Aid for Disaster Victims Beginning to Arrive, Death Toll at 118,000 Now

Aid for the countries devestated by the recent tidal wave disaster is beginning to arrive. Korea has increased its donations to help the victims from $600,000 to $2 million dollars. However, the Korean government continues to face criticism for their response to the disaster.

In this regard, the government should concentrate its efforts on locating Korean casualties in consideration of the agony the families of tourists have been suffering since the disaster struck. In parallel with such efforts, the government should also expand its aid to Asian nations hardest hit. Although the government has announced it will increase the amount of aid from a mere $600,000 to $2 million, the figure is still small in comparison to our status as the world’s 11th largest economy as well as our aim of becoming a major player in Asia’s development. In comparison, Japan has promised to provide $70 million and Australia over $37 million. There are many people, especially among the youth, who worry that the nation will become a laughing stock of the international community because of the stingy level of aid to the devastated countries, whose rehabilitation costs are estimated to reach more than $10 billion.

Along with the expansion of aid, the government needs to send additional rescue and medical teams to the region as quickly as possible, just as Japan and other advanced countries have. It is feared that the death toll in the region, which now stands at around 70,000, will rise to 100,000 because of the outbreak of infectious disease.

If we want to join the ranks of developed countries, we should bear the responsibilities that come with it.

Hopefully, Korea will increase it’s aid and is just getting off to a slow start like everyone else. America’s relief efforts appear to be taking shape with the US military arriving in the region.

The Pentagon has set up a joint task force out of Okinawa, deploying forces to Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Among the equipment sent are six C-130 transport planes, nine P-3 air surveillance and rescue planes, an aircraft carrier and several ships with the ability to produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh water each day.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said the aid money needed would end up “in the billions” of dollars, and pledged that the United States would increase its contributions and work with other donors to reach that goal.

It is good the US is finally moving on providing relief aid because the world is watching America and ready to pass snap judgements on it. Here is a great chance to win back some good will from the internationally community that was lost due to the Iraq conflict while also helping people in desperate need. If the US doesn’t seize this opportunity to provide massive aid there are plenty of people in the world most notably international terrorists that will use the lack of an aid response as propaganda against the US to help their own twisted causes. This is a chance to help many of the world’s poor Muslims to recover from such a horrible disaster and the US doesn’t even need tanks and bombs to do it.

The US has so for offered up to $35 million and plans to allocate more funds which will probably top over $100 million. Then you add in the cost of moving in an aircraft carrier, airplanes, and other ships and the price tag of relief aid has definitely increased. Where people are going wrong though, is that aid is be judged by dollar signs right now, which is the wrong way to judge relief aid.

The aid that is needed now is people getting supplies where they need to go. Governments can buy all the food and water they want, but it is no good if there is not the equipment and man power to get the supplies where they need to go in a timely, and organized manner before disease sets in.
This goes back to what I have discussed before about creating a disaster relief brigade that can rapidly deploy to help people. The US military is making a disaster relief unit right now on the fly using the Marines but why can’t Korea deploy soldiers to help out also. If Korea doesn’t want to spend money they also got man power they can tap into to help out. Especially water purification units that are going to be key to preventing the spread of disease. If Korea wants to be one of the big boys internationally it needs to respond adequately to this disaster. The world’s watching.