Wednesday, December 29, 2004
give because you're able to
GIVE BECAUSE YOU'RE ABLE TO
Wednesday December 29, 2004
Count your blessings, then donate
WHAT were your first thoughts when news of Sunday's devastating earthquake and tsunami reached you, and when the magnitude of the destruction finally hit you?
Responses I've gathered from friends and readers were varied.
There were those who counted their blessings that they were not at the troublespots at the time of the disaster, and then there were those who wondered how well prepared Singapore is if such a disaster were to hit us.
There were those who worried about their planned trips in the next few days or weeks to places such as Phuket and Penang, and then there were those who fretted over chances of getting refunds from airlines and travel agencies.
One Today reader wrote in with this question: Is our seafood safe, since the fishes we eat come from the region and would be feeding on corpses?And another reader wrote to express his disgust at hearing a few teenagers joke about the tsunami on his way to work.
As I took in the devastation on TV and the Internet - the ruined lands,vulnerable people clutching on to barely- stable structures as water rushedrapidly underneath them, scores of casualties lying at the crowded and rundown hospitals, rows of corpses, many of them helpless toddlers and children, and the heart-wrenching cries of grieving parents and spouses - I could not help but marvel at how blessed Singapore really is.
We are so close to the epicentre of the earthquake and the shores the tidal waves crashed into. Yet by sheer chance of geography, we were spared from the disaster.
But the same cannot be said for our neighbours.
While we complain about being giddy from minor tremors, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand are going about the hellishtask of retrieving the dead from the seas.
These are the same countries that rich Singaporeans flock to for holidays and the same we tap on for a constant supply of maids and construction workers.
In an article carried in yesterday's afternoon edition of Today, United Nations humanitarian chief Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland lashed outat rich countries for being stingy.
Also the head of emergency relief, he complained that none of the world's richest countries give 1 per cent of their gross national product to international assistance. Many give 0.1 per cent or 0.2 per cent.
"We were more generous when we were less rich. And it is beyond me why we are so stingy, really," he said. Should Singapore, as a nation, give more aid?
Should the individual Singaporean do more?
In this festive season, we must have spent - as a nation - millions on short and long getaways, generous Christmas gifts, lavish feasts and parties.
The refunds we're demanding may buy just about enough medical supplies to treat a badly-injured child in Sri Lanka.
You might have had to cancel your travel plans, but the woman from whose grip the waves stole her only child, the man whose family's three meals depend on his peddling of sarongs and pareos to sunbathing tourists, and that family whose house was flattened to the grounds - they have a life to rebuild.
Have you counted your blessings? If you haven't, do so. When you have, reach into your heart and think about those whose homes have been wrecked and livelihoods smashed.
If you're an employer of an anxious Indonesian maid or worried Indian construction workers, show some compassion and patience. If you have time to spare, offer your service to the various organisations that are coordinating relief and donation efforts.
If countries should give 1 per cent of GNP to international aid, perhaps companies here should also pledge a certain percentage of their annual turnover to help the quake victims.
And instead of that token $2 you fish out from your wallet to donate, perhaps you could think about a figure that really corresponds with how much you have.
Because we really can help so much more.
If you have a view on this, email news@newstoday.com.sg
Visit TODAYonline website at http://www.todayonline.com
you can do your part with DBS/POSB through iBanking or at any of the DBS/POSB ATM machines nationwide.
for Singtel users, you can call these numbers to make $10 or $50 donations.
Wednesday December 29, 2004
Count your blessings, then donate
WHAT were your first thoughts when news of Sunday's devastating earthquake and tsunami reached you, and when the magnitude of the destruction finally hit you?
Responses I've gathered from friends and readers were varied.
There were those who counted their blessings that they were not at the troublespots at the time of the disaster, and then there were those who wondered how well prepared Singapore is if such a disaster were to hit us.
There were those who worried about their planned trips in the next few days or weeks to places such as Phuket and Penang, and then there were those who fretted over chances of getting refunds from airlines and travel agencies.
One Today reader wrote in with this question: Is our seafood safe, since the fishes we eat come from the region and would be feeding on corpses?And another reader wrote to express his disgust at hearing a few teenagers joke about the tsunami on his way to work.
As I took in the devastation on TV and the Internet - the ruined lands,vulnerable people clutching on to barely- stable structures as water rushedrapidly underneath them, scores of casualties lying at the crowded and rundown hospitals, rows of corpses, many of them helpless toddlers and children, and the heart-wrenching cries of grieving parents and spouses - I could not help but marvel at how blessed Singapore really is.
We are so close to the epicentre of the earthquake and the shores the tidal waves crashed into. Yet by sheer chance of geography, we were spared from the disaster.
But the same cannot be said for our neighbours.
While we complain about being giddy from minor tremors, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand are going about the hellishtask of retrieving the dead from the seas.
These are the same countries that rich Singaporeans flock to for holidays and the same we tap on for a constant supply of maids and construction workers.
In an article carried in yesterday's afternoon edition of Today, United Nations humanitarian chief Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland lashed outat rich countries for being stingy.
Also the head of emergency relief, he complained that none of the world's richest countries give 1 per cent of their gross national product to international assistance. Many give 0.1 per cent or 0.2 per cent.
"We were more generous when we were less rich. And it is beyond me why we are so stingy, really," he said. Should Singapore, as a nation, give more aid?
Should the individual Singaporean do more?
In this festive season, we must have spent - as a nation - millions on short and long getaways, generous Christmas gifts, lavish feasts and parties.
The refunds we're demanding may buy just about enough medical supplies to treat a badly-injured child in Sri Lanka.
You might have had to cancel your travel plans, but the woman from whose grip the waves stole her only child, the man whose family's three meals depend on his peddling of sarongs and pareos to sunbathing tourists, and that family whose house was flattened to the grounds - they have a life to rebuild.
Have you counted your blessings? If you haven't, do so. When you have, reach into your heart and think about those whose homes have been wrecked and livelihoods smashed.
If you're an employer of an anxious Indonesian maid or worried Indian construction workers, show some compassion and patience. If you have time to spare, offer your service to the various organisations that are coordinating relief and donation efforts.
If countries should give 1 per cent of GNP to international aid, perhaps companies here should also pledge a certain percentage of their annual turnover to help the quake victims.
And instead of that token $2 you fish out from your wallet to donate, perhaps you could think about a figure that really corresponds with how much you have.
Because we really can help so much more.
If you have a view on this, email news@newstoday.com.sg
Visit TODAYonline website at http://www.todayonline.com
you can do your part with DBS/POSB through iBanking or at any of the DBS/POSB ATM machines nationwide.
for Singtel users, you can call these numbers to make $10 or $50 donations.
