Blue Tsunami

Aid of all sorts - Food, clothing, temporary housing, and money - is flowing into the earthquake- and tsunami-battered regions of Southeast Asia. The world is responding in ways consistent with the needs of the governments and the peoples, who will be hard-pressed in the coming days, weeks, and months to rebuild infrastructures, businesses, homes, and, indeed, lives from the chaos that now exists.

To those that suffer, the aid will never arrive quickly enough. Many of those who survived the catastrophe may well die from injuries or neglect or disease. But the world's governments, charitable organizations, businesses, and private donors are making herculean efforts to speed aid to the devastated region. It is times like this, when people respond so sincerely to others in need, that we can be proud to be human. But it is sad, at the same time, to contemplate the greed and the indifference to human suffering that runs parallel to these benevolent acts.

In due course, we shall hear of the misuse of aid funds, the misdirection of relief supplies to private use and enrichment, and gross mismanagement.

Relief supplies are arriving in the disaster areas at a faster rate than they can be distributed. Food is being left unattended on beaches and at docks, unwarehoused and open to the effects of weather and of theft and vandalism. No doubt we will hear of the vast stores of perishable foods left to rot in the open for lack of a means of distribution.

Past reactions to natural disasters have shown us that not all who flood into a disaster area are kind, good, and generous. Not all who live in an area are concerned with the well being of their neighbors. With the tons of supplies and the billions of dollars come the sharks to feed on the wealth.

Much of the international aid to the region will be coordinated by the United Nations, for bettter or for worse. The organization has not fared well lately, suffering shocks to its foundations regarding the corruption in the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, the widespread accusations of sexual misconduct in several of its recent ventures, particularly in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and other African countries. We should expect to see the same kind of failed policy in its Indian Ocean operations as in its others.

National, provincial, and local governments in the affected areas are pleading for assistance - all the essentials for living are needed. Yet, these very 'people' oriented institutions will not work to their potential to alleviate the pain and suffering of their citizens. Rather, the leaders will divert a good portion of relief money and material to support their friends and families, to feather their own nests, and to line their own pockets.

At a lower level, the huge humanitarian effort now underway will do much to bolster the lifestyles of gangsters, black marketeers, and other undesirable elements. These societal misfits, who have always lived off the hard labors of good people, will continue to reap benefits in the wake of the tsunami.

While some have decried the slow response of the President to recognize the magnitude of the disaster that swamped the subcontinent region, it may be well that he has decided the best course is to evaluate the situation on a daily basis and make adjustments as needs arise. It serves no useful purpose to throw tons of food and supplies into the region when means of distribution are still being established. To do so will simply make billions of dollars of essential relief open to theft, spoilage, and weather damage.

Governments should be encouraged to provide safe depots of deposit for relief supplies, guarded by local militias and police, to discourage loss through vandalism and theft. Distribution of goods should be the work of the military and bonded contractors, where necessary, to minimize corruption.

Let us hope this disaster sets the standard for all future relief efforts of such a massive scale. It would be nice, but not likely without the determination of all concerned - the relief organizations, the governments, and the people who stand to benefit the most from a successful operation.