That's great, you've donated to the Tsunami. Now what about the rest of the World???

TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Chill Out Room
-- That's great, you've donated to the Tsunami. Now what about the rest of the World???

Posted by kossack on Jan-27-2005 05:14:

That's great, you've donated to the Tsunami. Now what about the rest of the World???

Kudos to everyone who donated to the Tsunami relief effort.
The turnout was stunning. Red cross got nearly 140 million in personal donationa alone - this will be matched by the CIDA. Estimates (unaudited) for personal/citizen donations to the major NGOs run as high as $200 million, according to CIDA, and eager volunteers and philathropists are showing no sign of ceasing their efforts.

But consider this. Sudan, for instance, is right now ablaze in a bloody civil war. Death tolls run anywhere from a conservative 70,000 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4209471.stm) to over a million (www.news24.com/News24/Africa/ News/0,,2-11-1447_1537301,00.html), depending on where you look. Millions are displaced and suffering. This is only one country. Millions die around the world due to chronic structural flaws, fierce civil fighting, or (ahem) extranational "liberation" efforts (I needn't specify). (I work in television media - I see a lot of shit come through that none of you folks will ever see on mainstream television.)

Or, for the social protectionists among us, what about the local charities - the safe-houses, medical research, centres for abused children, pick any. They are marking decreased donations as well.

My point is simple. Congratulations to all who donated to the Tsunami effort. I did the same. So did countless individuals from all walks of life, corporations, and governments from all over the world. But the NGOs and Charities collecting these donations don't know what to do with the surplus already. Now that S.E. Asia has got it's exposure through stunning media coverage and outstanding public response, it may be time to turn our equal attention to the other areas of the world that need our help, and have needed it for a very long time.

Peace out all.

Posted by mezzir on Jan-27-2005 05:22:

^ proving once again how much power lies in the media...no 6 o'clock spots about the sudanese civil war

Posted by kossack on Jan-27-2005 05:32:

I'll be the first to agree to that bro... People love the apocalyptic shit that nobody has control over, but nobody wants to know about the systemic violence and ethnic cleansing and whatnot that demonstrates human-kind is still pretty fucked up.

And you think anyone's covering the Indonesian rebels or the Tamils that are absconding with half the aid before it even gets to the affected areas?

Posted by verndogs on Jan-27-2005 05:37:

I know Manute Bol has done his share to bring light to the conditions in Sudan

Posted by DjShlian on Jan-27-2005 05:40:

all they have to do is ask and all canada has to do is criticize

Posted by Clovis on Jan-27-2005 05:58:

Sudan needs a tsunami first...

Posted by kossack on Jan-27-2005 06:01:

quote:
Originally posted by Clovis86
Sudan needs a tsunami first...

Hehehe, too right. and maybe locusts.

Posted by ShadoWolf on Jan-27-2005 06:21:

quote:
Originally posted by mezzir
^ proving once again how much power lies in the media...no 6 o'clock spots about the sudanese civil war

ugh they signed a peace treaty a couple of weeks ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4157707.stm

Unless you're talking about Durfur?

Posted by kossack on Jan-27-2005 06:28:

quote:
Originally posted by ShadoWolf
ugh they signed a peace treaty a couple of weeks ago

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4157707.stm

Unless you're talking about Durfur?

a peace treaty that will carry about as much weight as a goose feather in a hurricane. and Darfur was generally what i was referring to..... that is some violence that will likely not be settled by any would-be peace accord.

the potential is there, but i don't believe the will is.

Posted by Lira on Jan-27-2005 11:51:

quote:
Originally posted by Clovis86
Sudan needs a tsunami first...

If a tsunami ever ocurred in Sudan, I'd blame that on Moses for opening the red sea again

(look at the map)

Posted by Billabong on Jan-27-2005 12:15:

It just goes to show you how badly peoples priorities lie. There are so many broken places in the world right now, that need help just as badly as the tsunami affected areas.

Somehow i think that when i major disaster comes along the news people rub their hands with glee, like the evil people they are because they have hours and hours of footage to drag out and fill the tv screens with. I have no interest in watching repeated footage about people that have lost their families, yes its sad, but these things happen i.e pompi.

It makes me laugh that liev aid happened in africa, and things are still bad there, yet there have been no concerts this year to help people over there.

Posted by Ste on Jan-27-2005 12:43:

because donating for the tsunami makes you cool AND charitable...

Posted by kossack on Jan-28-2005 00:02:

quote:
Originally posted by Billabong
It just goes to show you how badly peoples priorities lie. There are so many broken places in the world right now, that need help just as badly as the tsunami affected areas.

Somehow i think that when a major disaster comes along the news people rub their hands with glee, like the evil people they are because they have hours and hours of footage to drag out and fill the tv screens with. I have no interest in watching repeated footage about people that have lost their families, yes its sad, but these things happen i.e pompeii.

It makes me laugh that live aid happened in africa, and things are still bad there, yet there have been no concerts this year to help people over there.

Well, you know i agree with you on the priorities bit, and i will agree to a very limited degree regarding the media - from a corporate perspective (not MY perspective though!) natural disasters are VERY good for ratings. they are spectacular events in the literal sense, and they do make for good production. but coming from a newsroom myself, you have to know that there isn't one person in there who takes any pleasure in seeing thousands of people perish and suffer. a person develops a hard skin after a while, but we are all still human.