Nepal aid donors 'may halt fundraising' amid fears government will seize donations

[whirlygigspin]

Source: The Telegraph

International aid donors expressed alarm on Friday after the Nepal government warned that all donations to help its earthquake victims must be made to its Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.

The announcement was seen as an attempt by the ruling Nepal Congress Party to seize control of millions of pounds of aid donations being sent from around the world and raised fears that it could be allocated for political considerations rather than humanitarian need.



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/11577706/Nepal-aid-donors-may-halt-fundraising-amid-fears-government-will-seize-donations.html

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Are they insane?

I know many people trying to move heaven and earth to help people in villages all over the country and they want everyone to stop so they can get a cut?

My friend in Kathmandu has over 60 people living in their yard trying to keep everyone alive and they can't get aid because the control freaks want to make sure they don't steal some ramen noodles?

I'm off to scream at the state department people...

[barbtries]

1. i donated to a gofundme

started by a tour guide who is presently stuck over there in a village i think it's called lukla. this brazenly greedy announcement by the government, which as i understand it is pretty fucked up anyway, is disturbing. on NPR yesterday i heard a story about Nepal in which an earthquake victim said exactly the opposite, ie do NOT give your money to the government.

this is terrible. greed is ruining the world.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Terrible. Also, satanic and beyond disgusting

[William Seger]

3. Gofundme will take 5% of your donation

... just for providing a link to an actual payment processor, WePay (which will take another 2.9% plus $0.30). I think gofundme is pretty brazenly greedy, too, since the tour guide could have just put up a link to his PayPal or WePay account on Facebook.

[barbtries]

5. that thought crossed my mind.

but i did it anyway and i'd do it again. otherwise i give to doctors without borders, planned parenthood...used to give to the aclu until they came out with their "pardon the bushies" statement. and other various smaller charities where i know the people who run them. sometimes to DUers who have run into a problem. Bernie Sanders, just last night - and the donation was processed through "act blue" which probably also takes a cut.
in this situation the plea came from the mother of a person who is over there (in Nepal, stranded since the earthquake, but they just made it to Kathmandu so should be coming home soon) and this particular fund was set up by the person running their group. the goal is specific, the money will be used for what it was asked for, and the beneficiaries are basically the people she knows. so like i said i'd do it again; it's likely that i will.

[William Seger]

6. I understand; I just get irritated at gofundme's exploitation of charity (n/t)

[MisterP]

4. problem is, they DO often hand out donations depending on how each village voted