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[KiteBiker]

Agreed. One's religious affiliation does not determine the likelihood of performing criminal or unnatural acts. Would we be any fairer by observing the acts of some Good Ol' Boys from Appalachia as symtomatic of all American Christians? Or for that matter anyone residing in the Appalachian mountain ranges? Would the moderators be as sensitive to stereotyping Westerners or WASP-bashing as they are of Gulf residents or Muslims everywhere?

Anyhow, I digress. I still think Gulf countries can contribute more and make the contributions long term due to the fact their labor pool comes from the area affected. I also think that the West can contribute more - and not just loan guarantees or debt waiving. If the overall contribution of the world community is now topping 3 billion dollars, I guarantee you that half will never make it to the affected areas because of donor/recipient corruption, and lack of follow-through from donor countries who shirk their pledges. we need follow-through and long term economic commitment to the area.

[veiledsentiments]

Yes, unfortunately true kitebiker. The corruption also knows no cultural, racial, or 'religious' boundaries.

BTW, did anyone notice that the Saudis are in the midst of a telethon for public donations? I haven't seen updated amounts yet.

VS

[spicegirl]

... nor have I, VS, though today's Gulf News mentioned that the first phone-in donation was made after 40 minutes on air - I guess not many people were watching the program. Apparently, that first donation was a pretty massive amount of money from one person, though I don't remember how much.

[veiledsentiments]

Here is an update article from goggle: (don't know the exchange rates offhand)

VS

SR260 Million Donated in Telethon
M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan & Abdul Hannan Faisal Tago, Arab News !


RIYADH/JAKARTA, 7 January 2005 - A Saudi telethon launched yesterday to mobilize relief aid for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster collected more than SR260 million till the time of going to press, including an SR20 million donation from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd. Crown Prince Abdullah pledged SR10 million while Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, gave SR5 million.

The successful Saudi telethon came as world leaders meeting in Jakarta vowed yesterday to work together to help victims of the most wide-reaching natural disaster in living memory as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared they were in a "race against time".

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank announced a $500 million relief aid at the meeting.

Overwhelmed by the spontaneous response to the telethon, one young Saudi remarked: "We Saudis are known for our generosity but we don't make a song and dance about it... We do it very quietly."

The donations, which inc luded SR25 million from Saudi Oger company, were announced by Saudi Television Channel I. The telethon received substantial response from both Saudis and expatriates as a large number of people including children were also seen lining up outside the television center and at the Malaz Stadium donation center in the capital to deposit their donations in cash and kind. More than seven trucks and 66 cars lined up outside the stadium with donated clothes, milk, rice, dates and other materials.

Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, who is supervising the campaign, emphasized the importance of helping people in need as instructed by Islamic teachings. He urged citizens to be generous in the telethon organized by the state-run television after the government tripled its initial pledge to $30 million early this week.

People wishing to contribute to the tsunami fund were asked to call the information center to enlist their donation or deposit their donations at certain designated areas.

A group of Islamic scholars also urged the viewers to donate generously, while sitting in the studio of the Saudi television. In an appeal carried by the Saudi Press Agency, King Fahd urged Saudis and expatriates to cooperate with the campaign to make it a success. The fund will be used to meet the essential requirements of the tsunami victims, who are in need of assistance. Prominent contributors until yesterday evening included National Commercial Bank, which donated SR3 million and Riyad Bank (SR2 million). About 180,000 people died in the Dec. 26 tsunami, which struck the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other Indian Ocean countries.

[Gnome]

The latest breakdown has just been announced in the Canadian news, and I am happy to report that the Gulf Countries have so far pledged $85 million in total. All the countries have increased their initial contributions substantially with the exception of Bahrain, which is pledging a mere $2 million.

[Truth Hurts]

Gnome

I imagine it's very cosy this feeling that "WE" are always and infinitely more generous than "THEM". Okay, but did you know that in past disasters when all these grand pledges of aid are made, only a very small portion is honored and gets through to the people that need it.

So I wouldn't hold my breath. This is why Kofi Annan is specifically reminding WESTERN governments to honor their pledges this time round. (see http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=598469)

Just to give you an idea of how much aid has got through in the past, take at look at the breakdown of figures from the UK Independent:

Recent disasters:

HURRICANE, Central America 1998
Pledged: �4.8bn
Delivered: �1.6bn

FLOODS, Mozambique 2000
Pledged: �214m
Delivered: �107m

EARTHQUAKE, Bam, Iran 2003
Pledged: �17.1m
Delivered: �9.5m

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=598470

Funnily enough, I totally endorse VS's take on this thread.

TH

[veiledsentiments]

Shhhh... don't worry TH, I'm sure no one noticed and we can both keep a secret.

BTW, did that article point fingers at the countries that were guilty of not meeting their pledges?

VS

[eslandflteacher]

By Nicholas Blanford | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

BEIRUT, LEBANON - When Saudi Arabia held a 12-hour telethon last week,
it not only raised $82 million for the victims of the Asian tsunami
disaster, but it also helped quell accusations that the oil-rich Gulf
states
have been indifferent to a tragedy that left more than 100,000 fellow
Muslims dead in Indonesia alone.
Saudi schoolchildren handed over their daily allowances, and one woman
dropped her gold bracelets into a collection box as religious clerics,
businessmen, and sports personalities broadcast appeals for generosity.

Other Gulf states, also stung by criticism, have increased their
contributions, with Kuwait over the weekend raising its $10 million pledge
to $100 million.

