Audrey Reed
Assistant News Editor
A few weeks ago at Convo, SGA President Carl Kasalek said that Pepperdine students needed to be involved in the tsunami-relief effort.
“It’s important for Pepperdine students to realize that they can make an impact on the world,” he said.
True, people need to know that they can make a difference in the world with their actions. But more importantly than making an impact, we should be doing this for the families of people who died? Or the people living in temporary housing after their homes and cities have been destroyed?
No one can infer the true motivation behind the students who went to a relief benefit concert or ate at a breakfast. However, when stories break about one in eight children being malnourished in certain areas in Southeast Asia or entire towns being destroyed, does anyone care about the purple bracelet they have on their arm? I certainly hope not.
The tsunami relief events Pepperdine sponsors do create awareness about the situation and do raise money for aid. But sometimes, it seems like a fun theme night or a trendy accessory is the sole reason why students would donate money. In such a crisis, giving monetary support should not be the hip, cool thing to do. It should be the humane thing to do.
The worldwide reaction to the tsunami disaster has been astounding and, quite frankly, heart warming. The nation watched for weeks as the death tool steadily climb to 166,000 deaths in Southeast Asia. And then as a collective they did something about it.
Maybe it was the sheer number of lives lost that made people come to the aid of humans effected by this disaster. Maybe it’s because the tsunami took place during the holiday season. Maybe people really do care about others.
Now, almost two months after the tsunami hit, the shock of the event has subsided, the news coverage has dwindled and the effort to rebuild countries has begun.
This could not happen without countries and individuals giving their support and aid in the form of money.
So much aid was given that several charities stopped taking money specifically for the tsunami cause. The White House estimated that $700 million will be donation by the private sector.
The Red Cross announced Jan. 26 that any money donated after Jan. 31 would not be used toward the tsunami cause. The Red Cross has $1.2 billion in contributions or pledges. Doctors Without Borders made the same request after they raised $117 million.
And Americans should not forget that their tax dollars are being sent to this devastated region of the world. President Bush has already pledged $350 million dollars, and will seek the permission of Congress to donate $600 million more. Germany as well has pledged to donate $650 million over the next three to five years to the countries affected by the tsunami.
The countries donating to this cause are not being so generous solely because it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling inside. They are doing it because they want to help other human who are suffering from this tragedy.
Pepperdine students should follow suit, and give from their heart. We should not look upon this relief effort as a way to rack up service hours, to get some sense of enjoyment or item in exchange for our donation, a.k.a. a Hope wrist band, or to be able to see that we have an impact in the world. This is not to say we should not support the tsunami cause, but just to do so with the intention of providing much-needed support. The tsunami relief is a worthy cause and should be treated as such.
2-17-2005