In mid-January, I wrote an essay in which I expressed doubt about whether the PROMISES of money toward relief for the Asian tsunami would actually translate into actual money. A friend of mine though the tsunami touched world opinion in a way that other disasters hadn't. She thus expressed confidence that the promises would in fact be realized and encouraged me to re-explore the issue in a few months.
Unfortunately, the signs are not good.
Last month, the BBC reported: [T]he Asian Development Bank said there was a shortfall of more than $4bn promised for rebuilding India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
That's a $4 billion that was promised and not received... and that's only for four countries.
More recently, the Inter Press Service reported that of the $6.7 billion pledged overall, only $2.5 billion has actually been paid or committed. Not spent, but committed.
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