giving

one of the biggest stories in the wake of the bay of bengal tsunami disaster, sometimes even threatening to engulf news of the tragedy itself and its aftermath, is the amount of aid being given. a few news outlets (the abc among them sadly) were even reporting it like a contest or medal-tally between countries over who was giving the most. i'm disgusted by this apparent need we have to make everything into a contest, even generosity in response to an overwhelming tragedy. such news stories are obscene in the extreme and the editors or producers or whatever making the decision to run them need to take a good hard look at themselves and learn some decency and humanity.

there's no doubt, though, that the giving by individual australians to the disaster relief has been incredible and unprecedented. i'd like to say it's something we should be proud of, but that kind of sentiment seems completely inappropriate in the face of such a catastrophe. giving out of our comparative wealth to those that have lost everything is the absolute least we can do, and it's nothing to boast about.

i personally haven't made any donations yet towards the tsunami emergency appeal. i've been considering how to honour my christmas challenge, and have been thinking that my funds might be more usefully directed elsewhere because of the huge amount already donated. i'm not saying that no more needs to be given, because i know the disaster relief will continue for many months, but there are numerous other ongoing, daily, less glamourous tragedies around the world which are desperate for more to be done. nicholas kristof makes this point in his ny times column. for example, more people than died in the tsunami die every month of malaria - at least 165,000 (over 2 million a year), mostly children and mostly in africa. malaria is almost always curable, but the vast majority of africans can't afford the US$1 a dose medicine that would save them or their children. while not begrudging the millions donated towards the tsunami disaster, it's to causes such as preventing deaths from malaria that i wish more was given more often. which doesn't mean i can't do both...

i want to give special mention (and huge thanks) to my wonderful little sister elizabeth for giving me an adult literacy program from tear australia's (arguably) the world's most useful gift catalog for christmas. i was actually really surprised at how much it meant to me, seeing at how mercenary i usually feel about presents. i can honestly say that it was one of the best gifts i've ever received. huge thanks again, eb!