When I wrote the other day about the early death count of those killed by the tsunami — 40,000 — I was having a hard time coming to grips with that number. The latest death toll, however, is mind-boggling and utterly staggering: 125,000 and rising.
The majority of the deaths are in Indonesia, where nearly 80,000 people have been killed.
A world away, it’s hard to imagine what it must be like. The pictures in the papers and on the TV certainly don’t do it justice. And since the damage is so widespread, who can even begin to imagine what 125,000 bodies must look like? What I do know is that this part of the world needs our help.
I was disgusted and abhorred earlier this week when I heard on CNN the emailed comments from some ignorant American who said that our country should do nothing to help — that we should focus on problems at home rather than help those in need. Any bets on whether this fool supported the war in Iraq and the “need” to invade? What of our problems at home then and now? We’ve spent $147 billion and counting there, while the U.S. funds to date for tsunami relief is a mere $35 million, 0.02% of the Iraq war cost.
The least we, the wealthiest nation on the planet, can do to help our world neighbors is to send a little dough their way. Then cross our fingers that we don’t soon face the same devestation here.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Sarah Crawford // Dec 31, 2004 at 12:35 pm
Just a drop in the bucket to help the tsunami victims yet Bush continues to plan his inauguration… The estimated budget for the event is $30-40 million, but that will not cover security costs (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6717767/).
2 Mere Sketches // Dec 31, 2004 at 1:04 pm
Natural Genocide
One more reason genocide has been haunting me this week: the tsunami. With death tolls reaching 100,000 and Aceh (already the sight of a horrid war for cultural autonomy) accounting for the vast majority of those deaths (today – this…