In the awful aftermath of
the Southeast Asian tsunami,
it’s easy to wonder how a merciful and loving God could
allow such a catastrophe. But comprehending God’s providence
is a challenge even to those among us burdened with divinity
degrees, so here’s a more practical question to ponder: How
does a merciful and loving humankind stand by while a dozen
comparable catastrophes continue year upon year upon year?
While the
Asian tsunami seized headlines around the world, a slower,
subtle tsunami of poverty and indifference continued its
grim work, stealing away thousands of lives each ticking
second of each passing day. This “silent tsunami,” as U.N.
special advisor on development Jeffrey D. Sachs calls it, is
a collection of purely preventable unnatural disasters
assailing the world’s poorest people.
If more than
150,000 people snatched away in the blink of an eye is an
unspeakable tragedy, how do we assess the loss of 150,000
children who die each month because of malaria? How do we
account for the 5 to 7 million children who die each year
from hunger? Where are the telethons for the thousands who
succumb to diarrhea each day because 2.6 billion people
still don’t have access to basic sanitation?
Let’s hope
that ours is not a problem of cold hearts but limited
imaginations. Certainly when we are jolted from our cultural
slumber by specific natural disasters, we do respond
generously. The heart-breaking images out of Thailand,
Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka in December and January and
the stories of almost unfathomable suffering by parents and
orphaned children provoked an appropriate outpouring of
prayer, sympathy, and financial support for the survivors.
While
individuals in the First World reached deeply into their
pockets, it took a U.N. official’s description of Western
powers as “stingy” to finally spur their embarrassed
governments to do the same. President Bush and Colin Powell
responded to those comments with predictably outraged
denials, but the rotten truth is that in any honest
assessment of the West’s annual commitment to the war on
poverty, “stingy” is perhaps too kind a word.
Each year
the U.S. contributes just 0.15 of 1 percent of its annual
gross national product to relief and development aid.
Private donations add only 0.06 percent more—that’s 21 cents
for every $100 of income generated in America’s $11 trillion
economy each year. That meager commitment actually makes the
U.S. the worst of the West’s penny-pinchers.
That
stinginess is not without its political and clinical costs.
The longer we turn our backs on the moldering poverty in the
not-really-developing world, the wider our war on terror is
likely to stretch. And as the arrival of HIV, West Nile
virus, and other “exotic” illnesses attest, next week’s
viral outbreak from within the heart of some darkness is
only a plane ride away.
Even
the worst effects of disasters like the tsunami could be
mitigated if more resources flowed into the developing
world. First Worlders invest in stronger dwellings and
better infrastructure. That’s why 98 percent of those killed
and affected by natural disasters come from developing
countries. That figure, according to a
recent report
from
Tearfund,
a British relief agency, underlines an underappreciated link
between poverty and vulnerability to disaster.
According to
Tearfund’s study, thousands of lives and millions in relief
money could be saved each year if wealthy nations launched a
preemptive strike on disaster risks in vulnerable
communities in the developing world. If not, the report
notes, “millions of people will never escape the poverty
trap, as with each new [disaster], precious gains being made
in poverty eradication are being swept away.”
To respond
to our world of want, Sachs recommends that Western donors
immediately increase their aid to at least 0.5 percent of
GNP, a goal he calls “utterly affordable.” As stewards of a
great wealth and terrible power, we can continue to sinfully
squander our riches on the world’s most shockingly awesome
military or we can invest a portion of it in turning back
the tsunami of deprivation and despair washing across the
developing world. We can help alleviate the worst effects of
global poverty, or we can hunker down in fortress America.
The choice—and the future—is ours to make. 
Kevin Clarke is a senior editor at
U.S. Catholic and managing editor of online
products at Claretian Publications.
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1996 - 2005 by Claretian Publications
