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Here I go writing about politics again. I’ve been thinking about how the tsunami disaster has affected other humanitarian projects. To this end there is an article in a Swedish daily paper. They say that with all the attention focused on the tsunami countries, other countries are getting less aid. Countries that are in continuous need of aid, such as many countries in africa engulfed in civil war are getting less aid then they normally do because everyone is focused on the tsunamis.
However this is not the only problem. The tsunami countries have created a flood of charity the likes of which the world has never seen, and while this is not a bad thing, it is not a good thing if seen from a broader perspective.

Why is it that the world can only go crazy with donations when the victims are western tourists or when the media shows lots of pictures of death and destruction. Why must the number of dead be 150 000 people overnight, rather then 10 000 every month?

The answers to these questions are numerous and I can’t really answer them since I am not a very charitable guy myself nor am I very good with these things.

Why does this particular disaster elicit such a broad response? For me, it is simply because it has been given a lot of attention. So, maybe if the media were to focus more on countries and people who need help, more people would help? However I also think that the attention should also be on the HELP aspect. Often when you see articles about problems in africa or palestine, they say things like “so and so many people died”, “refugees blabla”… Yet usually no attention is given to the fact that they actually need help, and that WE can provide it.

We humans are pretty easily manipulated, so to media I say: talk more about the needy, talk more about giving, and maybe people will give more.

As a disclaimer… I don’t donate much to charity, — I donate monthly to Save The Children because I had to tell the street recruiter girl that she was pretty — but I still think about these issues. I guess that in light of my earlier post about donations I just felt that I wanted to post this particular thought, since I’ve been thinking it quite a bit.

The other day I decided to make some donations to help tsunami victims and countries.

I usually donate small amounts to open source software like bittorrent or buy small shareware… but this time I went all out and donated quite a bit.

After doing it I realised that I would be unable to afford my kendo armor anymore. I guess I’ll manage somehow, and in all seriousness, it feels like a pretty small problem compared to what happens out there.

You should too! (or for english speakers)