pquesblog: 23,000+ dead

I am in awe of the disastrous tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean and the death toll which seems to climb by a thousand every hour or two...with just as many seeming to be missing. There are fears that entire islands (and their inhabitants -- some of them the entirity of indiginous tribes) wiped off the map forever. There are millions now homeless, tens or hundreds of thousands of tourists stranded away from their families with no way to contact, and therefore millions of people around the globe holding their breath, hoping and praying that their loved ones are okay.

In the wake of this, the US has pledged $15 million, an amount that has been called "stingy" by Jan Egeland, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief at the UN...and I can't say I disagree. We better send more to these poor people, if only because of those same reasons behind the way we act in international affairs and criticize other nations for coming to our aid when we ask. But now is not the time to criticize.

I have been searching out ways to help, as I did with the Juliana Wetmore story -- and more help is needed now. Across the board, it seems that agencies are asking for cash donations more than food or supplies (if for the reason that it's cheaper to buy in bulk, as well as buy closer to the disaster zone than to ship). Here are some suggestions: