W
K-,-t
ft
c
6
Feature
JJanuary
2005
I
PrSEE
FM
Kevin
Lalonde
sik.reaiures
cuuur
sity
o
a
ne
O
.B
ft
gen
'
All
other
figures
in
Canadian
dollars
unless
otherwise
noted.
v
It
seems
that
every
time
we
turn
on
the
television
these
days,
someone
else
has
died.
No
one
you
know,
mind
you,
no
one
from
'around
here,'
no
one
with
a
name
you
recognize.
We
watch
half
the
newscast,
chew
on
our
bottom
lip
as
if
to
say
"bummer"
to
those
who
may
be
watching
with
us,
feign
a
moment
more
of
interest,
and
finally
change
the
channel.
Family
Guy
is
on.
Sure,
it's
a
rerun,
but
it
sure
beats
the
news.
But
on
Boxing
Day,
2004,
something
very
different
happened.
Maybe
not
at
first,
but
it
happened.
When
we
went
to
bed
that
night,
the
BBC
told
us
that
at
least
6,000
people
had
died
in
SouthSouth
East
Asia
after
a
horrific
tidal
wave
slammed
into
the
coastline
of
a
dozen
countries,
including
Indonesia,
India,
Sri
Lanka,
Burma-Myanmar,
the
Maldives,
Thailand,
Somalia,
Malaysia,
Tanzania,
Seychelles,
even
South
Africa,
the
result
of
a
massive
earthquake
off
the
northern
tip
of
the
island
of
Sumatra
in
Indonesia.
When
we
awoke
the
next
morning,
the
big
news
agencies
were
saying
10,
even
1
1
,000
dead
now;
an
estimate
roughly
comparable
to
the
number
of
wounded
U.S.
servicemen
in
Iraq
since
the
invasion.
We
could
deal
with
this.
M
r
w
But
this
time,
we
kept
watching.
For
weeks,
we
all
kept
watching.
Unfortunately,
the
number
of
dead
hasn't
stopped
rising.
Every
time
we
turn
on
the
t.v.
or
the
radio,
it
seems
as
though
the
death
toll
has
risen
another
5,000.
Today,
according
to
the
South-East
Asian
Earthquake
and
Tsunami
Blog,
the
confirmed
death
toll
stands
at
166,165
and
estimates
that
number
to
rise
to
193,113.
24,000
remain
missing.
Western
reaction
to
the
tsunami
was
slow
at
first,
and
one
can
almost
understand
why.
After
all,
no
one
knew
just
what
was
going
on,
what
had
happened,
and
obviously
not
how
many
people
were
affected.
Several
days
after
the
initial
tsunami,
the
Bush
administration
pledged
$15
million
towards
relief;
an
act
of
unparalleled
stinginess,
accuse
many,
including
myself
at
first,
given
the
$40
million
projected
cost
of
President
Bush's
inauguration.
Later
that
week,
that
pledge
was
increased
to
$35
million.
The
Canadian
government,
having
taken
its
sweet
time
before
pledging
any
substantial
support,
soon
pledged
$40
million
of
its
own.
Things
were
moving
slowly.
As
of
today,
according
to
the
CBC,
over
$4
billion
US
has
been
pledged
to
help
victims
of
the
tsunami,
including
both
private
donations
and
government-sponsored
relief
funds.
The
US
government
has
boosted
its
contribution
to
$350
million,
or
$1.47
per
capita.
The
Canadian
government,
matching
privately
donated
funds
so
far,
has
pledged
$80
million,
$2.46
per
capita.
Nothing,
however,
matches
the
Australian
government's
pledge
of
$1
billion
for
Indonesia,
cashing
in
at
$50.17
per
capita.
Government
funds,
it
seems,
are
pouring
in
like
floodwater.
In
addition,
military
forces
have
been
dispatched
areas
to
help
deal
with
the
crisis
by
delivering
food
by
and
distributing
relief
packages
in
areas
they
can
actually
m
week
after
the
tsunami
struck,
Prime
Minister
Paul
Martin
aiii
he
would
deploy
Canada's
Disaster
Assistance
Respom
(DART)
to
Ampara
in
Sri
Lanka
to
aid
in
humanitarian
worktheiJ
late
than
never,
one
might
think.
But
what
about
private
contributions?
How
are
individuals
and
abroad
trying
to
help
with
the
relief
effort?
And
what
el
done?
Private
donations
so
far
have
been
substantial.
In
Canada
afl
"According
to
CBC,
over
$4
billion
US
has
been
pledged
to
help
victims
of
the
tsunami"
million
has
been
raised
for
organizations
like
m
fr
Cross,
Red
Crescent,
0
others.
All
over
the
world,
tainly
here
in
Canada,'fut
efforts
ranging
from
carwa
relief
concerts
have
raia
dreds
of
thousands
of
doll
concerned
citizens
trying
ti
any
way
they
can.
Eveni
have
cashed
in
their
piggyl
order
to
contribute
to
the
elementary
school's
penny
drive.
Everyone
seems
to
be
corn
helping
those
people
on
the
other
side
of
the
globe
that
theyn
would
have
forgotten
in
the
din
of
their
own
year-end
holidays.
So
why
is
it
that
people,
both
privately
and
in
government
eager
to
give?
Why
is
it
that
according
to
UN
humanitarians
Egeland,
more
money
has
been
pledged
for
tsunami
relief
tha'ni
humanitarian
appeals
by
the
UN
in
2004
combined?
I
"It's
definitely
not
Christmas
cheer
that
does
it,"
jokes
one
Ol
dent.
I
"I
think
that
typically,
people
are
kind,
and
want
to
help
ois
there
s
a
certain
degree
of
unaccount-ability
involved
in
natural
disasters.
White
neo-conservatives
can't
just
keep
their
wallets
locked
tight
and
say
'it's
their
own
fault
they
live
in
some
God-forsaken
country'
and
ignore
the
problem,"
suggests
this
student.
"Not
this
time,
not
like
they
did
with
the
Darfur
crisis,
or
the
AIDS
epidemic
in
sub-Saharan
Africa.
There's
no
one
"Here
in
Pirn
George,
planri
is
already
underwayji
numerous1
fundraising
eva
to
blame.
This
time,
they
know
it
could
happen
to
them
or
their
kids
at
UVic
or
their
retired
parents
in
Seattle.
They
have
to
help."
Next
question,
who's
giving?
As
CBC's
Rex
Murphy
was?
point
out,
it
seems
that
the
worst
things
always
happen
to
thej
people
in
the
weakest
of
circumstances.
But
who'd
have
thouj
poorest
of
people
would
give
so
much?
I
'
Last
week,
the
Russian
town
of
Beslan,
known
for
being
the
of
a
horrific
school
siege
late
last
year,
pledged
1
m
roubles,
$36,000
US,
from
the
fund
set
up
after
the
bloody
hostage-,
taking
event
it
has
hardly
even
recovered
from.
Mozambique,
recognized
as
one
of
the
world's
poorest
and
most
destitute
nations,
has
donated
$100,000.
Even
Nepal
and
East
Timor,
poverty-stricken
coun
tries
that
have
played
host
to
some
of
the
bloodiest
conflicts
and
occupations
in
history,
have
pledged
donations
to
help
South
East
Asia's
tsunami
victims.
This
kind
of
gene-