Editorial: Under siege city in real need of help

There has been a view expressed in some quarters that money raised in Hawke's Bay should be spent in Hawke's Bay.
It is an opinion that surfaced, occasionally on this editorial page, after the awful flooding experienced by parts of the region in April. Why, it was asked, should we be raising money for earthquake-hit Christchurch, when there were people right here in Hawke's Bay who had lost their homes, seen their farms ravaged, had their livelihoods threatened?
It was a fair question to ask and understandable at a time when we all knew of someone who suffered terribly from that massive autumn weather bomb.
The answer, however, has to be that Christchurch needs the assistance far more than we do.
An intense amount of work in a relatively short space of time has shown that Hawke's Bay can pick itself up, repair the damage and move on. Without question there are still people here in great need but the numbers are minuscule compared to Christchurch.
That is why the bulk of the money raised from the Hawke's Bay Today Country2Coast has gone to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal.
The event organiser, Havelock North Rotary, presented a $7000 cheque to Red Cross this week. There is a smaller amount of money left for local charities but the bulk went to Christchurch.
On the very day the Country2Coast cheque was handed over, Christchurch was battered by more big earthquakes, as if to underline how desperate life is for the city's residents.
With more damaged homes and more frayed nerves, thousands of people in Christchurch must feel they are living under constant siege. The money raised from the 1200 participants in Country2Coast will help some of them just a little.
We should also remember that in 1931 when Hawke's Bay was truly devastated, one of the biggest single donations came from ... the people of Christchurch.