"We should agree on one basic principle. It is as terrible to be wounded in Congo as it is in Kosovo. It is as bad to be displaced in northern Uganda as it is in northern Iraq. It is as terrible to starve in Darfur, Sudan as it is on the beaches of tsunami-stricken nations," says U.N. relief coordinator Jan Egeland during a donor conference in Geneva.
The United Nations marvels at the generosity of the international community towards the countries devastated by the Asian tsunami. During a donor conference in Geneva, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, said international compassion reached "a new standard," but he wishes that such exemplary display of charity would go beyond the five million tsunami survivors. He begged nations to shower some of their attention to other crises that have been making the lives of 26 million people a misery. He remarked that raising the money to help victims of calamities in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East had been "a nightmare," telling that the U.N. only collected $2 billion out of $3.4 billion it appealed in 2004. This year, the world body is asking for $1.7 billion to feed and provide shelter to civilians caught in the middle of 14 "neglected" humanitarian emergencies.
Source: UN urges donor generosity for "forgotten" crises (Reuters)
