Nothing is Free
Boxing day, 2004:
One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history (measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale), struck just off Sumatra, Indonesia, in a fault line running under the sea. The rupture caused massive waves, or tsunamis, that hurtled away from the epicenter,
reaching shores as far away as Africa. Over 150,000 people were killed (as of writing — this final figure is expected to rise further) and the livelihoods of millions were destroyed in over 10 countries. This has been one of the biggest natural disasters in recent human history.
Today’s top tsunami aid donors
Country/region Government* Private donations (Million dollars)
Australia 815.50 Asian Development Bank 675.00**
Germany 660.0 EU 529.30
Japan 500.00 USA 350.00
World Bank 250.00 Norway 181.90
Britain 96.00 Italy 95.00
China 83.00 Sweden 80.00
Canada 80.00 Denmark 76.83
Spain 68.02
UN OCHA spokesman, Robert Smith, told the Guardian:
“We should be very cautious about these figures [of massive aid pledges]. Let's put it this way. Large-scale disasters tend to result in mammoth pledges which... do not always materialise in their entirety. The figures look much higher than they really are. What will end up on the ground will be much less.”
Recent disasters
HURRICANE, Central America 1998
Pledged: £4.8bn
Delivered: £1.6bn
FLOODS, Mozambique 2000
Pledged: £214m
Delivered: £107m
EARTHQUAKE, Bam, Iran 2003
Pledged: £17.1m
Delivered: £9.5m
Some poor countries are told by the IMF and World Bank to pay around 20 to 25 percent of their export earnings towards debt repayment. Yet, “[n]o European country including Britain, France and Italy is repaying its loans at levels higher than four percent.
Relief organizations have calculated that as much as 75% of foreign aid is directly tied to trade access or other economic and political strategies. Some comes with so many strings attached, including preferential tendering on contracts and the hiring of consultants, that only 30-40% of dollar value is ever realized.
US policy dictates that much foreign aid be spent on costly imported medicines, weapons, agricultural produce or manufactured goods. Some European nations have a similar approach.
Total Third World debt continues to rise, despite ever-increasing payments, while aid is falling. The developing world now spends $13 on debt repayment for every $1 it receives.
posted by Pilgermann BM @ 7:02 AM
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