Zacht Ei - Dutch government offers aid

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Dutch government offers aid

Earlier today, fellow Dutchman Bart offered the following questions regarding the Katrina disaster:

• Where are the Dutch marines from Aruba?
• Where are the Dutch "water management" engineers?
• Why aren't there planes on the way with special equipment and pumps?
• Where is the Dutch field hospital? (public health is going to be a huge problem)

To which I can answer that the Netherlands has offered a dike inspection team which is on standby for immediate departure to the USA.

Je maintiendrai! Now, where's the:
• Humanitarian aid?
• Dutch navy armada? We have a *huge* hospital ship.
• Statement of secretary Ben Bot of Foreign Affairs, in which he offers his sympathies to the American people in their hour of need?

And where's the Red Cross with a national fund raiser?

10:12

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Come on, Arjan. The US ain't Bangladesh. And for the watermanagementengineers: it just might be a bit too late to fly them in now.

David Rietveld (ip:193.67.21.67) 1 September 2005 - 15:10 uur

At first I thought you were sarcastic, and thought it was in bad taste seeing the many victims in the US. But I now believe that you are serious and am amazed.

Yes, any technological help should be offered immediately, as well as troops and material should they be close enough to really make a difference. But giving money to the richest country in the world, with the highest per capita income and the lowest foreign aid per capita seems.... weird. And comparing such donations to donations given on behalf of really poor people from Asia and Africa seems.... even weirder.

Dutchmarbel (ip:80.100.225.59) 1 September 2005 - 20:14 uur

Thank you for your thoughts. The US really doesn't need much in the way of material assistance, but some of your engineers would be valuable for their expertise. A couple of days ago, the break in the levee between the city and Lake Pontchartrain was two city blocks long. They were trying to stop the flow with enormous sandbags of over 1000 kg, but failing. The flow has now stopped, and they were planning to use large concrete blocks.

We've got enough money, and material from Europe couldn't possibly reach the Gulf Coast in time. Time is one thing we are short on. We have to get the remaining people out of the city and into some sort of shelter.

Mitch (ip:141.202.248.12) 1 September 2005 - 21:15 uur

Mitch: that is why I thought that technological help should be offered immediately. Believe me, as an inhabitant of a country that is for a large part under sealevel my thoughts are with the inhabitants of New Orleans. We have teams that are familiar with the circumstances, we have engineers that specialize in this field, and those people should do whatever they can. If we have the material/troops that can help with evacuating the folk that are still in the city than they should be sent there ASAP.

But a call for a national fundraising seems weird to be honest and I don't understand Arjans critisism about the Dutch not starting one.

Dutchmarbel (ip:80.100.225.59) 1 September 2005 - 21:31 uur

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Dutch government offers aid

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