Everybody chips in to help
Biggest aid operation in history underwayDecember 29, 2004 Edition 1
As waht the UN described as the biggest international aid operation in history got into gear yesterday, countless local people in countries stricken by a massive tidal wave disaster were providing their own help with whatever came to hand.
Dozens of trucks and vans lined up in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, as locals sought to help fellow citizens in a country that suffered at least 12 000 dead.
"My family and I came with our spare clothes, food, bottled water - all for my fellow citizens battling it out against nature's worst disaster," said D K Wickremesinghe, a 47-year-old management consultant.
In India, where more than 8 500 were known to have died, the Red Cross issued an appeal for food, clothes, tarpaulins and kitchen utensils, and the cabinet met in emergency session to authorise immediate spending of about R6 billion.
At United Nations headquarters in New York, meanwhile, officials said that the biggest disaster relief operation ever staged would be needed to deal with the disaster, with seven countries suffering massive damage and many others affected.
UN emergency experts were to arrive in Sri Lanka and the Maldives yesterday, but the world body was struggling to reach its staff in Sumatra in Indonesia, near the epicentre of the undersea earthquake that caused the tsunamis.
Jan Egeland, the UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters that relief operations would be the biggest ever, as the destruction was not confined to one country or region.
Among individual countries, Japan said it would provide about R230 million for emergency food, medicine and shelter. In Washington, the US government pledged nearly R86 million in immediate aid and promised more.
The US Navy dispatched three P3 reconnaissance aircraft from Japan to help in rescue operations. The Chinese government announced that it was providing R15 million in aid in the form of food, tents, blankets and cash.
The European Union has already pledged up to R230 million in emergency aid France sent a plane carrying 100 doctors and aid experts, along with Foreign Minister Michel Barnier.
Other European countries were also pledging aid from governments and private donors.
In addition to government efforts, non-governmental organisations and private firms in many countries were launching urgent appeals for funds from the public. Help was also coming from expatriate communities around the world.
Sri Lankans and Thais living in the US state of California queued up to donate food, clothes, medicines and money.
