Aid for Tsunami
Reader comment on item: Palestinians Don't Deserve Additional Aid

Submitted by Marcus Mann (Israel), Jan 3, 2005 at 05:27

Although slightly off the topic of "Aid for Palestinians", it is interesting to note the aid pledged so far by Arab countries for tsunami relief. The MSNBC site (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6776528/) lists the following contributions:

Egypt $81,000
Kuwait $2 million
Quatar $10 million
Saudi Arabia $10 million
UAE $2 million

Contrast this with money given by the following Western countries:

Spain $68 million
Australia $27 million
Britain $29 million
Canada $67 million
Denmark $15 million

Comments:
1) Egypt receives some $2 billion in aid annually from the US
2) The contribution of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined (despite all their petrodollars) contributed less than a small country such as Denmark
3) Some of the areas worst-hit by the tsunami are populated mainly by Muslims.

It seems that just like the Arab world was not too concerned about the well-being of their fellow Palestinian, and left them to live in the sqallor of refugee camps, so too, we see their minimal concern for their fellow tsunami-struck Muslim.

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