re: numb

In re: mute (two posts previous)

When I posted, as per the BBC, the US had only given $100,000 in relief funds. I am aware that, since then, the US has allocated $20 million and pledged up to $50 million in support.

Likewise, the information on donating to UNICEF of the Red Cross/Red Crecent is now readily available.

Although I appluad the American government for this very generous sum, it’s not enough to distract me from the fact that, exactly as the world community witnessed with Katrina, this was not released in a timely manner. I understand, of course, that it’s inconvenient for 23,000 people to die on a Saturday, of course– natural disasters, after all, should only happen Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00AM and 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time. But in the two days between Saturday and 8:00AM Monday morning, thousands of people died. Thousands and thousands more are still without shelter, food or drinkable water. And yes, I admit, the US is doing what it can to help now. And that’s important, and will continue to be important for the weeks and months to come. But the American response was untimely (or maybe our senators were just unwilling to get out of bed on a Sunday).

Ug. I’m sorry I’m sarcastic and bitter. I’m sick. And tired. Don’t those two always go together? Yesterday was 14 hours of sniffling and blowing my nose on a bus between Phnom Pehn and Bangkok. Today I feel worse. I don’t mean to complain (no, actually, I probably do), but it’s sort of a catch 22: do you go to class without the aid of drugs, and be so miserable you can’t pay attention? Or, do you take the drugs, and then retain nothing from class?

I owe some people some phone calls, I know. When I’m feeling well enough, I’ll give you a ring.