Heavy Earthquake in Asia

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Western nation exploits death and suffering in the 3rd World for political gain? I am shocked, just shocked to see that there is gambling going on in this establishment!

In other news, India finds time in their busy schedule of tsunami recovery to shun Dalit (Untouchable) victims of the disaster.

Quote[/b] ]India's untouchables, reeling from the tsunami disaster, are being forced out of relief camps by higher caste survivors and being denied aid supplies, activists charged. Kuppuswamy Ramachandran, 32, a Dalit or untouchable in India's rigid caste hierarchy, said he and his family were told to leave a relief camp in worst-hit Nagapattinam district where 50 more families were housed.

"The higher caste fishing community did not allow us to sleep in a marriage hall where they are put up because we belong to the lowest caste," Ramachandran said. "After three days we were moved out to a school but now the school is going to reopen within three days and the teachers drove us out," he said. "Where will I take my family and children? The school had no lights, toilets or drinking water," available for the displaced.

More than 6,000 people died when tsunamis struck this southern Indian coastal district on December 26 and activists said that included 81 Dalits, who were daily wage earners working in agricultural lands. The ferocious wall of sea water destroyed swathes of farm land and the Dalits no longer have any employment.

At Keshvanpalayam, the Dalits had only flattened homes to show while survivors elsewhere enjoyed relief supplies such as food, medicines, sleeping mats and kerosene. No government official or aid has flowed into the village which houses 83 Dalit families more than 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Nagapattinam town. Cranes and bulldozers cleared the debris of a neighbouring fishing community, but they are yet to reach the Dalit village.

Chandra Jayaram, 35, who lost her husband to the tsunamis, said her family has not received promised government compensation of 100,000 rupees (2,174 dollars). "At the relief camps we are treated differently due to our social status. We are not given relief supplies. The fishing community told us not to stay with them. The government says we will not be given anything as we are not affected much," Jayaram said.

S. Karuppiah, field coordinator with the Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation, said in some of the villages the dead bodies of untouchables were removed with reluctance. "The Dalit villages are in most places proving to be the preferred choice of the fishing community to bury the dead. If the Dalits ask for relief materials the government says they can only give the leftovers," Karuppiah said. "The government is turning a blind eye," he said. "When Dalits bury the dead they are not given gloves or medicines but only alcohol to forget the rotten stench."

Another activist, Mahakrishnan Marimuthu, who heads the non-governmental Education and Handicraft Training Trust, said tsunamis dealt a double blow to the caste. "They lost their jobs, houses and relatives. On the other hand the social discrimination is proving to be worse," he said. The government denied the allegations and said it was providing relief to every tsunami-affected family.

"There is no intention of closing down any camps and we are providing relief to each and every family. We will provide temporary shelters as these relief camps are getting overcrowded," said Veerashanmugha Moni, Nagapattinam's senior government administrator.

The United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF said government, relief agencies and aid workers did not discriminate against the Dalits but the caste issue always exists. "All the aid going in is distributed the same way to all survivors. The social discrimination has been there during normal times," said Amudha, who heads a team of UNICEF volunteers in Nagapattinam. "After the disaster happened it is still continuing. That is nothing new," she said.

Vijaya Lakshmi, spokeswoman for South India Federation of Fishermen Societies, agreed and said one could not wish away a centuries-old caste system when a disaster struck. "If they (Dalits) are comfortable by staying separate they will," she said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm....chables

Nothing like a disaster to cast a collossally moronic and barbaric social injustice into sharp relief.

[denoir 0]

Schröder is exploiting it for political reasons, too. Period.

Care to elaborate on that, or do you expect to just take your word for it? In addition, you're hardly the most objective person around when it comes to Schröder and German politics in general. Sure you are not pushing your own little anti-Schröder agenda here?

Anyway, I'm sure that all our dear politicians exploit this at one level or another, as do we all. However, from a perspective external to both German and American, I have not heard one inappropriate beep from Schröder or seen any attempts to cash in politically. As a matter of fact, I've heard very little from him apart from saying that Germany has a humanitarian obligation to help. Powell on the other hand has very clearly been pushing a political agenda which he has made no attempts to hide.

[der bastler 0]

Schröder is exploiting it for political reasons, too. Period.

Care to elaborate on that, or do you expect to just take your word for it? In addition, you're hardly the most objective person around when it comes to Schröder and German politics in general. Sure you are not pushing your own little anti-Schröder agenda here?

Everybody has an agenda, some "anti-Schröder", others "anti-TBA"...

[der bastler 0]

To make my point-of-view clear:

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,335560,00.html

Quote[/b] ]Jan Egeland, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, and General Secretary Kofi Annan have both expressed their hope that all the pledges will in fact be translated into material aid. Past experience, unfortunately, has shown that promises aren't always kept. In the Iranian city of Bam, completely devastated by a massive earthquake last December, the majority of the funds pledged have not yet arrived. The people of Bam are deeply frustrated and thousands still live in tents, Egeland said. In South Asia, he promised, "we will follow up and we will hold those pledging to their pledges."

