Thursday, December 30, 2004

AID

Getting help to Asia matters a lot. It's hard for the blogosphere to know what to say. Please do what you can.

I was moved by a phone call on cable news from some American tourists, a family that had been enjoying a luxurious beach vacation when the earthquake hit. They have rolled up their sleeves and pitched in, working long days to clear debris.

I was impressed by the Amazon donation page -- not just because they replaced their home page, but because they show you -- right up front -- what they've collected and how many people have already donated. (More than $4M already!) Every time you refresh the page, the totals edge higher.

It is impressive in so many ways. You can see what's happening right now. You do something -- and you can see the result right away.

Oxfam's news page has a great sense of immediacy, too. Not just accounts of immense needs, but also exactly what they are doing right now. "Hired a ferry in Trincomalee... Aid flight leaves at 2.30pm GMT for Sri Lanka and Indonesia - the plane is scheduled to arrive at 10.30 on Thursday." Medecins sans Frontieres has the same idea: don't just show us the enormity of the disaster, show us what to do, and what is being done.