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Tsunami Death Toll Tops 40,000; UN Launches Biggest Relief
Effort Ever
Island Nation of Tuvalu Threatened By Rising Waters Caused
By Global Warming
U.S. Delegation Goes to Middle East With $600,000 in Aid
For Fallujah Refugees
Tsunami Death Toll Tops 40,000; UN Launches Biggest
Relief Effort Ever
We go to Indonesia, India and the Maldive Islands for on-the-ground
reports on the world's deadliest tsunami in 120 years. Sri
Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador
Bernard Goonetilleke, also joins us in the studio.
The death toll from Sunday's devastating tsunamis in the
Indian Ocean has now topped 40,000 and expected to grow higher.
As many as a third of the dead are believed to be children.
Sri Lanka has put its official death toll at over 18,000 people.
In Indonesia, the country's vice president is estimating that
up to 25,000 people may have died in the province of Aceh
alone. Thousands more have died across India, Thailand, Somalia,
Malysia and the Maldive Islands
Millions of people are homeless and doctors fear epidemics
could quickly spread among the displaced populations.
All told 11 nations are still recovering from the tsunamis
caused by a massive underwater earthquake near Indonesia.
Registering a magnitude of 9.0 it was the largest earthquake
in 40 years. The resulting tsunamis were the deadliest the
world has seen in 120 years.
One United Nations official said, "This may be the worst
natural disaster in recent history." Agence France Press
reports the relief effort is the largest the world has even
seen. It will also likely be the costliest. Billions of dollars
will be needed to feed and house survivors as well as rebuild
cities.
The Bush administration agreed to give an initial donation
of $15 million but the small amount was quickly criticized.
U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan
Egeland criticized the U.S. for being quote "stingy."
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the $15 million is just
the first installment of aid.
We go now to hear reports from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the
Maldive Islands and India.
- John Budd, UNICEF representative in Indonesia.
- Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke, Permanent Representative
for Sri Lanka to the United Nations.
- J. Sri Raman, journalist and peace activist who lives
in the Indian fishing village of Chennai, an area that was
devastated by the tsunami. He is a frequent contributor
to the Pakistani newspaper, The Daily Times, and to the
website truthout.org. He is also the author of the book
"Flashpoint How the US, India and Pakistan Brought
Us to the Brink of Nuclear War" published by Common
Courage Press.
- Tom Bergmann-Harris, head of the UNICEF office in the
Maldives. He spoke to us from the capital city of Male.
Island Nation of Tuvalu Threatened By Rising Waters
Caused By Global Warming
Enele Sopoaga, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of
Tuvalu to the United Nations, joins us in our studios to talk
about global warming, the U.S. position on Kyoto and how small
island nations deal with natural disasters.
The Pacifica island nation of Tuvalu stands just 13 feet
about the sea level at its highest point. It faces oblivion
if global warming causes the sea to rise.
While the island was not affected by the tsunami, residents
say routine flooding regularly into the middle of the island,
destroying food crops and trees which have been there for
decades.
Two years ago the government announced they might sue the
United States and Australia because they have rejected the
Kyoto protocol on global warming.
- Ambassador Enele Sopoaga, is Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Tuvalu to the United Nations. He's also
vice-chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States, and
he remains active on issues of climate change and global
warming.
U.S. Delegation Goes to Middle East With $600,000
in Aid For Fallujah Refugees
A delegation of military family members whose sons died
while fighting in the Iraq war have traveled to Jordan to
deliver $600,000 worth of humanitarian supplies for refugees
from the U.S. attack on Falluja.
The November attack, which virtually leveled the city and
left some 2,000 Iraqis and 71 U.S. soldiers dead, also created
thousands of refugees, who are living without adequate food,
water, electricity and healthcare. Most of these refugees
are children.
In an Internet appeal, the military family members, in collaboration
with U.S. peace groups, physicians' organizations, and September
11 families, quickly raised $100,000 in donations. And humanitarian
groups such as the Middle East Children"s Alliance and
Operation USA contributed $500,000 worth of medical supplies.
We go now to Jordan to hear from Medea Benjamin, founder
of Code Pink and Adele Welty, the mother of a firefighter
who died on Sept. 11.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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