Political tsunami
UNITED NATIONS — The terrible earthquake and tidal wave which shattered coastal areas of South and Southeast Asia has left a deadly wake of 150,000 people killed and millions more displaced. The natural disaster was particularly compounded by its sheer size, surprise and poor preparation of low lying coastal communities especially in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Still the political reverberations of the Tsunami started almost as soon as the shock waves had subsided on Southeast Asia’s once idyllic beaches.
The appallingly insensitive remarks by UN emergency coordinator Jan Egeland early in the crisis that the world’s leading economies had been “stingy” in helping the victims was soon drowned out by massive U.S. government relief commitments of $350 million in addition to the deployment of over twenty U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and rescue teams to the stricken region. Egeland would later remark “I’ve never, ever seen such an outpouring of assistance in any international disaster.”
President George W. Bush sent Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region along with his brother Florida Governor Jeb Bush on a high profile mission to personally assess damage and needs. Given his coordination and relief efforts in the recent Florida hurricanes, Bush brings a high level of expertise. Moreover the White House has brought together former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton to help make appeals for assistance. America has shown genuine caring and compassion for the far off victims.
In the early hours and days of the crisis few observers could comprehend the magnitude of this natural disaster so initial government statements and aid commitments were cautious (the U.S., Britain, and Sweden) though the relief aid from most countries was rapidly and regularly upgraded in response to hard facts and incoming information. Commenting on the calamity Secretary Powell stated, “What we have to do is make a needs assessment and not just grasp at numbers.”
Though the world is in shock of the Tsunami’s devastation, the death toll is not likely to approach some of Asia’s even more gruesome natural disasters such as the 1970 Bangladesh Cyclone (500,000 killed) or China’s Tangshan earthquake in 1976 (600,000 dead). Still contrary to Chinese earthquake where the communist rulers hid and denied the magnitude of the disaster, this cataclysmic devastation has emerged as a media cause celebre.
Wall to wall press has propelled South Asia’s unfortunates into our living rooms and our collective consciousness. This brings a mixed blessing. On the one hand there’s the call for instant solutions which are simply not possible given that the depth of the crisis. On the other hand, high profile media does place this largely remote region into our caring and humanitarian impulses.
Thus beyond massive government aid by the USA ($350 million plus $6 million a day in military in kind assistance), Japan ($500 million), Australia ($764 million), and Germany ($674 million) and the very effective in-kind assistance by India and from United Nations relief agencies, it’s the outpouring of individual and non-governmental assistance that really distinguishes the response in this crisis. The term “world community” is properly used as we see an outpouring of private caring and help from people who not long ago would have been hard placed to find these forsaken regions on a map never mind send them their hard earned money.
Curiously aid from the Islamic countries is painfully wanting especially given that Indonesia is ironically the world’s largest Muslim state.
But beyond the immediate humanitarian aid and medical assistance what can governments do? First and foremost take the German/British proposal and put a moratorium on debt repayment — in other words stop the clock on loan interest that poor countries are paying. Second, allow easier access for Sri Lanka’s textile exports into the American market; Third, place an active Tsunami detection system in regions which could have had ample warning from the killer waves. Fourth, understand the difference between idealism and realism. Some of the areas in Sri Lanka for example are wretchedly poor and plagued by ethnic conflict. This is a long term rebuilding challenge not a month-long project.
I’m reminded of a phrase former French humanitarian Minister Bernard Kouchner used in a lecture last year in which he spoke of the “Globalization of compassion.” This certainly applies to this crisis. We are witnessing the largest international relief effort ever and that is a positive first step. We must keep enthusiasm for the second step.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.  |
