Humanitarian Crisis

There are many humanitarian crisis around the world each year, but today there is a very special one. It is special because it is nearer than usual (United States), is of an unprecedented scale (for that region), has mostly destroyed a city (New Orleans), and it seems that authorities don’t even know what to do. Kinda science-fiction. But sadly, this isn’t fiction at all.

Blog readers have probably seen that by now, but if you are a United States citizen, here is what you should do to help.

Right now, many people are dying, thousands of people are searching for food and a place to sleep at night. That’s called a humanitarian crisis. There are specialists of humanitarian problems at United Nations. They have handled problems like that before. Here is what they have to say:

Hurricane Katrina

“On behalf of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, I offer our deepest sympathy to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and to all those affected by this latest disaster to sweep the Gulf Region. The United Nations stands ready to assist the government and people of the United States. The United Nations Staff Union is currently raising funds to support the efforts of the American Red Cross in the areas affected.”

Jan Egeland Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

The UN responds to disasters upon requests from national governments. The UN has not been requested to assist in this case. If you would like to contribute to relief efforts in the affected states, please see the FEMA site for more information.

So the US isn’t asking for help. Fine, but they don’t seem able to coordinate things by themselves either. Could it be possible that the current US administration refuse the help only because they refuse to give any credibility to the UN? I wouldn’t be surprised by this.

After all, what I see on TV is Bush currently giving press conferences all around the affected area thanking everyone who helps like if he was in a political campaign for an election. Doesn’t that seems stupid?

(I should also note that many other contries have offered help, but this “isn’t needed currently” they were said. That may be good or wrong, depending on the time it takes to arrive, and the kind of help.)

Update: It seems that finally they decided to accept international help, including United Nations.

My grandmother passed away today (not related in anyway to this), and I’m crying for these poor souls far away. I can’t believe it. I’ll go pray for my her now.