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Foreign Aid or Trap?
Statistics and Politics of the Asian Tsunami by Javed Zaheer & Sophia Barkat A Loss Assessment The Asian Tsunami, which struck twelve nations in and around South Asia on December 26, 2004, has caused unimaginable loss in the region. The actual death toll and number of missing will never ever be known. The cruel sea in its madness swallowed thousands in a flash, dodging even the best and latest technology. The total of bodies and parts collected so far has already crossed over 150,000 and nearing 200,000. The counting continues. Over 70 percent of those killed are Muslims. The figures before us as of January 4, 2005, according to BBC, are Indonesia (over 100,000), Sri Lanka (over 30,000), India (including Andaman and Nicobar) (over 10,000), Thailand (over 7,000 with half of them being foreign tourists from 36 countries). The other countries battered and affected are Somalia, Maldives, Seychelles, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Tanzania and Kenya, though the total loss of lives was not comparable. Malaysia, for one, was shielded by Sumatra, Indonesia, and escaped the destruction. It should be noted that many lost to the tsunami were tourists from all over the world. Sweden alone lost 2000. Many noted public persons from Helmet Kohl to Hollywood stars were vacationing in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia when this happened. The loss of life is only seconded by the colossal loss of property and commerce due to the Tsunami – namely in the regions most dependent on tourism -- and is compounded by the shortage of food and rising health and hygiene concerns. Hundreds are already dying due to lack of clean water, food, medicines, and lack of reach and attention, despite best relief efforts. One of the most important priorities now is to stop the spread of fatal diseases including typhoid, cholera and pneumonia. In Aceh, Indonesia, the worst affected area in the region of crisis, children are dying of pneumonia. The psychological trauma is also playing havoc, affecting children the most. Their fear, confusion and desperation are unimaginable. There is also concern arising from the large sex industry and child-trafficking issues prevalent in the region. And then there is the issue of misuse of funds and abuse of the funds. In India, relief agencies have expressed apprehension that orphans are being split among relatives eager to receive the money promised for Tsunami survivors. In war-torn Sri Lanka and Indonesia the additional threat of war creates problems for those affected and distribution of aid. In Sri Lanka, the most common weapon of war, landmines, have made relief and day-to-day living difficult by the tsunami. War ensues between Sinhalese and Tamil separatists despite the tsunami. There, 40 percent of the victims of the tsunami are reportedly children, and for those alive, the additional threat of plastic landmines dislodged by the tidal waves and now in the path of the general populous. In Indonesia the government at war with Timor, has warned aid workers that separatist rebels have taken shelter in camps for survivors. (See: http://news.yahoo.com/news) In Nicobar Island in India, body recovery has been another issue. Some bodies were never recovered, as the sea washed them away, and many bodies that were found were buried in sand on neighboring islands. Only very few people were left on the island as a result of the tsunami. Some of the islands in the area hit by the tsunami were completely submerged and no one survived there. The Katchall Island, with over 3,000 people, simply vanished and was no longer visible from the air. The lighthouse at Indira Point, India’s last seaport in the east, is almost fully submerged. The sea has swallowed the area around it, leaving the possibility of survivors minimal. The place is less than 200 km from Sumatra, Indonesia, the first place to have been hit. The devastation in Car Nicobar, India’s largest airbase in the archipelago, is complete. The airbase will have to be built from the scratch. Over 100 airmen and officers and their families just perished. The latest SU-30 fighters and bombers were to have been deployed from this month as the front line of Indian air power in the South East Asia. Even the villages around the airbase, on higher ground, have been destroyed. Local tribesmen suffered the most. They have lost everything. Entire settlements have been completely wiped out. A matter of serious concern is the Indian nuclear installations situated near the sea in the hit area. The question arising and disturbing the people is how they could have escaped the cruel and powerful enormous waves, which battered and shattered everything in its way. The Indian government is trying to convince them that no harm has been caused and there is nothing to fear, but this is not enough. Fears are real and a serious threat to the people, who still remember the Chernobyl disaster and its horrible consequences. An Avertable Disaster? According to an AFP report, the Tsunami that hit South Asia had a magnitude of 9 on the Richter Scale. On a scale of destruction, this causes "Near total destruction: the waves moving visibly to the naked eye." Those registering an 8-8.9 "can destroy