Brunei's Response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster

[Monique]

First I would look whether the government of your own country has opened accounts to which money is donated, they have done so here.

And don't forget that 1 USD = 44 and 1 EUR = 60 Rupees, little money will go far.

 

[Monique]

all the suffering, so sad

 

[klusener]

Could anyone answer this for me- I live in the UK, so any cheque i write to the indian red cross would be in Pounds, rather than Rupees. If I were to send a cheque, would there be some stupid amount to pay to the bank for converting it into the appropriate currency, and if yes, is there any way for me to avoid this charge? I would hate to see any percentage of any donation I send fall into the hands of a money making corporation, rather than those in need.

Sorry, but i don't know about people living in the UK, but for the people living in the US, there is an organization in the US called Aid India which was primarily made for NRIs, that sends money that they collect to India..

Who We are...

Association for India's Development, Inc. (AID) is a voluntary non-profit organization committed to promoting sustainable, equitable and just development in India, by working with grassroots organizations and movements in India. AID supports and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resources, health, women's empowerment and social justice.

AID, Inc. is registered with the US Federal Government as a non-profit charitable corporation under the category 501(C)(3). Its federal Tax-ID is 04-3652609. Since September 2003, AID has started operating as an incorporated organization, whereas AID was earlier registered as an unincorporated association with a different Tax ID. AID accounts are audited by an independent Certified Public Accountant, as per IRS regulations. Documents and information pertaining to AID will be provided on request, or can be obtained from the Secretary of State for the cost of copies and postage.

www.aidindia.org

 

[klusener]

I would think twice before sending any money to Indian or Sri lankan government relief agencies , one cent out of your 100$ might get to the victims, rest will get sucked into the famous Indian bureaucracy.

When the Gujarat earthquake struck, millions of people, especially Indians all over the world, wanted to help. The only way they could do so was by sending money; only, they did not know whom to send the money to.

Would the money be spent in the right manner? Would it help the victims? Or would it be siphoned away?

These were among the many questions that tortured would-be donors. Some e-mailed their friends in India asking for advice. Others asked Indian web sites what they should do. Many called their contacts in India for names of NGOs that they could trust.

Unfortunately, not too many people in India knew the answers.

Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, additional income tax, Delhi, found many friends asking him which organisation could be relied upon to handle contributions for quake relief.

As an income tax officer, he knew of many trusts that came up overnight after a calamity, collected huge sums of money, did precious little to help the victims, then simply disappeared. Finally, after much thought, he told his friends their best bet was the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

Says former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral: "The management of the PM's National Relief Fund is above board. The fund is regularly audited and its credibility cannot be doubted. Till today, I have not heard of anyone complaining about the way it is run."

Soon after Partition, scores of Indians sent money to then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It was their way to help the nation tide over the difficult time. Nehru opened an account at the Janpath branch of the Central Bank of India and called it the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

Since this was not a government fund -- it is funded entirely by donations -- a private auditor was appointed. The fund, it was decided, would provide immediate relief to people in distress, particularly those affected by natural calamity. Senior officers at the Prime Minister's Office look after the operations of the fund on a day-to-day basis.

After the super-cyclone that devastated coastal Orissa in October 1999, more than Rs 1,000 million flowed into the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Post the killer quake that struck Gujarat on January 26, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appealed to the nation: "We cannot leave the people of Gujarat to the mercy of fate or the cruelty of the vagaries of nature. They all need our help to tide over the calamity that has fallen upon them, to survive, to rebuild their lives."

In the days that followed, Rs 2,300 million flowed into the fund in the form of cheques, drafts and cash. Within 24 hours of the quake, the PMO dispatched Rs 100 million to the Gujarat government as immediate relief. They also sent Rs 50 million to the army, which would be used to help survivors and their families.

In the days that followed, Rs 650 million was dispatched to the state government. More money will be allocated, depending on the state government's requests and the assessment of various projects that NGOs are preparing for the quake-affected areas.

The well-known Self-Employed Women's Association has been short listed for a grant from the fund to help its artisan members. The Voluntary Health Association's projects in Gujarat are also being considered by the PMO; the VHA did excellent work rehabilitating fishermen in Orissa.

