![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So, South Asia's Christmas present this year is a tsunami. The total death toll as of December 31 is over 118,000, the highest count being in Sri Lanka (24,743) and Indonesia (79,940). Most of the victims would not be able to afford insurance.
- Click here to see satellite images of South Asia before and after the tsunami. All I can say is, "Holy shit."
- Click here to write to President Bush asking him to raise the US aid donation. It's currently at $35 million, which is how much Bush spends in Iraq in seven hours.
- Click here to donate to the American Red Cross, one of the groups providing tsunami relief, via Amazon.com.
- Click here to see a list of the NGOs providing tsunami relief, organized by what they're providing, and donate with a few easy clicks.
- Click here to find out how you can help Sri Lanka.
- Click here to find out how you can help Indonesia.
But let's talk about Indonesia for a while, and not just 'cos that's where I'm from. Sumatra, Indonesia's westernmost island, is the hardest hit. Whole villages on the coastline have been entirely flattened. Several small islands off the coast have ceased to exist. Meulaboh is western Aceh's capital and only 20% of the city is still standing. Corpses still litter the streets, and to curb the spread of cholera people have started using cranes and bulldozers to bury the bodies in mass graves before they can be identified.
Although aid has been quick to come and is still pouring in, it's been stacking up in warehouses and airports because Sumatera's infrastructure has been shot to shit. The only speedy way to get to Aceh is by flying in, but helipads are severely lacking. There's 20,000 cubic meters of aid just SITTING there and millions of people who need it who aren't getting it. However, this situation is improving and aid is starting to trickle in, and it will be quickly depleted, and a lot of it will be needed again.
It doesn't help that, like in Sri Lanka, there's been separatist insurgency in Aceh. That's why it took so long time for the borders to open up to non-military personnel. Even though the disaster happened on Sunday, organized relief efforts did not present itself until Wednesday. Refugees have to fend for themselves against looters and diseases, especially diseases, because as always there is a shortage of health care. Only one hospital is left standing in the region and it is already overtaxed.
Dozens of aid centers have sprouted all over Indonesia. In Bandung, for example, it's not uncommon to see university students holding boxes at intersections collecting donations for Aceh. Other nations and international NGOs have reacted with admirable speed and philanthropy, but if you want to contribute aid to Indonesia specifically, please refer to this blog (also linked above). It is updated often, and has the contact info of local aid centers and corporations that have already contributed a lot. If you live in the US or Canada or suchlike, there is also information regarding how you can help Indonesia from where you are. If there are no fund-raisers or drives in your area, start one.
All over Indonesia, the flags are raised at half-mast. Happy new year, folks, and here's to hoping 2005 will bring happier times.
- Click here to see satellite images of South Asia before and after the tsunami. All I can say is, "Holy shit."
- Click here to write to President Bush asking him to raise the US aid donation. It's currently at $35 million, which is how much Bush spends in Iraq in seven hours.
- Click here to donate to the American Red Cross, one of the groups providing tsunami relief, via Amazon.com.
- Click here to see a list of the NGOs providing tsunami relief, organized by what they're providing, and donate with a few easy clicks.
- Click here to find out how you can help Sri Lanka.
- Click here to find out how you can help Indonesia.
But let's talk about Indonesia for a while, and not just 'cos that's where I'm from. Sumatra, Indonesia's westernmost island, is the hardest hit. Whole villages on the coastline have been entirely flattened. Several small islands off the coast have ceased to exist. Meulaboh is western Aceh's capital and only 20% of the city is still standing. Corpses still litter the streets, and to curb the spread of cholera people have started using cranes and bulldozers to bury the bodies in mass graves before they can be identified.
Although aid has been quick to come and is still pouring in, it's been stacking up in warehouses and airports because Sumatera's infrastructure has been shot to shit. The only speedy way to get to Aceh is by flying in, but helipads are severely lacking. There's 20,000 cubic meters of aid just SITTING there and millions of people who need it who aren't getting it. However, this situation is improving and aid is starting to trickle in, and it will be quickly depleted, and a lot of it will be needed again.
It doesn't help that, like in Sri Lanka, there's been separatist insurgency in Aceh. That's why it took so long time for the borders to open up to non-military personnel. Even though the disaster happened on Sunday, organized relief efforts did not present itself until Wednesday. Refugees have to fend for themselves against looters and diseases, especially diseases, because as always there is a shortage of health care. Only one hospital is left standing in the region and it is already overtaxed.
Dozens of aid centers have sprouted all over Indonesia. In Bandung, for example, it's not uncommon to see university students holding boxes at intersections collecting donations for Aceh. Other nations and international NGOs have reacted with admirable speed and philanthropy, but if you want to contribute aid to Indonesia specifically, please refer to this blog (also linked above). It is updated often, and has the contact info of local aid centers and corporations that have already contributed a lot. If you live in the US or Canada or suchlike, there is also information regarding how you can help Indonesia from where you are. If there are no fund-raisers or drives in your area, start one.
All over Indonesia, the flags are raised at half-mast. Happy new year, folks, and here's to hoping 2005 will bring happier times.
