South Asia's dark night

Catholic New Times, Jan 16, 2005

As Canadians, we have watched in horror at the dreadful loss of life wrought by the tsunami in south Asia on Dec. 26. As we write this early in 2005, the death toll stands at 150,000 and the largest relief operation in history is in full swing. Many deep feelings bubble up at this time, the foremost being overwhelming grief at such unmerited suffering. Another is a renewed respect for the vulnerability of each human life, including our own. The third is admiration for the care shown by Asian people for afflicted visitors, even at the cost of their own safety. A fourth is gratitude for the spontaneous outpouring of sympathy generated in people all over the world, once again confirming our deep religious belief that we are one Body, too precious for anything but mutual care. At times like this, we also grasp at a fundamental level, the absolute necessity of eliminating war and its voracious appetite for leaching the resources needed for the human family to flourish.

Ordinary Canadians, no strangers to the vagaries of the elements, have been reaching for the phone to pledge help, children are emptying piggy banks, businesses are coming forward with generous pledges. Volunteers are moved to tears as hardy citizens brave the elements to make their pledges. The sense of global solidarity is both palpable and touching. It is a glimpse of what we are collectively capable of when push comes to shove.

At times like this, we truly understand the absolute centrality of national governments in our lives. Only governments with their commanding powers of technological expertise, organizational links and huge discretionary funds can move the necessary infrastructural levers for massive assistance. In boundary situations of life and death, where we touch the deep mystery of human existence, any "hymn" to the salvific nature of the market is rendered mute, even obscene.

Two weak initial responses

It was illuminating to watch the initial reactions of the leaders of the Canadian and American governments. Both failed the test of leadership at a crucial juncture. Men who have led privileged lives, were unable to grasp the tragic profundity of the situation. Both seemed immobile, silent and incapable of quick, decisive leadership

Prime Minister Martin, on holiday in Morocco, was slow off the mark. Like many men of wealth whose deepest truths are abstract, death on such a massive scale did not come with a human face. Martin has never lived among poor South Asians, in Ontario or in the eastern townships of Quebec. But hundreds of thousands of "ordinary" Torontonians have. For example, in the GTA, the largest diaspora of Sri Lankans in the world live amoung us--many running convenience stores. Urban Canadians see these faces every day, eerily similar to those who died under the tsunami. Average folks were able to grasp this and respond quickly.

In December, CNT published Murray Dobbin's essay on how our elites are out of touch with ordinary Canadians. This disaster has shown Dobbin's prophetic insight to be tree. The Conservative Party, notorious for cutting foreign aid, had the gall to weigh in on the Liberal's initial slow start. The prime minister has found his compassionate self and is reflecting the Canadian core to the rest of the world.

Mr. Bush's response can only be described as embarrassing. A president who has taken more than his share of holidays, kept riding his dirt bike for three days at his Crawford, Texas ranch before he roused himself with a measly $5 million aid pledge through the UN. The global community simply shook its head in disbelief. The United Nations emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland, with a cocked eye at the U.S, called the initial aid offered by the West as "stingy."

On Dec. 28, stung by critical global opinion, the U.S., offered another $30 million, (now up to $350 million) The prestigious paper The New York Times said on Dec. 30 that the "initial response remains a miserly drop in the bucket and is in keeping with the pitiful amount of the United States budget that we allocate for non-military foreign aid." American relief per capita is still dwarfed by most other developed countries. Very few are impressed when a millionaire tosses a ten-dollar bill at a beggar. One must compare these sums with the $40 million for the Bush inauguration, the $1 billion plus daily for its military budget and now a dollar a head for global disaster. In comparison, Danes gave $2.90 and Swedes $8.50.

Skewed American government priorities

America's perception of itself as the world's most generous nation pales next to the reality. The international economist Jeffrey Sachs said, "We actually do very little by comparative measures. The disaster in Asia is a stark example of this for a lot of Americans. It challenges the perceptions of their own country. There is going to be even more shock when the U.S. government asks for an additional $80 billion for Iraq and the American public juxtaposes this with what was given in one of the worst natural disaster in history."