Collegiate Times

Finally, the fact that 20 million people have been displaced and 2,000 have died — a very small fraction of the number of people lost in events such as the Haiti earthquake or Pacific tsunami — is likely a large factor for the lack of donations.

This brings up an interesting point.

While the Haiti earthquake was an utterly stomach wrenching tragedy, much of the publicity it received was based on the number of people killed. In a course I am taking specifically on Haiti’s past, present and future, we discussed how Haiti is actually facing an excess of funds and there are “too many chefs in the kitchen” in attempting to decide how to allocate all of it.

While large death figures may raise our eyebrows, consequently leading us to reach into our pockets quickly, the painfully large number of displaced people in Pakistan and miraculously low number of dead should have an equally, if not more, profound effect.

The 20 million displaced Pakistanis are alive and surviving on water and food dropped by helicopters onto the small blips of land not inundated by water. The United Nations has stated that donations are not coming in quickly enough, and it is feared that many will suffer from hunger, and ultimately, starvation. For this reason, donations are critically important because these deaths are largely preventable with proper funds.

As food for thought, while studying in Bishop-Favrao Hall the other day, I stood at a window observing the beloved new parking deck on Perry Street. It occurred to me that the structure, this $30 million structure built to temporarily house our

Volkswagens and Jeeps, exceeds the amount of funds given to save a nation in despair by $5 million.

Twenty million people left homeless could have food and water to survive another day or two with funding easily found to give just more than a thousand cars a spot to rest while we go about our days.

While undoubtedly an unfair comparison between the richest nation in the world and one of the poorest, the comparison nonetheless puts into some perspective the paramount need for relief aid and the ease with which we procure millions of dollars. Something tells me that donating $5 would do a world of good, and none of us would notice the loss a few minutes later.

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A version of this article appeared in the Sep 9 issue of the Collegiate Times.