First the winds, then the rain, and the flood;- and then the crisis began. Put simply, water sources in affected areas are either contaminated or submerged and according to the United Nations "millions of people affected by flooding in South Asia face a health crisis unless relief work is urgently stepped up".
No further explanation necessary. The World Health Organization and Unicef said "stagnant waters left by the floods are a lethal breeding ground for diarrhoeal and waterborne disease at potential epidemic level."
Now to the math, children, make up 40% of South Asia's population, in India, with some 20 million people in the states of Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh hit by the floods, about eight million people are affected in Bangladesh and another 300,000 people in southern Nepal.
In a difficult time for many affected in Asia, all they can do is to pray for help. Where is the UN when you need it the most? To their credit, there are unconfirmed reports that they are working around the clock, to send relief and medical assistance to the affected. That is good news, especially for an institution that need all the disasters to salvage its image and its importance in the global community.
BUT if the reports are anything close to accurate,” more rain is on the way and the flood season is likely to continue for several weeks". That is not good news for Asia and the Global community as a whole, especially in the United States where the mere mention of the word 'flood' revives every memory of Hurricane Katrina.
I hate to admit it, but maybe Al Gore and his Inconvenient Truth saw the writing on the wall. Just a thought!
34 comments:
Its very unfortunate that electronic and print media in India is covering petty issues and not paying much needed atention to this natural clamity, may be to save the face of Government. International news channels are playing a good role to draw the attention of the world community towards these victims. Its time to come forward and rise above political agenda for the sake of humanity.
The world can only help, when we stop spending so much money on precision-guided smart bombs & missiles
Of course somebody should help, not just the USA . . dude we got our own problems here and the first sign on trouble we are the first yopu look to. . However the moment there is a screw up, we are the first to blame. I feel sorry for these guys but Japan and China are closer, they should send aid . Leave the US out of it.
Yes Jeff good point, what about our own flood victims? I don't think we should send so much aid to the S. Asia, they have had enough off us. We have 1000's of flood victims still here and what do they recieve, nothing.
I can't believe what I am reading from my countrymen. Of course the US should and will send aid. I would guess our WWII generation is appauled at the current generations reaction to world events. The US should stand as a becon of hope for the world, willing to help when and where needed without expectation of some reward. That is how we built our reputation as a great nation in the past and it has seemed to have been undone in a very short span of time. Buck up WEST and do the right thing.
Have the US stop their operations in Iraq for one week and use that budget to cooperate helping disaster victims.
This is an effect of Global warming.In south asia flooding ia the biggest threat to humans.Specially in Bangladesh duing Monsoon flodding and by other weather problems thousands of people die every year.Two third of that nation is under water and it is the most crowded nation in the world.Other nations of the world must open the door for these people to migrate to live and settle there. Global warming is caused by some rich nations and it is their duty they must help these poor peoples.
The floods in the Eastern part of the Sub-continent, comprising of eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal is a yearly event. It affects about 25 million people or more. Bangladesh takes the severest blow as all the major rivers flow through this country to the Bay of Bengal. Is it not about time that the three countries come together to work out a long tem solution to this yearly menace?
So the "West" can keep their aid and help themselves first (eg. Katrina, I35W bridge collapse in Minnisota etc). Your thoughts and prayers are more than enough. Not needed but thanks anyway.
Stop funding the war in Iraq, and divert every penny to Asia. If there is a surplus, send it to the citizens New Orleans.
Let countries like Venezuela, help. Chavez likes to run off at the mouth...
Short term: Allocate resources from aid organizations to assemble camps and supply clean water and basic food and shelter. Red Cross, IRC, etc. -- call out for more volunteers and funding for this specifically.
Long term: just as the medical profession has branched out, so too must the engineering profession. There must be a way to implement a 2-3 year plan where well-educated engineers dedicate their time in a developing nation to help these populations with infrastructure.
Any aid should be through charity organizations that actually deliver the aid directly. Using the governments is always a mistake.
It's time we start helping each other without the government middlemen. If we did this we would be much happier because our poor would be taxed less and the middle class would choose whom they believe best delivers the service.
Please know many do care. It’s just everyone is struggling because of poor leadership all over the world.
Do not waste time asking this question; just send what you have at you disposal to the victims.
COLD FACT: A country which has enough to spend on advanced weapons has enough to spare for disaster relief.
Having said that, any Western country refusing to help faces both condemnation and guilt pangs.
What should be done to help S Asia flood victims?
Education & birth control, & none of my tax pounds.
This is a HUMANITARIAN issue. This means, when things like this happen, humans help each other, you do not bring politics, governments or religion into it, you only show your humanity to your fellow man in need.
If you can't do this, your not fit to be a member of the human race.
I grew up in Texas where there is a long tradition of helping your neighbor when they are in trouble. I know that Texas is not the only place where this tradition exists.
My heart goes out to the people of India and Bangladesh affected by the floods. I certainly don't mind sending money.
I am personally giving nothing to flood relief because I'm not prepared to subsidize their nuclear programme by propping up basic infrastructure that should have been put in place years before they started developing WMD.
Morons
Morons
Nothing should be done at this point. We should remain focused on the war of terror as it is the real battle to be won. Nothing should derail us from that goal and our resources should be preserved for a stable & safe future for the next generation.
angladesh have a history of such disasters and yet nothing 'concrete' has been done. To be honest,a lot of the local taxpayers' money has not been properly utilized for decades.
Thankfully the current interim government is bringing on radical changes and hopfully a lot can be acieved on their own.I really don't think they should be at the mercy of outsiders although that's the image the past corrupt governments wanted to portray,in order to get more aid...for themselves.
Simple, be prepared to help should help be asked for, otherwise they're capable of managing this themselves.
A country with enough money for its own ICBM Nuclear Weapons Programme & one that can afford a large percentage of its GDP to be spent on defense does not need any help from Western taxpayers, citizens or subjects.
Set up a free phone donation line for those members of the public who would like to send money. Don't use tax money that is needed in this country for flood, defense, schooling, the homeless, housing. . .
The west need not be under the delusion that flood will affect only S Asia. Global warming may not spare any country on the back of this globe. Thousands in Europe, especially England, have already become flood victims. So the flood relief agencies should target areas on much larger scale rather than helping only S Asia.
Most of the survivals of the Tsunami have received close to nothing still out of the pledged billions which have never arrived in spite of high profile representation of the West. It is a real tragedy on Earth to be poor.
India is apparently a superpower now, with some of the most expensive land prices in the world, nuclear missiles that can hit China and serious ambitions to enter the space race.
I am personally giving nothing to flood relief because I'm not prepared to subsidize their nuclear programme by propping up basic infrastructure that should have been put in place years before they started developing WMD.
What can be done to help S Asia flood victims?
Education & birth control, & none of my tax dollars.
Move them to higher ground!
Let countries like Venezuela, help. Chavez likes to run off at the mouth, but I haven't seen his oil rich country do anything to support those in need, in other parts of the world. Time for him to put up or shut up, if he wants to be a world player. Otherwise he is just another petty dictator.
weather alterations are coming in good measure due the masive overpopulution ...more people represent more cars, more public transportation services, more polluting industry, more flights to be done, etc.
I think these countries need to do something about cutting their population growth before we can do anything very much except send food to the survivors.
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