Great South Asian Quake/Tsunami of 2004

Top 160. Feb 20, 2005 4:33 PM

» Lawhawk - NYT steps in baby pooh without doing the research

http://wizbangblog.com/archives/005146.p... - turns out that the NYT ran an ongoing story about how multiple families were trying to claim a tsunami survivor, a baby, as their own.

Only problem - there was no fight among eight or nine couples. Only one couple made the claim (and it was their child).

Nice story. Just fiction, printed by the Times as a legitimate news story.

Who did the Times think they were publishing? Jayson Blair?

-- posted by Lawhawk

Top 161. Feb 22, 2005 7:41 AM

» Lawhawk - Water supplies threatened

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/42... - whether it's from wells tainted by seawater or wells that are contaminated with asbestos or other materials, potable water supplies in affected areas are at risk. This means that there is a continuing risk of disease caused by inadequate drinking water supplies.

-- posted by Lawhawk

http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/00371...

Top 162. Mar 3, 2005 6:20 AM

» Lawhawk - Pig Flying Moment: UN Actually Helpful in Relief Efforts

-- posted by Lawhawk

Top 163. Mar 7, 2005 6:51 AM

» Lawhawk - Re: Lots of gaul

In response to Lots of gaul posted by Lawhawk:

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/408... - more people are filing suit against the US government for failing to warn of the tsunami risk, despite the fact there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.

-- posted by Lawhawk

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/...

Top 164. Mar 24, 2005 12:45 PM

» Lawhawk - UN HCR to leave Aceh, Indonesia this weekend

The UN refugee agency has announced it is withdrawing from the tsunami-hit Indonesian province of Aceh on Friday.
The UNHCR's pullout comes ahead of the introduction of new restrictions on foreign aid agencies doing only emergency relief in the region.
Jakarta apparently failed to approve the agency's plans, which include the large-scale building of new homes.
Correspondents say Jakarta has uneasy relations with the UNHCR, which it distrusts over ethnic Acehnese aims.
Regional UNHCR representative Robert Ashe expressed disappointment, but said his staff were happy to return if asked.
The Indonesian government originally set a target of 26 March - three months after the Indian Ocean tsunami - for the withdrawal of all foreign aid agencies which are not contributing to long-term reconstruction.
Last week this deadline was extended by a month, but Mr Ashe said his agency had already set the withdrawal in motion.
But UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland told the BBC it should be up to the agencies themselves to decide when to leave.
"I have concern that there are public statements along the line of deadlines," he said. "I have the hope and belief we will avoid abrupt deadlines."
Difficult relationship
The Indonesian government says the target date, now set at 27 April, was necessary to consolidate efforts and provide security.

-- posted by Lawhawk

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7277055/

Top 165. Mar 25, 2005 7:48 AM

» Lawhawk - Rebuilding three months later...

-- posted by Lawhawk

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/06/intern...

Top 166. Apr 6, 2005 6:15 AM

» Lawhawk - Relief aid comes slowly to Aceh Province

Tens of thousands of bodies from among more than 126,000 reported dead in Aceh Province have been cleared away and nearly half a million homeless people have found other places to live.
But among the ruins here, and for many miles along the coastline of barren fishing villages, almost nothing seems to have been done to begin repairs and rebuilding.
There is little sign in Aceh of the billions of dollars in donations from governments, aid organizations, civic groups and individual people who reached out to help from around the world.
"The only thing we've gotten is small packets of food and supplies," said Samsur Bahri, 54, a shopkeeper who lost his home and now lives with nine people in a small room. "Where the money is, we don't know. It's just meetings, meetings, meetings."
The government and the United Nations defend the pace of the reconstruction, saying the scope and complexity of the challenge requires a careful and well-planned response.
"Governments need to take time, and this in-between period is a difficult time," said Margareta Wahlstrom, the deputy emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations. "It's a time of managing expectation, when progress is not so visible as the expectation is."
Aid officials say the international relief effort is a test case, an unprecedented response to one of the greatest natural disasters in history.

Before I go on to castigate the UN and the Indonesian government for their extremely slow reconstruction progress, I should remind the reader that throughout the US there were various natural disasters that took years to completely rebuild from. Consider that South Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Andrew, which happened 10 years ago.

In Aceh province, we're talking about a huge project, but the pace of cleanup and reconstruction is frustratingly slow for those who are trying to rebuild and reclaim their lives.

-- posted by Lawhawk