DISASTER RESPONSE EMERGENCY FUND

There's a line in the song "Hazard" by Richard Marx, which goes like

"Here was I surrounded by a thousand fingers suddenly
Pointed right at me".

That's exactly how I felt for the past few months, watching the news of Srilankan Tamil population being massacred. I was deeply pained and I was terribly ashamed that I had not donated a single penny to help those who were suffering. I felt like those Tamil people suffering in hospitals & refugee camps in Srilanka pointing a finger at me saying "We always thought you were like a brother to us and what have you done to help us?"

We are all talking about it, renowned writers are writing columns in newspapers / magazines, fellow citizens are writing about it in blogs, we say that we are shocked and pained to hear the killings of thousands of people, we weep for those are suffering in the refugee camps. But then most of us, have opted to switch the channel and watch some comedy scenes, share market news, gold prices, job news, etc.,. "It's miserable that those people are suffering but then we can't do much about it, sorry, let's move on with out daily activities" seems to be our attitude.

Why have we become so numb? Is saving all our money more important than being humanitarian? Are we so heartless that we can't donate Rs. 1000 to Red Cross in Srilanka, which may help the Srilankan Tamil people who have lost their limbs, their homes and their properties? It's probably the amount anyone in India, may spend over a weekend. Can't we sacrifice it for a week and donate it to those who really need it?

Let us NOT go into the argument whether LTTE was a terrorist organization or was fighting for the freedom of their own Tamil nation in Srilanka.

What is more important at this hour is to help the men, women and children who have suffered injuries in the war zone. Thousands have lost their homes, make-shift houses have to be built for them, they can't be living in refugee camps forever.

Why are we all turning a blind eye to the misery of our brethren living few hundred miles away?

A fellow Tamil blogger had mentioned that donating money to them, would be like giving them alms. He had mentioned that we must visit refugee camps, we must conduct rallies, we must actively participate in the upliftment of those people, who had lost so much in the bloody battles in the last few months. 

I feel that we must start donating to Red Cross or any other organization, which helps those people. Quite obviously, I would not send my hard earned money to a relief fund collected by any political parties in India. And then we may start working on the steps mentioned in the previous paragraph.

You may send cheques / Demand drafts favouring

Disaster Response Emergency Fund

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society

307 T.B. Jaya Mawatha, Colombo 10

Telephone: 5347000

A/c no. 5783021

Bank of Ceylon - Hyde Park branch

If there are other means by which we can help, please do so and also let me know.