Discussion: US Sending Disaster Response Team, $1 Million Aid To Nepal

Discussion for article #235676

$1 million in aid is nowhere near what is required. Nepal hasn’t got near the money or infrastructure (response teams, 1st responders, medical facilities etc) that will be needed in the coming days and weeks. They will be decades in rebuilding their country. We don’t know thefull extent of the damage because so much of the country is remote and basically inaccessible except on foot or by helicopter. But I am sure it is extensive. I am sure many thousands of people are dead, wounded, made homeless in this event. The world should look past petty differences and set about helping our fellow human beings. They need us now, right now. $ 1 million just does not cut it.

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I’m sure more aid will be sent. As bad as we are as a nation the U.S. has always been generous when it comes to helping other nations affected by natural disasters.

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Positively shameful and an embarrassment to our nation. Republicans have spent over fifty times that just in their grandstanding efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act alone.

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It says they are ready to offer assistance as needed. The $1 mil is immediate funds likely for rescue and recovery, not for rebuilding. That part would need to be assessed, etc. A report is written up with estimated costs and such. Then the financing gets addressed.

Hopefully people will be rescues while your report is written.

I don’t do overseas construction work, I only do work here in NYC. So I won’t be putting together any budgets, estimates or reports, but there will be plenty of people doing that. First infrastructure issues need to be looked at, then building. It’s a major ordeal.

But before that happens priority one is rescue and recovery. Plus temp housing, food, water, etc. As that progresses and purchase orders are written, more money will be given. You can’t just say “here’s $50 mil, do what you want”, that money will definitely disappear. It needs to be done in an organized fashion tied to logistics. It is better for us to send food, water, temp facilities and such rather than just send major cash. And we are definitely doing that, as are many other countries.

There are also ways to donate yourself if interested. I’ve made a few donations already, every little bit helps.

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We are usually number one on the assistance list. Yet people still want to find a way to trash what we do.

Then you need to get out more.

I’m an older guy. I’ve traveled a lot (37 countries last count, many more tan once) for a variety of reasons. Don’t count me as an inexperienced kid writing from his mom’s basement.

I’m in my 60’s myself.

I wasn’t taking you for a kid., I was just wondering why you referenced “my report”?

There are times when a report should be written and times when taking the time to write a report means people die. Write the report after people are pulled out of the rubble of what used to be their home, school, or business.
That’s what I was thinking.
I’ve not been to Nepal but I’ve been in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan which is pretty much the same mountain chain as the Himalaya and folks live pretty much the same bare subsistence life style, albeit a different religion. I have a good idea what the outlying communities look like now in Nepal…destroyed. With very problematical way to get aid to them because of nonexistent roads or airports. Reports won’t be doing them any good. They can’t eat a report and a report won’t fend off the rain.

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Darrtown is referring to this comment of yours.

The analysis and “report” happens in the background while material aid in the form of water, food, medicines, tents etc. flow into Nepal.

I think most aid efforts right now are focusing on immediate material requirements to help stabilize Nepa. No report is needed or of any benefit near-term.

Who gives a flying fuck? We give aid because it’s needed and the humane thing to do. Not because we expect kudos.

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Thank you Sooner.
You said it far better than I did.

I’ve been to Kathmandu twice. So so many bottlenecks to providing and distributing aid there starting with a very small airport by any countries standards. Many of the small mountain villages are reachable only by roads, no helicopters can fly into those narrow canyons.

Should you want to help please make a donation to

Doctors Without Borders: donate.doctorswithoutborders.org

Mercy Corps: mercycorps.org

I’m working today trying to spin up an effort to get tents donated and into the area. Getting in and out of the damned airport will require monumental co-ordination.

The Kathmandu airport is one of the world’s 10 most dangerous to land in. It has a very short runway that has an uphill tilt when landing. No way can a plane do a “touch-and-go”. Accidents are frequent there. Anything from tourists walking across the runway to goats or other critters on the runway. Plus the airport is located in mountains which means air currents which can easily ruin a runway approach. Not an easy place to ferry in lots of aid for a city of a million people.

Did you read my comment?

So what exactly is the problem? And why is it “my” report?

You don’t have to tell me, I’ve landed and taken off from there twice. The second time I took care to not have eaten within four hours of the landing and take off.

You missed this. You and your Heathers’ ALWAYS take a sentence from my post to give the opposite meaning, while ignoring the rest of the comment. Just like Hannity does to Obama. Just grow up or at least obtain reading comprehension skills.

Having a bad day are you?

I thought I was quite clear in my response about when and where to write a report on something like the disaster in Nepal and nowhere did I attempt to cause offense…