bridges and buildings, leaving few structures standing". A 7-7.9 tsunami can "displace buildings and underground pipes". A 6-6.9 can "severely destroy poorly built or small structures" like huts, cars, buses, trees, boats, ships and living things. One can understand why the extent of the loss has been severe. Question now arises: Could there have been any loss prevention with such powerful tsunamis? Especially so, since some of the severely hit nations, like India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia did not have any tsunami warning systems. Indeed, the loss of life, property and commercial loss, could have been reduced significantly. People could have been evacuated. Large buildings – hotels, offices -- could have been prepared to reduce losses. The governments of India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, under wide criticism have made immediate decisions to install preventative measures. India's government, announced on Jan. 9th 2005, that it will set up an early warning system and disaster management authority. The decisions were taken at an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, a day after his whistle-stop tour of two of India's worst hit regions -- southern Tamil Nadu and the Andamans archipelago, reports AFP. Though not likely to reduce the present losses, it is seen as the only obvious way to reduce future losses to the nation. Other nations, however, have blamed the International community – in particular scientists studying Tsunamis – for not sharing such life-threatening information more freely, without appropriation of large-scale tsunami detection apparatus by poor nations. The Maldives blamed scientists for not sharing information that could have reduced the tsunami destruction across Asia as the UN secretary general vowed to improve infrastructure in hard-hit nations. Maldivian Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel said the death and damage in the Indian Ocean atoll nation could have been minimized if authorities had been alerted when the tsunamis began after an undersea earthquake near Indonesia. "The research and information is there. But unfortunately the international scientific community works in strange ways. They don't want to share their information with us. No one told us about the tsunami. We were hit one and half hours after Sri Lanka. No one alerted us. Sri Lanka itself was hit several hours after the earthquake and I presume no one told them either." Jameel told AFP on January 9th. (See http://story.news.yahoo.com.) It should be noted that the region, lying mostly at the convergence of tectonic plates is a high risk area for earthquakes and is studied widely by major geological centers in the world. As such, the possibility of the tsunami is not insignificant and could well have been known or studied by the US military, which uses the Indian Ocean for routine military drills. If so, questions arise as to why it was not shared. "On Jan. 3, 2005 Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin also made similar remarks, when visiting the Cedarwood Primary School in Toronto" reports Javed Zaheer, Juryfury.com. When his attention was drawn as to why the countries were not alerted despite the US having prior knowledge of the Asian Tsunami, he said that now the world has learnt a serious lesson and the system to alert against Tsunami has to be put in place. And yet, the US Geological Survey denies having access to any earthquake or tsunami detection system in the region of the Indian Ocean, as it says regarding the possibility of predicting future events: "Of major concern following the 26 December 2004 magnitude 9.0 earthquake is the potential of another damaging tsunami being generated by an aftershock. The only way to know for certain if a tsunami has been generated is to directly measure the height and propagation of the ensuing wave using ocean pressure sensors and tide gauges. However, a system of such instruments does not exist in the Indian Ocean. Absent of a system of instruments, we must defer to historical earthquake-tsunami records to calibrate our thinking." (See http://earthquake.usgs.gov). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also explains how tsunamis are detected and negates the possibility of predicting tsunamis from far off areas without access to local waters in the Indian Ocean: "At present, detection of tsunamis is possible only near shore where the shoaling effect can be observed. The first visible indication of an approaching tsunami is often a recession of water caused by the trough preceding an advancing wave. Any withdrawal of the sea, therefore, should be considered a warning of an approaching wave. A rise in water level also may be the first event." (See http://www.prh.noaa.gov/) Having tsunami detection equipment on-site is the only way governments could have been alerted. It is almost unthinkable these countries did not have a system in place considering the Bay of Bengal’s history of earthquakes, floods, cyclones and other natural disasters. The UN has just declared it is launching a tsunami detection system in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas similar to one that already exists for the volcano and earthquake-prone Pacific Rim region. The tsunami alert system