return; the politics of charity
The informal hiatus is over; I'm still in unemployed limbo but will probably stay in the Seattle area for the next month, so back to substantial blogging (I hope). It has not escaped me that I've been neglecting several of the above categories (music, food, film) so I'll try to direct more time to them--though as always, books and politics remain my primary preoccupations.
The Sunday NYT had an article about the surplus of aid money from the tsunami donor response--and today there's coverage of a Clinton's recent suggestion that the extra aid should be diverted to Africa. Both left me wondering why there's been no talk (a far as I've seen) of diverting some of the surplus to the continuing quake response effort in Pakistan, especially as the money would seem to be in hand (much of the emergency aid money pledged in response to the Pakistan quake has not yet been distributed, despite the continuing urgency of the situation).
That said, I don't know what legal constraints exist in channeling aid donated for a specific place or purpose to another; something to keep in mind when making donations. Oxfam has a "Global Emergencies" fund that exists for just this reason; donations go into a general pool and the money is directed wherever it is needed most at the moment. Perhaps some broader similar fund could be created to absorb and redistribute aid money from a variety of sources? In related news, Contrapuntal just gave another talk in Oxford on the political response to the Pakistan quake; see some posts here and here. Also, my good friend B., who put me up in DC last week, is part of the volunteer team working on RISEPAK (Relief Information System for Earthquakes-Pakistan), an innovative effort to coordinate aid efforts in the earthquake zone via a community-run web information portal that aggregates demographic data, damage reports, and feedback from relief personnel on the ground. Go check out their website--it's a really interesting initiative, and one that I imagine will create a blueprint for responses to future disasters (natural or otherwise) in remote regions where politics and geography complicate effective relief efforts.
The Sunday NYT had an article about the surplus of aid money from the tsunami donor response--and today there's coverage of a Clinton's recent suggestion that the extra aid should be diverted to Africa. Both left me wondering why there's been no talk (a far as I've seen) of diverting some of the surplus to the continuing quake response effort in Pakistan, especially as the money would seem to be in hand (much of the emergency aid money pledged in response to the Pakistan quake has not yet been distributed, despite the continuing urgency of the situation).
That said, I don't know what legal constraints exist in channeling aid donated for a specific place or purpose to another; something to keep in mind when making donations. Oxfam has a "Global Emergencies" fund that exists for just this reason; donations go into a general pool and the money is directed wherever it is needed most at the moment. Perhaps some broader similar fund could be created to absorb and redistribute aid money from a variety of sources? In related news, Contrapuntal just gave another talk in Oxford on the political response to the Pakistan quake; see some posts here and here. Also, my good friend B., who put me up in DC last week, is part of the volunteer team working on RISEPAK (Relief Information System for Earthquakes-Pakistan), an innovative effort to coordinate aid efforts in the earthquake zone via a community-run web information portal that aggregates demographic data, damage reports, and feedback from relief personnel on the ground. Go check out their website--it's a really interesting initiative, and one that I imagine will create a blueprint for responses to future disasters (natural or otherwise) in remote regions where politics and geography complicate effective relief efforts.
posted by kitabet at 1:34 PM
1 Comments:
Well millions of dollars donated after 9/11 have been channeled into Business Redevelopment and new business development. Some of those businesses aren't even in New York! With that ethical slap in the face as a comparison, I can't see why diverting money to the Pakistani quake emergency would be a problem.
Last I heard Musshie was able to secure the $5 Billion he had requested so hopefully some progress can be made soon.
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