Weird Competition

Sorry for not posting for some time. As I mentioned in my last post I am reading a new book (Hegeomy or Survival) and it has severely affected me. And yes I am still reading it. I admit I am not the most proficient reader and Chomsky does tend to use "big" words (some of which I have had to look up).

Anyways this post is not really about my reading skills. I wish to comment on what seems to be a rather morbid and misplaced obsession by the world and particularly the media on the Tsunami disaster. Now don't get me wrong, as most people, I am horrified by the sheer destruction and will not for a moment pretend to understand what this disaster has meant for the people affected. It just seems the world was caught up in a game of competitive compassion and mortality rates. Let's face it the headlines focused on the death toll and how much money was given. In the initial aftermath money was pledged by most governments and then pledged again and again in a game of dueling generosity. The later media coverage seemed to be obsessed with the ever rising death toll.

While I believe that both are newsworthy and has probably resulted in more money being pledged to the area (for which they need every penny), the news has diminished now that the statistics aren't changing. Clearly there is still much to be done there. Much of the independent and critical press, which sadly I believe is unread by most, is doubtful if the dollars will ever leave the coffers to the tune that they have been pledged. Even more so now that the worlds attention, and media, is once again focused in Iraq. History also does not appear to be on our side as other disasters have yet to see their pledges delivered:

• Bam, Iran -- Earthquake 2003, $1.1bn promised $17.5 Delivered
• Honduras / Nicaragua -- Hurricane 1998, $8.7bn pledged, Less than a third delivered.

Makes you wonder if the pledges of support are window dressing. I heard on the radio this morning a startling statistic that 210, 000 children die every week from preventable diseases caused by conditions of sever poverty. In essence a Tsunami disaster once a week. The radio spot was highlighting the difficulties facing the world in fulfilling the pledge of eradicating poverty by 2015. Given the world's track record of supporting social issues such as poverty or aids relief in Africa, it is difficult to be optimistic that the world will ever achieve this goal.