for the Pacific, initiated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) in 1968, remains the world’s only regional tsunami warning system. Over the past five years the IOC has regularly called for the establishment of a warning system for the Indian Ocean and other regions at risk similar to that in the Pacific but Member States have not given priority to the proposal because of the relative rarity of tsunami outside the Pacific. The Pacific warning system serving 26 Member States has been hailed as one of the most successful international scientific programs with the direct humanitarian aim of mitigating the effects of tsunami. (See http://www.un.org/) Were the politicians right about critisizing the Scientists? Or simply trying to divert attention from themselves to reduce public rebuke? NASA in a recent report on Detection of Global Warming in the Polar Ice-caps to the US Congress reported that it could map and detect changes in the height of icebergs and ocean floors in the Antartic and Arctic regions using laser technology and satellite systems. (See Nasa.gov) Perhaps sonar technology used by ships to measure depths is sufficient to detect gradual rarifications in the Indian Ocean's water due to a rise in earthquake activity and molten lava. So would it be wrong to assume such methods were not already being used by the US military to graph oceanic depths for submarines and ships in other parts of the world so as to detect finer anamolies alike melting of polar ice-caps? One can only wonder. The Global Aid Effort Australia and Germany, among other countries, have led the way in pledging nearly $4 billion US in aid, according to some estimates -- the biggest relief package to any disaster in all time, and yet, ridiculously low in comparison to the amount spent by donor nations on warfare on an annual basis. According to a CIA report, the defense budgets of these nations in 2003 was in US currency $14 billion for Australia, for Germany $35 billion, for France $45 billion, for Canada $9 billion, for India $14 billion, for Holland $9 billion, for the UK $42 billion, for Japan $42 billion, for China $62 billion, and for the USA a grand and embarrassing $350 billion (See http://www.cia.gov/). This makes legitimate the much contested comment by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland that the wealthy nations of the world gave very little of their GDP to international aid. Despite the debate over how much is enough, the fundraisers deserve a hats off. Non-profits have also been involved in the relief effort and many conventional "bad boys" like the World Bank and IMF have also been forced to do something about it. Here are some notable donors and their assessments of the situation, as of January 8th: The UN On Jan 6th, the Mr. Annan launched a $977 million flash appeal for immediate emergency aid, including food, clean drinking water, medicines and shelter for up to 5 millions survivors in five of the worst-hit countries – Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Somalia – and called on world leaders to pay in full the more than $3 billion already been pledged for relief and reconstruction operations. (See http://www.un.org) Much of the aid is being raised by corporations in the West and from private aid via UNICEF and other wings of the UN. Dow Chemical Co. Gave $5 million. UN Staff members alone gave $100,000 from their own pockets. As most are paid local wages from their own nations and this is not very much for those from the majority of nations, this is not an significant contribution (See http://www.un.org/News). The UN is not limiting itself to fundraising, however. The devastation in Asia is being assessed on various levels, via the many branches offices of the UN in South Asia. According to UN estimates, it may take more than ten years to complete reconstruction efforts in South Asia. One of the reasons is difficulty in access. "There are still many areas that we have not been able to get people to, many areas are still, particularly on the western coast of Sumatra, unreachable by land," Kevin M. Kennedy, the Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a news briefing in New York of the Indonesian provinces that officials have dubbed the disaster's "ground zero". He said the UN in coming days would be calling on international military assistance to help repair key infrastructure, such as bridges, culverts and roads, to allow delivery of food and assistance in Sumatra and Aceh province (See http://www.un.org/apps/). This is mostly likely to engage the world military communities in South Asia, raising both possibilities and questions about future troop commitments by the UN in Iraq. Will the renewed cooperation between the US and the UN open doors for sending UN troops? Or will the Tsunami over-engage UN military manpower? At present US Black Hawks are being used to transport food to needy regions, something Kennedy finds to be useful but not cost-effective for the long-run. The UNICEF is preparing a national program to match orphans with grieving parents. The UN estimates about 150,000 pregnant women in the Tsunami hit areas who need immediate attention and help. Protection of women and girls, and measures to prevent and treat cases of sexual violence are among the special