A major project that will be funded by the fund is a hospital with over 400 beds in Bhuj, exactly where the district hospital once stood. It will cost around Rs 700 million.

Remembers a PMO official: "An aged man walked in and gave us one month's pension. He was from the lower middle class and did not want his name advertised. There have been scores of anonymous callers since the quake. Some school children gave contributions from their pocket money. It feels great to see such faith and spirit."

Faith is the word.

Two individuals, who sent in cheques after the quake, wrote in, demanding that it be returned. They were doubtful if the money would be properly utilised and reach the victims. The PMO promptly returned the money.

There are many who send in their wills to the PM's fund, gifting their entire wealth and property. Often, their relatives contest these wills. The PMO does not contest this; officials say they do not want to get into controversy.

During the Kargil war, an 84-year-old man gifted his deceased wife's jewellery, all his property and wealth to the PM's fund. Vajpayee was so touched that he met the donor personally.

Numerous children then parceled their piggy banks to the fund.

After the Gujarat quake, banks like the Central Bank of India, State Bank of India, Syndicate Bank and other nationalised banks were authorised to collect money on behalf of the fund.

Every week, the banks send in a bunch of cheques, to be processed at the PMO. Receipts are then sent to individual donors.

An official at the PMO admitted it has taken time to send donor receipts after the quake as the response has been overwhelming, the paperwork enormous. Postmen were drafted to open the envelopes as the PMO staff found it impossible to handle the mail that poured in by the hour.

Soon after the quake, the PMO got an average of around 5,000 cheques daily, with amounts ranging from a hundred rupees to millions. In the last two months, the PMO has got over 50,000 cheques and drafts.

All contributions to the fund are exempt from income tax. Other funds only offer 50 per cent tax exemption.

Kargil brought in Rs 5,000 million to the fund. It was the highest-ever collection since Independence. But the war was a special reason.

Television pictures of wounded soldiers, Bofors guns booming on India's borders, coffins coming home and other horrific images brought the war into the living rooms of India. The cheques came in hordes. The entire collection was given to the National Defence Fund.

The contributions were used to treat the wounded, pay compensation to the families of those killed and rehabilitate maimed soldiers. Some funds were used to help jawans injured in other operations and relocate residents of border villages affected by the conflict.

How does the PMO ensure that the funds given to a state are properly utilised?

The PMO relies on an utilisation certificate of the funds from the state government. In the case of NGOs, it asks for periodic reports of how the funds have been used and whether the goals have been achieved.

The fund is at the sole discretion of the prime minister who can also give money to deserving individuals. It could be an aged artist who lives in penury and cannot pay his hospital bills; it could be a villager who needs life saving drugs or an operation. This is decided on basis of an application asking for financial help.

The applications are processed by the PMO; then amounts ranging between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 are granted. The PM can, of course, grant more than these amounts in special cases. This is usually granted to very poor people who have to furnish their income certificate with the application.

For the first time, the government allowed 100 per cent tax relief to all contributions made to any organisation working for the quake victims. The only condition: that the money be spent by September 2001 and the expense accounts submitted by 2002.

This was fine in spirit.

"But it has created all kinds of audit problems for the income tax authorities," says Gupta. "Anybody," he said, "can create a fund or trust claiming to work for the Gujarat victims. Thousands of such funds and organisations are now around. It will be impossible for the income tax authorities to monitor what happened to the money, and if it was spent for the purpose it was collected."

Adds Gupta: "Scores of individuals, television channels, newspapers, NGOs and unknown organisations collected money for the quake victims. All of them may have glorious intentions, but it is difficult for any donor to figure out who the good ones are, who are sincere. Even if a minor abuse takes place, the whole spirit will be lost."

The income tax authorities have found cases of individuals who set up various trusts under different names and addresses. Points out Gupta: "When such a calamity strikes and thousands of trusts and individuals handle relief money, it becomes impossible to check every detail. There are enough cases of abuse in the income tax records."

As such doubts persist, the Gujarat high court recently passed orders that any district judge can now act as an ombudsman to receive complaints about misuse of relief supplies or money. The court was acting on a public interest litigation filed by former Gujarat high court chief justice B J Dewan and activist Kartikeya Sarabhai.

