Mixed media: The world as a village

GENEROSITY

Muslim view: I am amazed to see such generous aid coming from countries like the USA, UK and Australia. Most of the victims here are Muslims and our people have a cultural belief that the West is out to destroy us. It's interesting to see this belief being shattered.

* Imran, Kuala Lumpur, quoted on BBC website

Sri Lankan blogger: TV announced there is shortage in medication for affected areas, so I bought antibiotics, painkillers and other needed drugs, and went to the south coast with my family and friends. Well, there are no words to say: the epidemic, homes gone away, people looking for left items in some homes, and the sad thing is still people looking there for loved ones in debris. I saw notices saying, "Please give us drinking water, please give us food," because most of the aid is going to refugee centres.

* Jinath's weblogs

Indian blogger: The blog has moved to a very influential position where real action comes out of dialogue, like the relief fund that has already collected a good amount of dollars for victims.

Another is SEA-EAT (South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunamis) blog - pulling together information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts. It is a living document and I have seen it grow in a few hours to an amazing resource, as a result of so many wonderful people sharing information and resources.

* Dina Mehta

German view: The crane near the town of Beruwala on the south coast of Sri Lanka lifts its load carefully. Village fishermen help steer the gently swinging cargo. Otherwise its load, a fishing boat left stranded but largely undamaged by the gigantic tsunamis that swamped the coastline nine days ago, could be destroyed. Such snapshots of reconstruction, however small amid the destruction, are symbols of hope.

* Service Spiegel

GOVERNMENTS AT FAULT

London newspaper: One obvious question recurs: Why must the relief of suffering, in this unprecedentedly prosperous world, rely on the whims of citizens and the appeals of pop stars and comedians? Why, when extreme poverty could be made history with a minor redeployment of public finances, must the poor world still wait for homeless people in the rich world to empty their pockets? The obvious answer is that governments have other priorities. And the one that leaps to mind is war.

If the money they have promised to the victims of the tsunami still falls far short of the amounts required, it is partly because the contingency fund upon which they draw in times of crisis has been spent on blowing people to bits in Iraq.

* George Monbiot in The Guardian

Burmese opposition website: We are deeply disturbed that the Burmese military regime, which is apathetic and showing very little enthusiasm to co-operate with international agencies for relief work, has displayed no interest at all to extend any kind of help, particularly to the Burmese victims in Thailand. The regime is more concerned about what the consequences will be to its survival than about helping the people ... It is incumbent upon the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and Burmese communities all over world to do their utmost to render assistance to our fellow citizens.

* See website link below

Australian blogger: Australia should substantially increase its direct aid to Aceh and play a leading role in rebuilding water supplies, roads, telecommunications, schools and hospitals [helping] prevent the Indonesian military playing politics with aid.

* Sauer Thompson

Radio commentary: Inoyat Banglawala, press secretary of the Muslim Council of the United Kingdom, says many governments and private charities in Islamic countries were slow to respond with aid. "Similarly, we saw the same kind of response from the United States. Initially, they only pledged US$35 million and the United States, of course, is the world's largest economy. But after public pressure, after criticism from other governments and other countries, they upped it to $350 million - a tenfold increase." Banglawala also notes that European countries and the US are better skilled at communicating with the media and their own citizens, which gives them a higher profile internationally but does not necessarily mean they are providing more aid than others.

* Radio Free Europe