project areas UNFPA will address in urgent donor appeals to be launched later this week. The Fund has already made $3 million available for urgent health, hygiene and protection needs since the disaster struck on 26 December (See http://www.un.org/), and has requested up to US $28 million more (See http://www.un.org/). For farmers and fishermen, who constitute a leading economic sector in South Asia, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched an urgent appeal for $26 million. Funds are needed to finance emergency rehabilitation projects over the next six months. "The tsunami tidal waves have destroyed the livelihoods and the economic basis of many coastal communities in terms of death, injury, unemployment, loss of assets and migration", said Fernanda Guerrieri, Chief of FAO's Emergency Operations Service. "Fisheries and aquaculture are the sectors most seriously hit by the disaster with a devastating effect on many millions of mostly small-scale fishers who are dependent on a daily fish catch for food and sale", she said (See http://www.un.org/). The World Bank, IMF and Asian Development Bank The World Bank could raise its financial aid to tsunami-devastated regions in Asia to US $1 billion dollars if necessary, its president, James Wolfensohn, said on Jan 8th at a press conference. The Bank is offering US $175 million to Sri Lanka to help rebuild itself -- up from its initial offer of $10 million. ( See http://news.yahoo.com/) The IMF has matched the World Bank’s aid dollar-for-dollar. As for the Asian Development Bank, an amount of $175m has been diverted from existing programs in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The bank says up to $150m more could be made available in new loans. The American Red Cross On Jan. 6th the American Red Cross announced a massive relief plan for those affected by the tsunamis, requiring an estimated $400 million to respond to both immediate and long-term needs now and years into the future. This plan follows an initial American Red Cross announcement of $30 million in aid to the relief efforts on Dec. 31, 2004. Public and private donors large and small have already pledged nearly $150 million to the American Red Cross relief efforts in Asia. When contributions reach $400 million, the American public will be notified. Other Organizations Countless international and local relief agencies have joined forces to raise money, offer shelters and oversee aid distribution. A complete list of agencies involved in the tsunami effort can be found at http://www.tsunamihelp.info/wiki/index.php/Aid_Agencies. The EU The European Union and its member states have pledged a total of 1.5 billion Euros ($1.98 billion). Of this about $628 million is in reconstruction and humanitarian funds, of which $130m is humanitarian aid. Norway has pledged $182 million in government donations, plus $30 million raised in private donations. Sweden pledged $80 million in government donations, plus $60 million in private donations, including money raised during two telethons. Italy donated $95 million in government aid. Six to eight police forensics specialists have been sent to Thailand to help to identify bodies. Public donations totalling $20 million had been collected by New Year's Day. France pledged $66m in government donations, plus an estimated $49m raised in private donations. A medical team has been sent to Sri Lanka. Betherlands donated $34m by the government and aid groups say a further $35m has been raised in private donations. A Dutch police identification team has been sent to Thailand. Spain gave 68 million, sending a medical team to Sri Lanka. This according to a Jan. 8 BBC report (See http://news.bbc.co.uk/). G-8 Nations In a joint effort the G-8 nations have also pledged to reduce debt burdens of affected nations. Chancellor Gordon Brown said the plan would initially save the most affected countries about $3 billion (£1.58bn) in repayments (See: http://news.bbc.co.uk). Australia The Australian Government has raised its offer of aid to $815 million over a five-year period, topping all governmental donations to the region. Half of this sum is in bilateral loans. About 350 military staff, four military helicopters, a troop transport ship, a military health support team and a water purification plant are being sent to Indonesia, as well as a team of volunteer medical professionals. Donations from the Australian public total $88m. Aussie celebrities are heading an effort to better these numbers. The world's leading cricket players participated in a charity fund-raiser at the Australia’s historic Melbourne Cricket Grounds on Jan. 10th, in hopes of raising millions of dollars for relief work for the tsunami-earthquake disaster. A crowd of about 80,000 was estimated to have attended the event at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, along with a television audience of millions across 122 countries. (See http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/) Germany Germany’s Government alone has pledged some 500 million Euros (US $650-$670 million) to the tsunami victims. Germany’s pledge also represents the largest portion in the total EU donations and out-bids the US’. The assistance will be made available over the next three to five years, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said after the session in Berlin. After "the largest natural disaster in the recent history of mankind," medium- and long-term assistance must be assured," Schröder said. (See http://www.germany-info.org/) Germany is also sending a mobile hospital to Aceh and a military ship with two helicopters, aid supplies, water treatment equipment and an operating theatre on board. The public, including banks and superstars like Michael Schumacher, have donated an estimated additional $431million. The US US Secretary of State Mr. Powell was seen visiting Asian tsunami victims last week amidst wide protest in Indonesia, a Muslim nation, for accepting US Government Aid, considering what is seen as the Bush government’s anti-Muslim foreign policy in the Middle East. Powell estimates that international contributions to tsunami relief funds are now probably more than $US 6 billion. Earlier U.S. President George W. Bush called his country's $350 million only an "initial commitment" and essentially a line of credit that can be spent as aid officials identify needs (See http://uk.biz.yahoo.com). It is also giving military assistance involving 12,600 personnel, 21 ships, 14 cargo planes and more than 90 helicopters. Of the US Government donation of $US350 million, only $50-60 million has so far been committed, Powell told CNN television from Nairobi. "What we have to do is to make sure that we're providing assistance based on what is needed and providing money based on what is needed, not just flooding all of these places and accounts with supplies that may not be needed, or financial assistance that may not be required yet....That is also the case with the billions of dollars that have been committed by the international community and some charitable organizations have already said, please stop sending us any more money, because they don't want to have so much money that they can't use it effectively, or it takes away from donations to other crisis areas of the world." He also reminded the world community that more could be done in other parts of the world, namely in Africa, where the need existed for a long time, an effort the US has given little attention to despite repeated efforts by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to help the victims of war in Sudan or even the global AIDS epidemic that affects Africa in particular. It should be noted that the US Government plans on raising Aid to tsunami victims to about $1 billion, a number dwindling in comparison to President Bush’s plans to pass a $100 billion Defense Budget to kill people in Iraq. It should be noted that American citizens have raised over $337 million themselves for the victims of the Tsunami over and above tax-payer contributions by the Government, despite the economy being in a recession and facing record unemployment rates since the Great Depression of 1929. This number is expected to climb as more relief is requested by the American Red Cross, the UN and other non-governmental organizations based in the US. The UK Another US ally in the War in Iraq, the UK Government of Tony Blair had pledged to raise it’s initial offer to the tsunami victims to £76 million (See http://news.bbc.co.uk/),a figure now £100 million after £12 million from Scotland. Blair also added that of the £50m given by the US government so far only "six or seven million" had been spent. This is significantly less than what UK citizens have raised through private contributions -- $189 million. British pop and rock stars headlined by guitar legend Eric Clapton are to host a concert this month in aid of victims of the Asian tsunami, to do more. Clapton was the first big star confirmed, along with British acts such as soul singer Lemar and band Feeder, with more famous names expected to be confirmed later for the gig, which will be held on January 22. (See http://www.hindustantimes.com/) China Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was in Jakarta attending the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami, said on Jan.6 China is willing to make contributions to relief efforts and reconstruction in the tsunami-stricken area. The Chinese people "are ready to lend a helping hand in this time of trouble," Wen said in a speech at the one-day gathering, which was attended by heads of state or government, ministers and senior officials from 26 nations and groups. "We are willing to help with the repairing and rebuilding of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. We would like to give positive consideration to relieving and reducing the due governmental debts of the hardest-hit countries as a gesture to support reconstruction there," he added. The Chinese government has decided to write off part of the due governmental debts of Sri Lanka, the premier stressed. Given the fact that most afflicted areas are tourist resorts and tourism is a pillar industry in these countries, Wen proposed a study on concrete ways and means to revive tourism in the afflicted countries through Tourism Ministers' Meeting and other mechanisms. The Chinese government will encourage travel to these countries by Chinese tourists when conditions return to normal and work with the countries concerned in popularizing disaster prevention and preparedness knowledge among