Reaching into the Wallet

Lounging in the Marital Chamber at Club Jamieson with Mrs. Jamieson last night, I was surprised to hear her suggest that we donate 100 Kuai each to the survivors of the recent earthquake in Sichuan.

Image courtesy:
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/p/2008-05-15/015615540382.shtml

This rather surprised me, because it's been my experience that most Chinese only hand over money/loans to:

a. Family members (no matter how tenuous the blood link)
b. Long-standing friends with an impeccable credit record

So, according to Ryan at the Humanaught, DHL is going to transport relief supplies to Chengdu gratis from The Bookworm in Suzhou. Kudos to DHL in China.

I'm thinking a few cartons of instant noodles, powdered milk, baby food and maybe some blankets.  A cash donation *might* get into the "wrong hands".

In Australia, I may be tempted to donate cash to bushfire relief appeals - but here in China I figure the Government has more than ample manpower, relief supplies and equipment to handle just about any natural disaster.

I was listening to Internet radio this morning - Australian Broadcasting Corporation and there was a piece as follows :

***************************************
Australian rescue teams earmarked to help victims of the Chinese earthquake remain grounded because there is little access to affected areas.

Tony Pearce of Emergency Management Australia says taskforces comprising 100 people with 22 tonnes of equipment are ready to leave for China.

But he says Australian offers of help have been turned down because conditions on the ground are so bad that Chinese rescuers have been forced to parachute into the worst-hit areas.

"If you look at the footage overnight the Chinese themselves are actually having to parachute in to some of those villages because they simply can't get access on the ground," he said.

Courtesy : http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/15/2245277.htm?section=justin

***************************************
Mister Pearce advised that they had sophistcated listening devices, endoscopic camera systems and the experience to really help.

In addition, he said that the taskforce members already had visas for China (a miracle in itself given the short notice involved), all the equipment was already stacked on pallets ready to go and they could be in the air within 6 hours of the nod.

However, looking at the state of the roads (on local TV)  that have been mangled by the earthquake and the many HUGE landslides that block access roads, as well as - quite frankly the roads in many places have just slid down the hill into a nearby ravine. Soldiers and Rescue crews have been using explosives to destroy massive boulders blocking roads.
__________________________________

I rang my mother in Oz to reassure her the day after the quake - that everything was fine here in Suzhou, although I did notice a few more hairline cracks around light switches and on the walls, nothing catastrophic.

*End*