While the tradition of donating funds to victims of international
disasters is often well-entrenched in the West, for many Arabs, giving to
worthy causes is a luxury they can ill afford given the poverty and
conflicts roiling the region, say observers.

"This is not how things should be," says Abdullah al-Faqih, professor
of politics at Sanaa University in Yemen. "But we have to keep in mind that
the Arabs live these days in extraordinary circumstances. They lack the
freedom to organize and to express opinions, and consequently the freedom
to
initiate positive responses to crises."

Two-thirds of the fatalities from the Dec. 26 tsunami were from
Indonesia, a country with the world's largest Muslim population. The
Indonesian government has refrained from public comment, but the slow
response of their fellow Muslims in the Arab world has been noted.

"Generally speaking, people [here] are quite disappointed" about the
Arab reaction, says Azyumardi Azra, rector of Indonesia's State Islamic
University.

"The West responded quickly. They [the Arab world] have been pretty
slow," says Nasrullah Djamaluddin, chief imam of Indonesia's Istiqlal
Mosque
in Jakarta, the largest in Southeast Asia. "But we happily accept all
help,"
he adds.

Malaysia's opposition leader Lim Kit Siang was more forthright last
week, slamming the Gulf states for their "cold and indifferent attitudes."

Of late, the tradition of zakat, the religious obligation on all
Muslims to donate part of one's income to charity, has become harder to
fulfill due to the closure or freezing of many Islamic charities as part of
the campaign to block terrorist funding, experts say. The Saudi government
in June announced plans to dismantle all international charities in the
kingdom and place their funds in a state-controlled commission to thwart
the
funding of terrorists.

"Religious philanthropic organizations, which used to be the main
vehicles for Middle Eastern societies responding to internal and external
emergencies, are almost extinct," Mr. Faqih says.

Arab government and popular reaction to the Asian disaster picked up
after the Kuwaiti media published some barbed editorials on the "paltry"
initial response.

On Jan. 2 Al Qabas, a Kuwaiti newspaper, criticized the contributions
of Gulf states, highlighting the Kuwaiti government's initial contribution
of $2 million as a reflection of the disregard many Kuwaitis feel toward
the
thousands of Asians working in the country. Migrant workers from Asia
represent the bulk of the estimated 12 million expatriates working in the
Gulf, outnumbering the indigenous Arab population. While most of them earn
livings as servants and construction workers, many have white-collar jobs
as
engineers and managers in the oil and gas industries.

"There is a structural link between the Asian laborers and the wealth
of the Gulf states, and that's the moral responsibility we should have
acted
upon immediately," says Rami Khouri, editor of Lebanon's Daily Star
newspaper.

Initially Kuwait offered $1 million on the day of the tsunami, then
doubled it. A few days later, the contribution increased to $10 million and
has now soared to $100 million. Of the $100 million, 30 percent will be in
cash and the rest will fund reconstruction projects managed by the Kuwaiti
Fund for Economic Development.

Other Gulf countries have also stepped up their donations, partly in
response to criticism and also as the magnitude of the disaster became
clearer.

Saudi Arabia raised its contribution from $10 million to $30 million,
with another $101 million from public donations. The Saudi-based Islamic
Development Bank has allocated $10 million in emergency relief as part of a
broader aid package.

The United Arab Emirates raised its donation from $2 million to $20
million last week, while Algeria, Bahrain, and Libya have pledged $2
million
each. Other Arab countries without the Gulf's oil wealth such as Syria,
Jordan, and Egypt have sent planeloads of food, medicine, drinking water,
and blankets.

The public response has also accelerated as Arabs watch images of
suffering and devastation on their television screens. Qatar's Al Jazeera
satellite channel last week launched a campaign to encourage donations.

Record oil prices have swelled the coffers of the oil-producing Gulf
states in recent months. Kuwait, which is running a $10 billion budget
surplus, handed out $700 million to its citizens.

But some other Gulf countries cannot afford such generosity. Saudi
Arabia, despite a reputation for ostentatious wealth, badly needs the
additional revenues to lessen the kingdom's $163 billion public debt and
provide jobs for the rapidly expanding population.

"The British economy is bigger than all the economies of the Muslim
world, and the wealth of Israel exceeds all the wealth of the Gulf
countries, yet the kingdom which has offered aid and collected donations
gets criticized," Al-Riyadh, a Saudi newspaper, said in an editorial, one
of
several defensive commentaries in the Saudi press.

Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center,
says that the issue of donating to the tsunami disaster has "unfortunately,
been politicized."

"In terms of GDP and population size, the contribution of [Gulf]
countries is not insignificant," he says.

Indeed, on a per capita basis, the contribution of Gulf governments
matches or is greater than that of many Western governments.

For example, the US's pledge of $350 million in public money
represents about $1.20 per person. Meanwhile Kuwait's aid amounts to over
$44 per person and Qatar's $25 million pledge is nearly $30 per person.

Furthermore, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have
a history of providing humanitarian aid and funds, Mr. Sager says, citing
the 2001 earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat that killed 20,000
people, and last year's quake in Iran in which 26,000 residents perished.

Still, Professor Faqih takes a more skeptical view of the Arab aid
effort.

"From my standpoint, a culture of giving is associated with a culture
of tolerance, equality, openness, and respect for others' freedoms and
rights," he says. "Therefore, a culture hospitable to giving is still
largely missing in the Arab world."

. Tom McCawley contributed to this report from Jakarta, Indonesia.