UK public 'shaming world politicians' over Pakistan aid/UK Public Donates £29m ($40m) To Pakistan

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

The generosity of the British public in helping Pakistan's flood victims is "shaming politicians around the world", the head of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has said. Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the DEC, said the UK public was leading the way in giving donations, but that further funds were urgently needed.

The DEC's Pakistan Floods Appeal has now raised more than £29m.

Critics say the world community has been too slow to respond to the crisis.

Mr Gormley said that while the response of the UK government was to be respected, other nations had been slow to react to the situation in Pakistan that was continuing to affect more than 20 million people.

=snip=

Mr Gormley's criticism of the international community's response to the crisis in Pakistan came after Louis-George Arsenault, director of emergency operations for Unicef in New York, described the lack of global support as "quite extraordinary".

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11057297

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British Public Donates £29m To Pakistan

Sarah Gordon, Sky News Online

The British public have donated £29m to help victims of Pakistan's massive floods, after charities stepped up their pleas for funds.

The Disaster Emergency Committee has thanked Britons for their generosity in donating to the disaster which combines "the scale of the tsunami, the destruction of Haiti and the complexity of the Middle East."

The announcement comes after the British government doubled its aid donation to the country from £31.3m to more than £60m. The UN also reported it had now raised nearly 70% of the £295m it called for in its emergency appeal.

However, DEC has asked people to continue donating as floodwaters, which already cover an area the size of England, continue to rise, affecting millions more people.

Full article and video: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Pakistan-Floods-British-Public-Donates-29m-To-Help-Pakistan-Flood-Victims/Article/201008415702605?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_5&lid=ARTICLE_15702605_Pakistan_Floods:_British_Public_Donates_%3F29m_To_Help_Pakistan_Flood_Victims

[dipsydoodle]

1. Its a function of the make up of our population

.

[Turborama]

2. Oops! My currency conversion was totally wrong, it's actually over $45million

29 million British pounds = 45.1791 million U.S. dollars
http://www.google.com/search?q=29+million+pounds+in+us+dollars&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8

Here's the graphic from Sky's article...

[msongs]

3. mmm the USA just gave Pakistan $500 million that oughta provide a tad of relief nt

[Turborama]

4. Have you got the latest figure for donations from the US public?

I'm actually genuinely curious what that figure amounts to.

[OhioChick]

5. I've heard of a lot of people donating, but can't find figures. n/t

[sabrina 1]

6. Ordinary people are the best. What bugs me is

the Wall St. bank robbers, the MIC contractors, to whom a few million would not leave a dent in their bank accounts, you never hear of most of them giving anything to these disasters.

Ill-gotten gains made from the suffering of others. Like Eric Prinz, or Dick Cheney, Bush et al. Do they donate to these disasters?

[Rhiannon12866]

7. K&R! Excellent news!

Let's hope that this prompts others to step up to the plate! This is a desperate situation and needs more publicity than it's been getting... ;(