Posted by Nickengland on September 6, 2005, at 8:11:34
The Red Cross is appealing for people overseas to contribute money to its Hurricane Katrina Appeal. But why does the world's richest nation need handouts?
The world's only superpower has been forced to turn to aid agencies to speed up the humanitarian effort in the wake of Katrina.
Seemingly unable to draw on its wealth at short notice to immediately respond to the disaster, charities in other countries, such as the British Red Cross, are now launching appeals to raise money.
In addition half a million military ration packs worth an estimated £3m have been flown out from the UK and more are expected to follow.
The public in many countries are accustomed to providing aid to poverty stricken developing nations, but the need to provide assistance to the most opulent country in the world may leave many perplexed.
Sympathy
It is not a position the US is used to being in either. President George W Bush seemed to initially dismiss suggestions of receiving foreign assistance.
Ask a question
"I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we haven't asked for it," he said. "I do expect a lot of sympathy, and perhaps some will send cash dollars. But this country is going to rise up and take care of it.''Later, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said "no offers of assistance will be refused''.
The gross national income of the US is $37,870 per capita, according to the World Bank. It is just $810 for tsunami-hit Indonesia and $200 for poverty-stricken Niger.
And, national wealth aside, Americans have a strong track record of generosity concerning disasters on their own soil. They gave $2bn following the 11 September attacks.
'Unprecedented'
The British Red Cross says the appeal is about getting money quickly to speed up the aid effort, but admits it does raise questions about measures the US Government has in place to deal with large-scale domestic disasters.
Red Cross
"We have been asked for help by our sister organisation in the US," says a spokesman. "This is the biggest humanitarian operation in its 125-year history, we are looking at an area the size of Great Britain that has been devastated."But there are broader political questions about the response of the richest country in the world to such a disaster on its own soil. Hopefully they will be addressed in the fullness of time and lessons will be learned."
No country has enough rations to deal with such an immediate need and so an appeal for outside help is inevitable, say experts.
The Ministry of Defence's director of logistics operations, Brigadier Chris Steirn, who co-ordinates the distribution of all military supplies, says: "You don't have billions of rations stacked up in one place and so they are quite often traded between nations."
The American Red Cross has mobilised its biggest-ever aid effort
But will the British public be as keen to make donations as they were after recent disasters, such as the Asian tsunami and famines in Niger and Sudan.Cathy Pharoah, a researcher at the Charities Aid Foundation, points out that it is difficult to predict how people will react because such devastation in such an affluent country is unprecedented in recent times.
But she believes harrowing images depicting "human suffering" in the media will loosen British purse strings.
"People wanted to see that the government of a highly developed western country were putting the money in, but when human need stories begin to emerge, people will respond."
Donations can be made directly to the American Red Cross online at www.redcross.org, or by calling 001-800-4357 669.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4215336.stm
Warm regards
Nick
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