is the UN, especially after Jan Englund called us "stingy" during the tsunami crisis? Who is offering to help?"
ReplyDeleteThis only happened this week.
Have we asked for help?
You are jumping to conclusions and using this tragedy for polical gain awfully quick.
How long did it take Jan to call us "stingy"?
ReplyDeleteCanada's Red Cross is soliciting contributions from Canadians for US hurricane disaster relief. (My husband would be annoyed if I didn't stick up for his homeland...)
ReplyDeleteYay for the Canuckians!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I fully expect that help from outside the US will be on the way. I was merely making the point that we were called stingy and slow during the tsunami response, even though the US Navy was first on the scene in many areas. Just making a point that what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
a couple of things:
ReplyDelete1) Jan didn't call the US stingy. He stated that nations have, in general, donated a smaller percentage of GDP to disaster relief the richer they have become, and referred to that as "stingy". The words "US" or "America" do not appear in his statement anywhere. He also said, as part of the same comment, that he thought populations of rich coutries *were* generous, and that the issue is that politicians in general are wary of making larger donations because they incorrectly think the electorate wouldn't tolerate. Just to repeat - he didn't call the US "stingy" - the US is not referred to in his remarks at all. He did refer to Holland, though.
2) According to the state department, "10 to 12" nations have offered assistance.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2005/08/31/local/doc43165e0a13de8099133083.txt
Regards
Krill
Glad to see the offers of assistance.
ReplyDeleteupdate: number of countries offering assistance is now up to two dozen.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl090105usgetshelp.16cbe69d.html
And whadya know...:
"Under Secretary-General Jan Egeland said his office had offered the services of the U.N.'s disaster assistance and coordination teams to the U.S. Agency for International Development."
Regardless of any appreciated assistance we recieve from other nations/citizens of other nations, we Americans will take care of our own just like we have always done.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I wonder about, is why there was not / has not been a declaration of marshall law in New Orleans and the nearby areas affected by this catastropic flooding.
Darren, is your new home ok if the levee on the Sacramento River leaks/breaks?
I'm in Citrus Heights, nowhere near the levees. However, the school at which I teach backs up against one of the levees.
ReplyDeleteSacramento had a levee scare a few years ago. There's always fear of breaches, but the fear that year was that the American River would just overrun them.
Your question inspired me, however, to write about Sacramento--somethng I'll do in my next post!
OK, so it wasn't my next post. But I'm working on it--should be ready tomorrow! I'm researching a few facts, just to make sure I don't print something that's incorrect.
ReplyDelete