September 01, 2005
Thursday

I, too, like Norman, am shocked, awed and amazed at the destruction wrought upon the Southeast quadrant of our country. I, too, feel blessed to live in relatively docile Ketchikan. I've been staying up hours past my bedtime virtually glued to 24-hour cable news networks hoping to hear of some semblance of normalcy returning to these people's lives. Unfortunately, I hear it only getting worse.

Now, the jaded part of me is wondering: where is the international aid that one would expect to hear of during a tragic disaster? Perhaps it's just not being reported on CNN and MSNBC when I'm watching, or in the newspaper when I'm reading, or on the radio when I'm listening, or on the Internet when I'm surfing... but I'm seeing discouragingly little to no help being offered from around the world. How many BILLIONS did the United States offer after the Indonesian tsunami? How often do we come to the aid of others around the world? Now that the U.S. suffering its worst disaster in a century, and perhaps ever, does the rest of the world feel compelled to come forward to offer assistance? Sadly, it appears the answer is no. I hope this changes. And I hope that we as citizens of our country can take this opportunity to rally together to help our own. Look past our frighteningly high fuel prices and uncertainty for the future... put our collective abilities toward helpin!
g our devestated neighbors and in the process show the world what the good old American "can do" spirit is really all about.

The Red Cross is always a good choice - www.redcross.org - and in doing some online research, I happened upon some good sites that offer tips for people wanting to donate. www.networkforgood.org and www.charitynavigator.org both give help in deciding where to donate and how. Just typing "hurricane katrina donation" into Google will get you a wealth of information.

It cost me $23.50 to put eight gallons of gas into my car this morning when I left my house for work. I cringed when I wrote the check. But then I counted my blessings, happy to still have my car, house and job... and my family.... in my little corner of 'paradise'.

Vicki O'Brien
Ketchikan, AK - USA

In the News:

Foreign governments line up to help after Katrina - More than 20 countries, from allies Germany and Japan to prickly Venezuela and poor Honduras, have offered to help the United States cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina....

The State Department said offers so far had come from Canada, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, China, Australia, Jamaica, Honduras, Greece, Venezuela, the Organization of American States, NATO, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters - www.reuters.com - Sept. 01, 2005

 

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