In many ways, it was a landmark judgment, making the government accountable. The court said the state government should submit all accounts relating to quake relief.

With his ringside view as an income tax officer, Gupta says states often divert relief funds to other projects.

Points out Mihir Bhatt, director, Disaster Mitigation Institute in Ahmedabad: "Most state governments use relief money to pay salaries. That is why they cannot quickly respond to a calamity. Later, CAG reports detail the misuse, but since the report comes long after the disaster, it is too late."

Vasu Malepati, a doctor from Pittsburgh, was in Bhuj recently to help the injured. He came with four suitcases of medicines. One of his patients had given him a box of sweaters and $ 5,000. But he decided he would not give this to any organisation, but would personally ensure that each dollar worth of material reached the needy.

His wife Durga, a pediatrician, wanted to come to Bhuj with him, but could not. So she asked him to spend the money that would be spent on her ticket on the relief operations. Said Dr Malepati: "I want to carefully choose where to spend the money. I will set up something with it and not give any contributions in cash." There is good reason for Dr Malepati not to do so. He recently gave money to start a library for a school in Andhra Pradesh. The library never came up.

Nobody knows how much money has come to Gujarat.

There is a need for transparency.

The people's trust need to be restored, and the only way to do this is to be completely transparent, says Gupta.

Even after reading this, if you choose to believe tumor's post, please go ahead, it is not my job to convert you, i just want to give you the information to help you decide...

 

[klusener]

As the last few paragraphs suggest, tumor is not entirely incorrect, when calamities such as this happen, lots of agencies and organizations open up and if you donate to those without information about them, it is highly likely that the money won't reach them..

the Prime Minister Relief Fund is not a gov. fund, it is run by the Prime Minister's Office which is entirely trustable, after you donate, if you want your money back, they will send it right back to you..

 

[klusener]

http://pmindia.nic.in/fundreliefbody.htm

this is the link to their site...

With what i have researched, i would say this is the best bet for people from UK, because if you send to the fund in pounds, they will do the conversions themselves..

for the people living in the US..



Checks/Money Orders should be drawn in favor of "Prime Minister's National Relief Fund" can be sent to anyone of the following addresses:

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
Embassy of India
Attn: Head of Chancery
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

Donors can also wire transfer to "Prime Minister's National Relief Fund" account that has been set up by the Embassy.

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
Riggs Bank
1913 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Account Number - 08115910
Route Number - 054000030

(OR)

State Bank of India
460, Park Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212-521 3200
Fax: 212-521 3364

State Bank of India
2001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-223-5579

(OR)

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
Prime Minister's Office
South Block, New Delhi 110011
India

 

[klusener]

For Anyone wanting to donate, I would personally favor the Prime Minister's Relief Fund over the Aid India org, because again i will refer to the article, i have not seen their work in action in my state, but i have seen the work of the PM's Fund and the PM's Fund also sends their money to other countries. they have already sent some of their donations to Sri Lanka and the Maldives..

 

[tribdog]

and you probably can't go wrong with the Red Cross. Plus an organization as big as the Red Cross has offices in lots of countries and deals with tons of different currencies. I'd bet they can probably exchange currencies at a better rate than you could yourself. I'd say donate in your country's currency at a Red Cross in your country and they will take care of the rest.

 

[Astronuc]

CARE is another major relief organization with a good reputation.

http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2004/dec/20041227_asiaquake.asp

Also, CARE has chapters in many countries, some of which are found on the main homepage - http://www.care.org/

 

[klusener]

it doesn't matter about money, i am sure many are donating all over the world, but just remember to pay for the 23000 dead.. I know this is getting attention in the media, yet the media seems to predominantly concentrate on the tourists rather than the natives who are the ones who are affected majorly, in most of the articles that i have read, they usually start out with "Huge casualties including 3 Canadians, etc..." and things like that...

 

[Gokul43201]

My folks live about half a mile from the sea in Chennai. Right now, they're away on vacation. Speaking to friends in the neighborhood, they determined that the damage in the area had stopped two houses short of theirs.

