The reports out of South Asia are horrendous, over 70,000 confirmed dead and the toll could easilly double. Germany was hit hard with 49 confirmed dead and up to 600 missing. German Chancellor Schröder interrupted his holiday to respond to the disaster:
Die Zahl der vor allem in Thailand vermissten
deutschen Touristen liege im dreistelligen Bereich, sagte Außenminister
Joschka Fischer am Dienstag in Berlin. Genauere Zahlen könne er derzeit
nicht nennen. "Wir müssen das Schlimmste befürchten", sagte der
Grünen-Politiker. Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder (SPD) werde wegen der
Katastrophe seinen Urlaub abbrechen und nach Berlin zurückkehren. Die
staatliche deutsche Soforthilfe sei auf zwei Millionen Euro verdoppelt
worden. Der Reiseveranstalter Thomas Cook hatte bis zum Nachmittag
weiterhin keinen Kontakt zu mindestens 200 Gästen auf der
thailändischen Ferieninsel Phuket.
Meanwhile, the "Leader of the Free World" has not been heard from directly from his ‘ranch’ in Crawford, Texas:
Earlier yesterday, White House spokesman Trent Duffy
said the president was confident he could monitor events effectively
without returning to Washington or making public statements in
Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling.
Explaining the about-face, a White House official said: "The president
wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts. He didn’t want to make a
symbolic statement about ‘We feel your pain.’ "Many Bush aides believe Clinton was too quick to head
for the cameras to hold forth on tragedies with his trademark empathy.
"Actions speak louder than words," a top Bush aide said, describing the
president’s view of his appropriate role.Some foreign policy specialists said Bush’s actions
and words both communicated a lack of urgency about an event that will
loom as large in the collective memories of several countries as the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks do in the United States. "When that many human
beings die — at the hands of terrorists or nature — you’ve got to
show that this matters to you, that you care," said Leslie H. Gelb,
president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relation
So, the White House uses the occasion of a global tragedy to criticize Bill Clinton. Clinton, meanwhile, is acting as a world leader and tries to organize a coordinated response:
LONDON (AFP) –
Former US president Bill Clinton (news – web sites)
urged a coordinated effort to provide relief to the countries stricken
by the tidal wave that killed tens of thousands across South Asia.
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TSUNAMI IN SRI LANKA : AUTISM AWARENESS CAMPAIGN SRI LANKA’S INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
SRI LANKA’S URGENT NEEDS
The tsunami has devastated Sri Lanka – also affected are Sri Lankans with disabilities.
Ten of thousands of Sri Lankans have died and thousands more will die through disease – Sri Lanka urgently needs doctors and medicine from overseas to cope with outbreaks of typhoid, dysentery, cholera.
The Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka are not collecting money ourselves but we are working with partners all over the world to reach out to all Sri Lankans including the disability community who have been affected so badly by this deadly tsunami whgich struck the island on the 26th of December 2004 and has caused so much devastation.
How you can help
Sri Lanka urgently needs:
Tents, blankets,linen, clothing.
Food – pre-cooked or ready to eat meal packs
Water purification tablets – approximately 2 million
Wheat, flour, pulses, rice.
Drugs: paracetamol, antibiotics, dressing, suture material, disposable syringes
Intravenous infusions – saline and dextrose.
Portable generators.
Disabled people will need wheelchairs.
You can send donations to the Rotary Club of Colombo – the Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka are working in partnership with the Rotary Club, a well respected international organisation who have teams working in the diaster areas.
The Rotary Club of Colombo Regency, plans to implement the relief effort in phases in order for it to be effective.
The immediate need is for water and dry food items like biscuits, and canned fish, as displaced people are unable to cook meals just yet. In addition, basic medicines and clothing are also essential.
The second phase in a few days will be to provide dry rations, milk powder etc. as hopefully by that time people would have been moved into refugee camps.
The third phase (5 to 7 days) would be to conduct health camps to prevent/treat any outbreak in disease caused by polluted water and lack of proper sanitation etc at the refugee camps.
In the longer term, rebuilding of life and property would take an enormous effort and would need worldwide help.
If you wish to contribute by way of any items listed above or by cash or kind, please write into this site or phone/email –
Tharanga Gunaratne +94 777 389075, tkg_lk@yahoo.com
You can send cash contributions in the form of Cheques/Drafts/Money Orders as per the details given below:
Beneficiary – “Rotary Club of Colombo Regency”
Account No: 001-003771-002
Bank Name : HSBC
Postal Address : 24 Sir Baron Jayatilleke Mw, Colombo 01, Sri Lanka
SWIFT Address : HSBCLKLX
For items sent from overseas, The Rotary Club have arranged for duty waivers. Please make sure that you specify the beneficiary as the “Rotary Club of Colombo Regency”, c/o Bary Jaleel, 15 Cambridge Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.
However, send an email The Rotary Club with your full name, contact details and your contribution amounts and modes, so that they could keep a track. You can also log onto http://www.lankafood.com/ and select the items you would like to sponsor, and pay for on line. Details of items needed and their rates will be published on this site.
Sri Lanka desperately needs help. They say the island needs 1 billion pounds to cope with this terrible disaster. Whole communities have been wiped out. Schools and homes have been devastated and scores of little Sri Lankans have perished. Please support Sri Lanka in her hour of need.
Ivan Corea WRC FRSA
Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka
http://members.tripod.com/autism_srilanka
autismsrilanka@hotmail.com
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