TODAY'S EDITORIAL: Not Charity - The Times of India

TODAY'S EDITORIAL: Not Charity - The Times of India: "TODAY'S EDITORIAL: Not Charity


[ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2004 12:00:00 AM ]

Aid is not charity. This is the basic point that the West, particularly the US, must realise. The Bush administration has 'doubled' its aid commitment to the tsunami-affected to $35 million, after its earlier pledge of $15 million provoked the UN Relief Coordinator to dub it as 'stingy'. The US can keep these crumbs if it feels so pained to part with funds in the face of what the UN terms the worst-ever disaster in terms of the scale of relief required. It should also realise that its parsimonious instincts do not serve its own interests. In a globally integrated "