My dad's a sailor, and his ship (with him onboard) was anchored offshore in Indonesia when the earthquake struck. He only heard about the quake through news from India. His ship was just about far anough from land that he felt nothing at all.

My mom and sis will be getting back home as soon as they can, to assess the damage and see what they can do. I have several friends and relatives living near the sea in Southern India, but they're all safe.

So many thousands more were not so lucky. And these were mostly the poor fisher-folk living in coastal villages.

I'll dig around to see what are good ways to contribute. Klusener seems to have provided a few options already.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Huge casualties including 3 Canadians, etc..." and things like that...

Don't worry about the reports. It is natural to have a unique interest in people from home. Probably every emergency agency that I have ever heard of and certainly many more, are all cited as rushing aid of all kinds. One of the biggest problems is targeting the areas of greatest need. I listened to some of the planning by international organizations this morning. The scope of the damage is so great and covers such a huge area that relief workers hardly know where to begin. Nonetheless, I have seen crate after crate of supplies loaded onto airplanes while interviews were played back. Enormous relief efforts are underway everywhere but it will take time.

 

[Evo]

Gokul, I am so glad to hear that your family was spared.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Gokul, I am so glad to hear that your family was spared.

Absolutely! Your family was very lucky.

I was just listening to the head of the UN's relief agency [I didn't get his name]. On PBS he just said that this may be biggest disaster in human history. Eight countries have been seriously affected. Since the populations tend to reside in coastal areas, the number of people affected by this one event is likely unprecedented.

 

[recon]

I believe Saint lives in Kuala Lumpur, which is quite far away from Penang, where most of the damage caused by the earthquake in Malaysia occured. However, Penang is a very popular tourist destination (even for Malaysians, and Bruneians too), and is especially so at this time of the year because of the month-long school holidays in both Malaysia and Brunei.

 

[omicron]

I would expect you could write the check to your local red cross and specify it is for disaster relief for the tsunami. I have no doubt Red Cross organizations from many countries are mobilizing to help out there. The money will help not just for them to purchase the supplies, but to get them transported to the countries that need them.

I don't know how Saint would be doing, but I don't think Malaysia had very many casualties compared to other countries in the area. It seemed more like Sumatra took the brunt of it on that side of the quake from the maps I've seen with casualty reports.

This is one of those things where there will be plenty of international help.

I don't really know where Saint lives (always thought that he lives in Penang ) but the number of casualties Malaysia has is about the same as the Maldives and Burma. The only reason why I'm safe is because Malaysia is there. And also the fault is on the west coast of Indonesia.

 

[tumor]

Where is Saint by the way? last time he posted anything was like month and a half.
Maybe he is busy fixing his new home?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

 

[Astronuc]

I have heard a number over 55,000 and climbing. As Ivan said, some islands were overwhelmed, and from what I heard, no-one from the outside has been there yet.

National Public Radio has a list of humanitarian and aid organizations in the US - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4248155.

I heard that Catholic Relief Services already has programs in place in India and is re-directing aid the coastal areas affected by tsunamis. CRS has information at http://www.catholicrelief.org/our_work/where_we_work/overseas/asia/tsunami/index.cfm .

I am not endorsing any particular agency - give to the agency of your choice - but investigate first if you are not familiar with the agency.

 

[Evo]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

It's almost 60,000 now, One third are said to be children. There are a couple of islands with over 7,000 residents that have not been heard from since the disaster and fears are all may be lost.

For those that initially escaped harm, there is no telling what can happen from the aftermath, this is far from over as if they haven't already suffered enough. I can't ever remember anything this devastating.

 

[recon]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

We're all OK in Brunei, even though we were as near to the epicentre as Sri Lanka/India was.

Things are moving at a very slow pace in Brunei right now. The only public fund-raising group is the Scout's Association, and we can't make any donations until the 1st of January. It strikes me as pretty odd that people on PF seem to care more than Bruneians. If you look here, you'll see that http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Dec04/291204/nite01.htm is featured very prominently, while you have to look more carefully to find this http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Dec04/291204/nite18.htm .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It's almost 60,000 now, One third are said to be children. There are a couple of islands with over 7,000 residents that have not been heard from since the disaster and fears are all may be lost.

