The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 09, 2005, Page 4, Image 4
United Nations says more money needed
to continue tsunami reconstruction efforts
By CHRIS BRUMMITT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The
United Nations said governments have
only given a fraction of the money they
pledged for tsunami aid and warned
that more cash is needed to fund long
term reconstruction efforts. In Sri
Lanka, corruption allegations
continued to hamper relief operations
Tuesday.
The global body was also
considering moving its base in
Indonesia’s worst-hit Aceh province
because of security concerns. Al-Qaida
linked suicide bombers have targeted
Westerners in Indonesia three times in
the past three years.
Estimates of the number of people
killed by the Dec. 26 tsunami that
struck 11 nations ranged from about
162,000 to 178,000 — most of them in
Indonesia.
Another 26,000 to 142,000 are
missing, but officials say it’s too early to
add them to the toll with bodies still
being found. Indonesia said Tuesday it
had found 1,055 more corpses, raising
the country’s confirmed death toll to at
least 115,756.
The State Department said 18 U.S.
citizens died in the disaster and that 15
others are presumed dead. Ten
perished in Thailand and eight in Sri
Lanka,* said Adam Ereli, the deputy
spokesman. Of the 15 presumed dead,
14 were in Thailand and one was in Sri
Lanka.
New earthquakes rattled the region
early Tuesday, but there were no
reports of damage or injury. Temblors
were felt in Taiwan and Papua New
Guinea, which were unaffected by the
disaster.
With the emergency phase of relief
operations over, Japan said it will pull
its relief troops out of Indonesia by the
end of March, in line with Jakarta’s
wishes.
But hundreds of thousands of
survivors are still in need and the
United Nations begged governments to
deliver promised aid.
Nations have pledged $977 million,
but only $360 million has reached the
world body’s coffers, said Margareta
Wahlstrom, special envoy of U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
“This is our key message to
government donors: Please convert
your pledges into hard cash in the bank.
It’s only cash in the bank that makes it
possible to do work on the ground,” she
said Monday in Geneva.
Although the United Nations is not
short of funds to maintain its
humanitarian relief operations, it
warned that money is still needed in the
long run for reconstruction.
Governments “are very generous
classically with food, health, and
children, but they are very slow in
filling us up on livelihoods and shelter,”
she said.
The State Department said last week
that Washington has given nearly $119
million out of $350 million it has
pledged in tsunami aid.
But in Sri Lanka, corruption was
hampering aid operations. Officials
have been accused of plundering relief
supplies, demanding bribes from
tsunami victims, and being drunk on
duty.
Several people were suspended last
week, with others under investigation.
The U.N. World Food Program will
soon dispatch more food aid monitors
to try to “abolish any corruption within
the government system,” coordinator
Dawit Getachew said.
Dozens of tsunami survivors staged a
noisy protest that disrupted traffic on a
main road in a village near Colombo,
accusing a village official of giving food
and cash aid only to his supporters.
In Indonesia’s Aceh province,
security concerns prompted U.N.
officials to consider relocating the base
for the massive international relief effort
there.
Joel Boutroue, U.N. deputy
humanitarian coordinator, said the
United Nations “does not expect to be a
target” of an attack. But he said the
walled compound in Banda Aceh,
where 100 aid workers live and work,
had “structural weaknesses” and “is not
optimal ... from a security perspective.”
a Outstanding Woman
of the Year at (JSC ||ow would
The Office of Women's Student Services is accepting applications ^
for the Outstanding Woman of the Year at (JSC award. VOU SCO If
Purpose of the Award *
The month of March is Women's History Month and we would ja^e a FREE practice test at
like to recognize (ISC women who ere making a difference Kaplan’s Test Drive and find out.
in their community
o Saturday, February 26, 2005
Basic Eligibility 10 00 am
"Undergraduate with 60 credit hours or more usc. Gambrell Hall
"Must have attended USC for at least one semester
"Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better Call or visit us online today to register!
Applications are available in suite 227 of the Russell House and
are due Friday. February 25th by 5 p.m. to suite 227 in the 1 -800-KAP-TEST
Russell House. kaptest.com/testdrive
Applicants and finalist will be recognized on Tuesday, March 29th at _ 7^^™«
4:30 p.m. at the Outstanding Women of the USC Celebration in the Test Prep 3nd Adm,ss,ons §
Russell House Ballroom. •Test names are registered trademarks of their respective owners. 1 I
Please call 777-7130 if yoa have any questions. ^
■ LEUKEMIA
Continued from page 1
house must be kept painstakingly
sanitaty. She can’t eat anything that
might harbor bacteria: no raw
vegetables, fresh fruit or dairy products.
She can’t go out to dinner, or down to
Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.
Except for an occasional visit from her
friends or family, she is isolated.
She’s not allowed to spend time — or
even be in the same room — with
children. Her twin half-brothers can’t
visit.
“When I get to come home,” she
said, “they can come ride up in my
stepdad’s car, and they can wave at me
through the window or something, but
they can’t get out and be around me.”
Nevertheless, Terry said she was
enjoying her “long weekend” away from
the leukemia and lymphoma floor where
her friends die.
Today she goes in for an important
biopsy. This one will tell her whether she
has beaten the leukemia again. The data
will tell doctors how much more chemo
she needs, when she needs it and how
strong it will need to be, but she won’t
recover completely without the bone
marrow transplant she might never get.
Until then, she’ll fight disease over
and over again.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockneivs@gtrm.se. edu
■ MARROW
Continued from page 1
There will also be a benefit at Rafter’s
today from 9:30 p.m. until the bar
closes. The party for anyone over 18 will
have a $5 cover charge. The proceeds
will go to the marrow drive, and any left
over will be donated to Terry’s family to
cover medical bills and living expenses.
Cheek said she remembered when
Terry first went to the hospital.
“We were in the hospital at the same
time, when I had my gallbladder taken
out,” she said.
“Actually, she went in for back
problems, and they gave her some
medicine. When she reacted, they found
out she had leukemia.”
Cheek said she was confident that
Terry would recover, though.
“She knows she’s coming back to
USC. She definitely knows she’s going
to be okay, and I think that’s what’s
keeping her together,” she said.
Comments on this story ? E-tnail
gamecocknews@givm.sc. edu
j MEET COLUMBIA MAYOR BOB COBLE |
I Please meet City of Columbia mayor, Bob Coble, on Wednesday, Feb.
J 9, 2005 at 5pm in the Russell House Theater. We will be discussing ■
I campus safety and building a better relationship between the Carolina I
I STUDENT GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS
Student Government Scholarships are due Wednesday, February 16.
If you are interested in applying for any of these $500 scholarships, !
stop by 227 Russell House and pick up an application. The scholarships
are available to all full-time students.
I!
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE
Please join us for the presidential candidates debate on Wednesday, Feb.
9, 2005 on Greene Street at 12:30pm. If you have any questions contact j
the office of Student Government and Student Organizations.
f I ! I_ - * I