the tsunami donation game
While the UN is decrying America for being "stingy," Al-Jazeera is criticizing Uncle Sam for
being opportunistic. Clearly, there's no winning this game.
But there's a larger issue here. Has the tsunami disaster degenerated into a contest amongst industrialized nations to
pony up the largest pledge? The media, fueling this fire, report hourly on the latest donations, just as surely as they provide the latest body count. Which is more morbid?
As each country appears to one-up the next, I'm concerned that the human meaning of the tragedy be lost as states try to keep up with the Joneses. There is a real mission here, and millions of people are contributing meaningfully. But the endless stage-managing (from which America's certainly not immune) ultimately hurts the entire process.
There was
at least one report today indicating that UN staff believed that Jan Egeland's "stingy" remark was a masterful gesture of psychological manipulation -- shame them into giving.
The question is, has he poisoned the process for the next disaster?
Marc
posted this at
5.1.05
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