Stunning

[gilliam]

Or perhaps not:

It has been three weeks since my ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived off the Sumatran coast to aid the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged their coastline. I’d like to say that this has been a rewarding experience for us, but it has not: Instead, it has been a frustrating and needlessly dangerous exercise made even more difficult by the Indonesian government and a traveling circus of so-called aid workers who have invaded our spaces. What really irritated me was a scene I witnessed in the Lincoln’s wardroom a few days ago. I went in for breakfast as I usually do, expecting to see the usual crowd of ship’s company officers in khakis and air wing aviators in flight suits, drinking coffee and exchanging rumors about when our ongoing humanitarian mission in Sumatra is going to end.

What I saw instead was a mob of civilians sitting around like they owned the place. They wore various colored vests with logos on the back including Save The Children, World Health Organization and the dreaded baby blue vest of the United Nations. Mixed in with this crowd were a bunch of reporters, cameramen and Indonesian military officers in uniform. They all carried cameras, sunglasses and fanny packs like tourists on their way to Disneyland.

My warship had been transformed into a floating hotel for a bunch of trifling do-gooders overnight.

As I went through the breakfast line, I overheard one of the U.N. strap-hangers, a longhaired guy with a beard, make a sarcastic comment to one of our food servers. He said something along the lines of “Nice china, really makes me feel special,” in reference to the fact that we were eating off of paper plates that day. It was all I could do to keep from jerking him off his feet and choking him, because I knew that the reason we were eating off paper plates was to save dishwashing water so that we would have more water to send ashore and save lives. That plus the fact that he had no business being there in the first place.

Read the whole thing. (via Smash)

 

[Matt25]

**abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=397538

**

Jan. 9, 2005 - Indonesia warned aid workers Sunday that separatist rebels had infiltrated camps sheltering survivors of the Dec. 26 tsunami as fears escalated that the stricken area’s long-simmering insurgency could hamper efforts to help victims of the 2-week-old disaster.

Violence in tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka also revived security fears for aid workers setting up operations there. Christians and Hindus clashed in the eastern part of the country, where a massive aid effort is underway. At least three people were killed and 37 injured.

In Banda Aceh, gunfire echoed through the main tsunami-hit city on Indonesia’s Sumatra island Sunday. Indonesian authorities blamed separatist rebels for the shooting near the U.N. compound in Banda Aceh.

No aid workers were injured in either incident.

Relief workers poured into the region as aid officials announced plans to feed as many as 2 million survivors a day for the next six months, focusing particularly on young children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka overshadowed the visit of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to tsunami-devastated areas there. Hundreds of people protested in the Tamil-dominated north Sunday after Annan acceded to a government request not to visit stricken areas under Tamil rebel control.

“I’m hoping to come back and be able to visit all areas of the country, not only those repaired, but also to celebrate peace,” Annan said. “The U.N. is not here to take sides.”

The Tigers have fought a 20-year war for Tamil independence from the Sinhalese-dominated south, killing thousands.

There was an unofficial truce after last month’s disaster, which left more than 100,000 dead in the province, but a series of recent skirmishes have prompted Indonesia’s military to step up patrols for the guerrillas.

The Indonesian government warning offered no details about the infiltrations but came just hours after police in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, blamed the separatists for a burst of gunfire close to the main U.N. compound in the town.

Citing military sources for the reports of rebels mingling with refugees, military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki told the state-run Antara news agency that volunteers must understand that “this is still a conflict-torn region.”

Adding to security concerns is the appearance of Laskar Mujahidin, an extremist group with alleged links to al-Qaida. The group, which has set up an aid camp, says it is there to help and will not target foreigners, but its reassurances have not dampened worries. But aid workers kept arriving, with the World Food Program sending 170 staff members. Other agencies have similar numbers.

World governments, led by Australia and Germany, have pledged nearly $4 billion in aid the biggest relief package ever. The United States has pledged $350 million, which President Bush called only an “initial commitment” while American relief officials identify needs.

The U.S. military, which has hundreds of Marines and Navy personnel on ships near Sumatra and in Sri Lanka, said aid workers must remain vigilant while working in restive areas.

“Security is a constant planning factor in all that we do,” U.S. Army aid coordinator Maj. Nelson Chang said.

Rain pounded relief workers Sunday, turning Banda Aceh airport the hub for aid supplies into a muddy mess and soaking piles of cardboard boxes of aid sitting on the tarmac. Scores of tents where aid workers and soldiers camped had become a quagmire.

The rainy season downpours could complicate a relief effort already hamstrung by damaged roads and bridges washed away.

Refugee camps are being built on Sumatra to house and feed half a million homeless people.

 

[Michael_C]

Or perhaps not:

It has been three weeks since my ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived off the Sumatran coast to aid the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged their coastline. I’d like to say that this has been a rewarding experience for us, but it has not: Instead, it has been a frustrating and needlessly dangerous exercise made even more difficult by the Indonesian government and a traveling circus of so-called aid workers who have invaded our spaces. What really irritated me was a scene I witnessed in the Lincoln’s wardroom a few days ago. I went in for breakfast as I usually do, expecting to see the usual crowd of ship’s company officers in khakis and air wing aviators in flight suits, drinking coffee and exchanging rumors about when our ongoing humanitarian mission in Sumatra is going to end.

What I saw instead was a mob of civilians sitting around like they owned the place. They wore various colored vests with logos on the back including Save The Children, World Health Organization and the dreaded baby blue vest of the United Nations. Mixed in with this crowd were a bunch of reporters, cameramen and Indonesian military officers in uniform. They all carried cameras, sunglasses and fanny packs like tourists on their way to Disneyland.

My warship had been transformed into a floating hotel for a bunch of trifling do-gooders overnight.

As I went through the breakfast line, I overheard one of the U.N. strap-hangers, a longhaired guy with a beard, make a sarcastic comment to one of our food servers. He said something along the lines of “Nice china, really makes me feel special,” in reference to the fact that we were eating off of paper plates that day. It was all I could do to keep from jerking him off his feet and choking him, because I knew that the reason we were eating off paper plates was to save dishwashing water so that we would have more water to send ashore and save lives. That plus the fact that he had no business being there in the first place.

Read the whole thing. (via Smash)

The truth is that sometimes Charity can become big business and people can lose focus on what’s important. Let’s hope these people all contribute to relieving the victims there.