For those that initially escaped harm, there is no telling what can happen from the aftermath, this is far from over as if they haven't already suffered enough. I can't ever remember anything this devastating.

I believe that when the full scope of this is known, to the extent that it can be, if you count the number of dead and severely affected, this is the greatest disaster in history. Eleven countries are now known to be affected.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We're all OK in Brunei, even though we were as near to the epicentre as Sri Lanka/India was.

Okay, that's great. I can officially remove you from my list of worries.

 

[Evo]

Here is a link that allows you to select an organization that is already there giving aid and provides a way to immediately donate.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/tsunami122604.aspx

 

[recon]

The only problem is that I don't own a credit card yet. :( I wish I could contribute in some way, as I do have quite a lot of time on my hands right now. I can't even start a donation drive in my neighbourhood because doing so would violate Bruneian laws. I have to write a letter to the Ministry seeing permission before I'm allowed to start anything like that, and I would have to wait a VERY, VERY long time before the letter garners a response.

 

[tumor]

I believe that when the full scope of this is known, to the extent that it can be, if you count the number of dead and severely affected, this is the greatest disaster in history. Eleven countries are now known to be affected.

Common Man ! you are going overboard with your estimates.
Floods in China or earthquakes in Japan were much, much more deadly, I don't want to sound silly but because western tourists were killed media focuses more on this disaster.Poor tourists where they going to go now?

 

[Evo]

The only problem is that I don't own a credit card yet. :( I wish I could contribute in some way, as I do have quite a lot of time on my hands right now. I can't even start a donation drive in my neighbourhood because doing so would violate Bruneian laws. I have to write a letter to the Ministry seeing permission before I'm allowed to start anything like that, and I would have to wait a VERY, VERY long time before the letter garners a response.

Wow, you have some really strict laws!

I really am glad that you escaped harm.

 

[Evo]

Common Man ! you are going overboard with your estimates.
Floods in China or earthquakes in Japan were much, much more deadly, I don't want to sound silly but because western tourists were killed media focuses more on this disaster.Poor tourists where they going to go now?

All of the news reports that I've read had little or no coverage on tourists. This most likely will have the largest toll on human life in recorded history (from a natural disaster).

 

[Astronuc]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=2&u=/ap/20041229/ap_on_re_as/quake_tidal_wave

AP - Indonesia's Health Ministry said in a statement that thousands more bodies were found Tuesday, raising to more than 27,000 the number of confirmed deaths in parts of Sumatra island, the territory closest to the epicenter of the quake that sent tsunami waves rolling across the Indian Ocean. The count did not include a report of 10,000 more dead in the region around one coastal city.

Sri Lanka listed 21,700 people dead, India 4,400 and Thailand 1,500, with the toll expected to rise. A total of more than 300 were killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania, Seychelles and Kenya.

Sumatra alone may account for more than 40,000 dead, and Sri Lanka is already up to 21,700.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=10&u=/ap/20041228/ap_on_re_as/quake_celebrities
---------------------------
Most Recent Natural Disasters Were Not the Century's Worst, USGS Says

China has suffered a number of natural disasters that have claimed 100,000's of people.

The planet's deadliest earthquake of the century, by far, was a magnitude 8.0 that struck Tianjin , China, on July 27, 1976. The official casualty figure issued by the Chinese government was 255,000, but unofficial estimates of the death toll were as high as 655,000.

U.S. losses of life are dwarfed by flood losses in other parts of the world. China and Bangladesh have been devastated repeatedly by floods - Bangladesh lost 300,000 people in November 1970 and more than 130,000 in April 1991, from cyclone-induced flooding, and the massive flooding of the Yangtze River in China in 1931 caused more than 3 million deaths from flooding and starvation.

and the Guinness Book of Records has a flood in China in 1887 - an estimated 900,000 people were killed when the Huang He (Yellow River), Huayan Kou, China.

China has had other floods and earthquakes that killed 100,000's.
==================================================

Nevertheless, it is very bad for those now involved in the current disaster and we need to help all we can.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The red cross is currently taking donations to help those in need.