Maybe it is the pinch of $4-a-gallon gas and the economic downturn.
Maybe it’s distrust of Myanmar’s ruling junta or concern over human-rights violations in China. Or maybe the American people are going through “disaster fatigue,” the feeling that we have seen it all before.
But the fact is this: In the weeks since a cyclone laid waste to Myanmar’s delta region and an earthquake devastated a central Chinese province — catastrophes that collectively left 184,000 people dead or missing and displaced millions — Americans have donated an estimated $57 million to disaster relief charities as of late last week.
Americans historically respond to natural disasters with an outpouring of giving, but the charitable response to the cyclone that hit Myanmar on May 3 and the earthquake that struck China on May 12 has been modest at best.
The relief group AmeriCares collected $10 million within two weeks of the 2004 tsunami that struck southern Asia. But the charity said it has raised a combined $1 million for its efforts in Myanmar and China.
“It’s very clear that the breadth and depth of the people who have been touched emotionally doesn’t compare to the tsunami,” said Curtis R. Welling, chief executive of AmeriCares.
The $57 million estimate was provided by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which surveyed disaster relief charities.
As of Thursday, about $21.7 million had been raised for the cyclone, $30.9 million for the earthquake and $4.3 million for either disaster, the survey found.
The center also tracked donations after Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami.
Experts attributed the downturn in giving to a medley of forces, including a domestic economy that has left many Americans with little disposable income, a distrust in disaster relief charities and geopolitical tensions.
Charities said they are expecting more donations, particularly from Chinese-Americans, who are pooling resources to help in the earthquake’s aftermath.
Shrinking tallies
Total U.S. charitable donations for recent disasters
2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes: $5.3 billion
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks: $2.8 billion
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: $1.9 billion
2005 Pakistan earthquake: $150 million
2008 China earthquake: $30.9 million
2008 Myanmar cyclone: $21.7 million
Source: Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University The Washington Post