Since they began asking for donations for tsunami victims last week, both Egeland and Annan have called on countries not to forget people threatened in other parts of the world. "In seven days we've got more money in response to the tsunami crisis than we did for all the humanitarian appeals we issued in 2004," an openly frustrated Annan told US broadcaster ABC this weekend.

Last year, a lack of funds was one of the reasons cited by the UN for its inability to stop preventable deaths in large parts of Africa. "About 1,000 people die each day in eastern Congo," Egeland told reporters in New York last week. "And in the next three to four months as many people may die in eastern Congo as died in the tsunami." Worse yet, it's been happening for years.

Right now, Egeland said earlier in the week, there are "20 parallel catastrophes unfolding" elsewhere in the world. "Could we wake up please to those 20 forgotten emergencies, as we have woken up so generously to this enormous tsunami that has hit 5 million people and killed more than 150,000?"

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/05/tsunami.aid.promises/

Quote[/b] ]Today, it's estimated that more than 100,000 residents of Bam are still living in temporary shelters and tents.

The Iranian government says that of the $1 billion pledged, only $17.5 million has been received.

Of the nearly 200 agencies that responded to the disaster in Bam, only a handful remain, including Relief International.

According to the United Nations and the World Bank, of the more than $8.5 billion promised to Central American countries after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, less than a third has been received.

And of the $1 billion in aid promised to the war-torn African country of Liberia, only $65 million has been delivered.

"The question is, in the long run, when the horror of the event and the picture is gone, will the people still continue to make available the necessary resources," the German Ambassador to the United Nations, Gunther Pleuger, asks.

2005 - year of cynicism. Nations compete in donation promises, they accuse others of exploiting it --and after the catastrophe has disappeared from public memory, little will actually happen.

That's the way, aha aha, I like it, aha aha...

[Akira 0]

To tell you the truth I don't care if Powell spouts off about how much this shows the US doesn't hate Muslims. Every nation, and I do mean every nation, has turned this politcal to some extent, and that includes the UN as well. Let them toot their PR bullshit, because it will change very little.

What is important is that the end result is the same. Billions is being spent. As der blaster posted, it is most likely that the world governments will forget the tragedy, but I don't believe that the common person will.

[cozza 24]

Big cricket match in Melbourne right now. Asia V Australia (I think Australia    )

anyway. I was gonna go, but i had no way to get there

its to help raise money to the victims.

[ozanzac 0]

Big cricket match in Melbourne right now. Asia V Australia (I think Australia    )

anyway. I was gonna go, but i had no way to get there

its to help raise money to the victims.

Asia vs Rest of World

Eddy announced it raised something in the order of 14 million dollars from Australian donations alone. (It was beamed into 120 countries)

Then there's the 20 odd million raised from the telethon/ extravaganza appeal the other night.

[Akira 0]

Willie Nelson and friends staged a benefit concert here in Austin for relief.

[SpongeBob 0]

Quote[/b] ]'Disappointing' turnout at Saturday memorial

http://ottawa.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/ot-memorial20050110.html

OTTAWA; Far fewer people attended Saturday's memorial service than organizers had expected. About 1,500 people were there, and that included more than 400 invited guests. Plans had been made to accommodate as many as 15,000 people.

Madeleine and Joseph Lussier, of Ottawa, were in the crowd. They say they were disappointed by the turnout.

However, Madeleine Lussier says she found the ceremony itself very moving, especially the words of the nine different leaders from various religious communities. Some of the people who attended the memorial had close ties to the disaster region.

Tivia Thevarajah's family is from Sri Lanka. Her grandmother is still among the missing. She says Saturday's service made her feel better, and she feels the ceremony, and the aid that's been pledged by Canadians and their governments, is a sign of how much people have been touched by the disaster.

Quote[/b] ]Canada to raise disaster aid to $400M: report

Last Updated Mon, 10 Jan 2005 13:53:55 EST

CBC News

OTTAWA - Canada will earmark more than $400 million over five years to help countries rebuild after the devastating tsunami, CBC News has learned.

Prime Minister Paul Martin will make the announcement this afternoon in Ottawa, sources say.

The funds; a dramatic jump from the $80 million already pledged; would bring Canada's contribution almost even with that of the United States, which currently stands at about $427 million Cdn.

Sources said the details are still being worked out, but the funds will focus on assisting Sri Lanka.

I wonder if the Montreal Expos-like attendance on Saturday had anything to do with the boost in relief funds.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

I wonder if the Montreal Expos-like attendance on Saturday had anything to do with the boost in relief funds.

Let's keep in mind that it's Canada, it's January, and it's fucking cold out.

[Tovarish 0]

well, I for one didn't even know about it until I sat down to the evening news bemoaning the poor attendance.

[ralphwiggum 6]

http://www.cnn.com/2005....ex.html

Quote[/b] ]POOMPUHAR, India (AP) -- For generations, the people of Poompuhar have spoken of the days when their sleepy fishing town was the capital of a powerful kingdom, and traders came from Rome, Greece and Egypt to deal in pearls and silk.