residents and tourists, he said. (See http://www.china-embassy.org/) The Chinese Government is also pledging an additional US $20 million to the aid effort, responding to a call by Kofi Annan (See http://www.china-embassy.org/). Japan Japan had earlier declared US $250 million to the victims, and later pledged another $250 million. Of this it has already disbursed Indonesia's share of the aid, seeing how Indonesia is "Ground Zero" (See: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com). It will also send 1,000 military personnel to Indonesia to help with relief distribution. (http://news.yahoo.com/news) India While also hit by the tsunami, India has declined foreign assistance at present, though there is some talks that it will get a larger World Bank Assistance package in 2005, according to Uday Bhaskhar, head of the Indian Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. (See http://news.yahoo.com/news) India itself is offering naval assistance to aid distributors in the region. The Indian navy's rapid tsunami rescue missions to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia while turning down foreign aid has staked out to China New Delhi's dominant role in the Indian Ocean, reports AFP (Jan 9th). "The naval deployment is a humanitarian effort and achieves a political objective to say India has moved from a beggar state to a financially secure one," said Rahul Bedi, New Delhi-based analyst for Jane's Defence Weekly. (See http://news.yahoo.com/news). Canada The Canadians are not behind. The aid from Canada has been doubled to US $80 million, with more to come. A Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) was put into action. On January 3, 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin visited the Cedarwood Primary School in Toronto and met children who have families in the Tsunami hit areas. He spent ninety minutes with them. Later, he went to Delta Hotel, met community representatives and discussed various issues with them. He was praised for taking the community representatives into confidence and showing deep interest in the affected region. Immediately after meeting the community leaders, he met media people and explained to them about the steps being taken by the government in this connection. The focus was mainly on Sri Lanka. It was felt that Indonesia, the worst hit country, and other areas were being ignored. The other heavily hit nation, India, has refused all foreign aid, asserting self-reliance on the matter. Paul Martin said he contacted the President of Sri Lanka and discussed the situation and help in this connection. The Canadian High Commission has been instructed to make sure that the aid reaches the affected people. The military too has assured us that the aid will reach the people in the conflict zone. The situation will be closely monitored to ensure equitable distribution without hindrances, he said. Regarding delay caused in aid giving, he said the delay was caused due to the massive devastation in the hit areas. It was difficult to reach there or else we would have gone earlier. However, the situation was closely studied, he added. He said that if compared with other countries we have done very well but there has to be a quicker and effective way of helping. Muslims Nations On January 8th, a BBC list reported only Qatar as a Middle East nation to give money to the victims. Qatar gave $25 million and also food aid. On January 6th, however, Al-Jazeera reported that a total of $85 million had been pledged by the Middle East, though a scanty amount compared to the givings of most Western Nations. The Saudis have also pledged $30 million, Kuwaitis $10 milion, and UAE $20 million, according to Al-Jazeera. The Middle East States, which claims to be Muslim States enforcing the Shariah Law, and notorius for strictness towards women, seem to have forgotten a basic principle of Islam -- Zakah or alms-giving. The Qur'an calls for giving generously to the poor and needy -- a poor-tax of at least 2.5% of one's wealth. Saudi Arabia's GDP was $287.8 billion (2004 est.), and sales from Oil and Petroleum exports were $86.53 billion in 2003. Under Islamic Law standards this amounts is not only unIslamic, but less than 0.01% -- falling way below the minimum Zakah rate. On the contrary, Saudi Arabia spent $18 billion on military expenditures in 2002 (See CIA.gov) -- about 6.25% if you compare to 2003 GDP figures. Is that to Saudi Arabia doesn't give aid? No. It pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon; since 2000, Saudi Arabia has committed $307 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $240 million to development in Afghanistan; pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq (See CIA.gov), perhaps under pressure from the US, it's close ally. This despite high unemployment rates of 25%, and external debt of $39 billion (2004 estimates). Perhaps the Saudi Government does not consider South Asia Islamic enough? What else can be said of the region? The BBC report also lists Pakistan, Bangladesh and and war-torn Afghanistan as sending skilled and military professionals, and transportation and food aid to help aid distribution efforts. About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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