Question — In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has any foreign government offered aid to the US or the citizens of Lousiana, Mississippi, or Alabama?
Answer — None that I’ve heard of.
***
In the days and weeks that followed the disasterous tsunamis in Southeast Asia, the United States rallied with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of aid.
Yet some still called the US “stingy”.
How many of those nations do you think will be rushing to the aid of the US? I’m guessing “zero”.
The guy who’s training me to drive a school bus made this same point this morning. If a French city was sinking, there’d be no end to the cries for aid.
On the other side, though, I’m not sure if we’ve even bothered to ask for help. (But again, Americans tend to chip in even when unasked.)
NBC reports that at least 12 countries have stepped forward with offers so far, but they didn’t have names.
I’ve been able to track down offers from Israel, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, though only Venezuela seems to have anything concrete at this point.
I am starting to hear reports of offers to foreign aid, too. Thank goodness, because we’re going to need all the help we can get.
Australia immediately offered $10 million, from a population base of 20 million people.
New Orleans almost is a French city. The French have their own regular problems with droughts and fatal heatwaves in the south.
Offers of aid from the US when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit were late.
Here’s one account of aid offered.
More than 20 countries - from allies Germany and Japan to prickly Venezuela and poor Honduras, plus the United Nations - have offered to help the US in the aftermath of Katrina.
Accustomed to being a rich donor rather than on the receiving end of charity, the US initially seemed reluctant to accept foreign aid, but later said it would take up any offers.
But while offering help, government leaders in Germany warned the US to expect more natural catastrophes if it did not take global warming seriously.
Germany’s Environment Minister, Juergen Trittin, wrote a newspaper column blaming President George Bush’s environmental policies for increasing the risk of killer storms and floods.
“The American President closes his eyes to the economic and human damages that are inflicted on his country and the world economy by natural disasters, like Katrina, through neglected climate protection,” Mr Trittin wrote on Tuesday.
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Actually, Robbie, I sent the same question to Fox News yesterday. Instead this morning I read on Drudge that German papers are blaming Bush (as usual) and the U.S. for global warming…they sow what they reap, etc. I am totally infuriated.
Left by dianne on August 31st, 2005 at 6:38 am