Then, more than 1,500 years ago, it was gone. The thriving town, according to ancient Tamil-language texts, was "kodalkol" -- "swallowed by the sea."

Perhaps, archaeologists and historians thought, the sea water had gradually risen. Or, some think now, perhaps it was something else.

[Akira 0]

CNN has on their front page a "Developing Story" banner saying an 8.2 earthquake off Indonesia (same fault line) has been detected.

[theavonlady 2]

CNN has on their front page a "Developing Story" banner saying an 8.2 earthquake off Indonesia (same fault line) has been detected.

Damn!

Quote[/b] ]8.2 earthquake registered off Sumatra

Magnitude is nearly as large as tsunami quakeBREAKING NEWS

MSNBC staff and news service reports

Updated: 12:02 p.m. ET March 28, 2005A large earthquake was registered Monday off Indonesia's Sumatra Island, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, describing it as a "great earthquake" with a magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale.

The USGS advised officials in the area to move people inland, and Thai officials were among the first to issue a tsunami warning for the Andaman Sea.

No reports of injury or damage had been received from the region. The Dec. 26 quake that launched the massive tsunami was a 9.0, the USGS said.

Monday's quake epicenter was just off the northern Sumatra coast and between two smaller islands, and located at 18.6 miles underground. It occured at around 11 p.m. local time.

This report will be updated as information becomes available.

[gandalf the white 0]

some experts believe the cahnges of a tsunami are very big, others think that it's very unlikely...

... we can only wait till tomorrow

[Akira 0]

Most coastal areas have reported their coasts clear. The death toll right now maybe as high as 2000.

[theavonlady 2]

Quote[/b] ]Three-metre wave hits Indonesia

From correspondents in Banda Aceh

March 29, 2005

From: Agence France-Presse

A THREE-metre wave has smashed into the Indonesian island of Simeuleu, off the coast of Sumatra, causing extensive damage shortly after a massive earthquake, according to the Indonesian military.

Endang Suwaraya, the military commander in the western Indonesian province of Aceh, close to the epicentre of the magnitude 8.7 quake, said he had received reports that the wharf in the island's main port was badly damaged.

He said waves also affected the island's airport in the coastal town of Sinabang.

There were no details of casualties.

The earthquake killed at least 300 people on the neighbouring island of Nias and triggered tsunami alerts around the Indian Ocean as people feared a repeat of the December 26 disaster in which more than 270,000 died.

[Colossus 2]

Nobody else has reported high waves, why are they the only one who reports this?

[Bordoy 0]

Nobody else has reported high waves, why are they the only one who reports this?

I've heard from the Britsh Geoligical Survey that the wave may not of even happened.

[mattxr 9]

i heard there was NO wave.. which is good news

[Mr_Tea 0]

A german geological prof. said it wasn`t more than 28cm.

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]'US never delivered promised tsunami aid'

Thursday, 30 June , 2005, 16:24

New Delhi: Some 60 per cent of all announced international aid does not exist, global pressure group ActionAid said on Thursday, singling out the United States and France as the main culprits in "phantom" aid.

A "classic example" of real versus phantom aid is money pledged for victims of last year's Asian tsunami disaster, John Samuel, Asia director of ActionAid International, told a news conference.

He cited Australia, which he said had so far only managed to give seven per cent of the money it had pledged. He also named France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States as among other countries who have not delivered on their tsunami promises.

"In 2003, total aid announced by developed countries was $65 billion of which $50 billion was (pledged) by the G7," Samuel said. "How much money actually reached the receivers? Only $27 billion, or just 0.1 percent of the countries' combined national income," Samuel said, while releasing "RealAid", a report on the status of global aid mechanisms.

"For the United States and France, two of the world's largest donors, almost 90 per cent of their contributions are phantom aid."

The activist said figures quoted in the report were based on official data of aid given and aid received apart from field studies. These had been vetted by top experts.

"Over the last two years, most of the aid has been directed towards buying arms and ammunition," Samuel said. "As we speak today, 30,000 children are dying of malnourishment and 800 million are going hungry. We demand accountability and transparency from the G8."

"Aid diversification for military purposes is being done by the donors, particularly the US, especially after 9/11," he said.

The G8 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and new entrant Russia -- are due to hold a summit from July 6 to 8 in Scotland. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also been invited to attend.

In a recent decision, the group decided to write off total debts of 18 poor nations, a move which organisations like ActionAid say was due to their pressure tactics.

Samuel said more than 3,00,000 people are expected to take part in a "white-band" protest in Edinburgh on July 2 as part of a "Make Poverty History" campaign.

Link

Wonderful. I least I donated right to UNICEF.

[Cpt. FrostBite 0]

Something different;

Browsing through the missing-person list I just noticed that (the body of) Johan Linde aka Jowo (inv44 modmember) has been found. His body was identified on 06-20-2005. Thank god for that. At least he'll have a decent funaral now.

Looking at the list it seems that his father, mother and sister also died. His sister is still missing.