An appeal for donations

Withing a matter of weeks, Burma and China have been hit by natural disasters of historic magnitude. Burma has been devastated by a cyclone that hit the country May 3, leaving an estimated 128,000 dead, and 2 million homeless. China was hit by a 7.9 earthquake May 12 which has left 15,000 dead, though that estimate may double in the days to come. We in the West may have our trouble with the totalitarian governments of these countries, especially on the grounds of civil rights and freedoms, but right now the people who are suffering are ordinary human beings who have nothing to do with their respective governments. I ask you, if you haven't already, to go right now and donate whatever little you can to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. There are other charity organizations of course, but I chose this one because of their well organized and large scale infrastructure, which would allow for aid to reach the Burmese and the Chinese in the fastest and most effective way.

Below is an image I got from the BBC of a survivor of the quake in Dujiangyan, China, clutching the hand of his schoolmate who was not so lucky.




Here is an amateur video of the earthquake as it happened, also from the BBC, taken near Chengdu, the largest city closest to the earthquake epicenter. You can see for yourselves the hell on earth the people of Sichuan province faced and are still facing.