Countries Must Consider Where Aid is Going in Relief Funds
Alexandra Ferrara
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: Opinion
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So here is the first problem. We are donating to a country that only maintains "friendly relations" because they are benefiting economically and politically from the United States.
Second of all, our aid would be helping supporters of anti-American sentiment. A Gallup poll of Pakistanis published in October 2001 indicated that 83 percent of them sympathized with the Taliban rather than the United States, while 82 percent considered Osama bin Laden a holy warrior, not a terrorist. While this specific example may be dated, there are still signs of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan as current as this year. In May 2005, 15 U.S. soldiers were killed in a rally against America that took place in Peshawar, Pakistan. Demonstrators were burning American flags and propagating hateful anti-American sentiments. Clearly, the detestation of America is something that is still on the rise. Who, in their right mind, would donate money to fund a country in its "state of disaster" that aids the killing of our soldiers, the burning of our flag, and the bastardization of our country?
Thirdly, the manner in which donations are distributed to relief organizations is extremely unclear. After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, commonly known as "the tsunami," donations in the form of food, medicine, volunteers and money were given to the victimized countries. There is a huge loophole in this setup. These donations are given to the government or country consul. Most of the time donations are food and medicine, items that would not be exploited if donated to victims; however, the bigger issue is the donation of money. For example, Turkey donated $37.6 million (USD) to the governments of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives for reconstruction projects. $37.6 million is quite a large amount of money to trust a government to put to good use.
One of the hardest-hit areas in the recent earthquake, the highly unstable region of Kashmir, is a province that has seen a significant rise in Muslim extremism and has also become a recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda-linked groups. What is to stop these groups from attempting to overthrow government organized relief projects in hopes of embezzling the donated money?
This situation is clearly a difficult one. We must truly consider what we are supporting once we decide to help a nation in turmoil, not only with itself, but with many other nations.
Second of all, our aid would be helping supporters of anti-American sentiment. A Gallup poll of Pakistanis published in October 2001 indicated that 83 percent of them sympathized with the Taliban rather than the United States, while 82 percent considered Osama bin Laden a holy warrior, not a terrorist. While this specific example may be dated, there are still signs of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan as current as this year. In May 2005, 15 U.S. soldiers were killed in a rally against America that took place in Peshawar, Pakistan. Demonstrators were burning American flags and propagating hateful anti-American sentiments. Clearly, the detestation of America is something that is still on the rise. Who, in their right mind, would donate money to fund a country in its "state of disaster" that aids the killing of our soldiers, the burning of our flag, and the bastardization of our country?
Thirdly, the manner in which donations are distributed to relief organizations is extremely unclear. After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, commonly known as "the tsunami," donations in the form of food, medicine, volunteers and money were given to the victimized countries. There is a huge loophole in this setup. These donations are given to the government or country consul. Most of the time donations are food and medicine, items that would not be exploited if donated to victims; however, the bigger issue is the donation of money. For example, Turkey donated $37.6 million (USD) to the governments of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives for reconstruction projects. $37.6 million is quite a large amount of money to trust a government to put to good use.
One of the hardest-hit areas in the recent earthquake, the highly unstable region of Kashmir, is a province that has seen a significant rise in Muslim extremism and has also become a recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda-linked groups. What is to stop these groups from attempting to overthrow government organized relief projects in hopes of embezzling the donated money?
This situation is clearly a difficult one. We must truly consider what we are supporting once we decide to help a nation in turmoil, not only with itself, but with many other nations.