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Commentary: The Longer-Term Aid Hurdle
By William Pesek Jr. Bloomberg News Monday, January 10, 2005
JAKARTA It seems that Bono still hasn't found what he's looking for. The Irish rock star and activist is turning his attention away from Africa's debt and AIDS woes to Asia's tsunami victims. One of his op-ed pieces called on the world to "seize the day" on this "incomprehensibly tragic" event.
Bono and his band U2 are expected to perform at a Live Aid-style concert being planned in Britain this month. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to think of a nation, company or celebrity that isn't scrambling to help the millions affected by the Dec. 26 disaster.
The response is enough to restore faith in our common humanity, although victims of tragedies like the one in Darfur, Sudan might have reason to disagree. No one is calling an emergency summit meeting - like the one in Jakarta last week for Asians - to raise billions of dollars for them.
The irony isn't lost on Bono. A group he co-founded, Debt, AIDS and Trade Africa, noted last week that roughly 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa are not getting even a fraction of the publicity of the five million Asians left homeless.
Even so, it is encouraging to see so much aid promised for a catastrophe that has taken more than 155,000 lives. If the money materializes - of $1 billion pledged after the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, just $17 million has been delivered - Southeast Asia's outlook will brighten somewhat.
The global outpouring of concern and financial assistance makes sense with television everywhere flashing images of death and destruction. A donor conference in Jakarta showed graphic film clips that few will ever forget.
Asia is fortunate to be the center of the world's attention, but what about six months from now? What happens when the need changes from a bottle of clean water to a job?
Granted, tangible results did emerge from last week's event in the Indonesian capital. Asian economies moved closer to a moratorium on debt payments, taking pressure off governments facing massive recovery bills.
Britain said it would let the countries freeze payment on $70 billion of debt, and Japan allowed suspension on about $65 billion.
Some nations will be reluctant to accept for fear of hurting their reputations as creditworthy borrowers, yet the option is there.
Officials talked about coordinating relief efforts. Aid pledges have poured in faster than countries and nongovernment organizations can figure out how to use them. The key is getting money to those who need it - and keeping it out of corrupt hands.
The creation of a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean was discussed, as well as the need for a Southeast Asian force to deal with emergencies in the region. President Yudhoyono of Indonesia urged the typically impotent Association of Southeast Asian Nations to lead the effort.
The tsunami summit meeting also helped the United States begin to rehabilitate its reputation in Asia. The Bush administration's initial silence and stingy aid pledge has been replaced by a more generous and engaged approach.
Some important issues were largely ignored, including why oil-rich Arab nations have not been giving aid generously. Also bypassed was Asia's longer-term outlook, as the waves did not destroy key ports or business, manufacturing and market centers.
Once today's aid stops flowing and the world's interest moves elsewhere, will even people like Bono be there for Asia's poor?
Poverty isn't something investors give much thought to. It doesn't figure readily into bond yields or stock valuations. It's not the first thing currency traders think about when placing bets, nor an issue that the most powerful central banks ponder seriously.
Changing that mindset is crucial to making sure economies here, the new frontier of capitalism, continue growing. It's also the key to keeping Asia's weakest links from undermining its strongest.
Let's hope Bono and friends draw more attention to this issue. It's not clear that much of the rest of the world will, six months from now.
By William Pesek Jr. Bloomberg News Monday, January 10, 2005
JAKARTA It seems that Bono still hasn't found what he's looking for. The Irish rock star and activist is turning his attention away from Africa's debt and AIDS woes to Asia's tsunami victims. One of his op-ed pieces called on the world to "seize the day" on this "incomprehensibly tragic" event.
Bono and his band U2 are expected to perform at a Live Aid-style concert being planned in Britain this month. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to think of a nation, company or celebrity that isn't scrambling to help the millions affected by the Dec. 26 disaster.
The response is enough to restore faith in our common humanity, although victims of tragedies like the one in Darfur, Sudan might have reason to disagree. No one is calling an emergency summit meeting - like the one in Jakarta last week for Asians - to raise billions of dollars for them.
The irony isn't lost on Bono. A group he co-founded, Debt, AIDS and Trade Africa, noted last week that roughly 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa are not getting even a fraction of the publicity of the five million Asians left homeless.
Even so, it is encouraging to see so much aid promised for a catastrophe that has taken more than 155,000 lives. If the money materializes - of $1 billion pledged after the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, just $17 million has been delivered - Southeast Asia's outlook will brighten somewhat.
The global outpouring of concern and financial assistance makes sense with television everywhere flashing images of death and destruction. A donor conference in Jakarta showed graphic film clips that few will ever forget.
Asia is fortunate to be the center of the world's attention, but what about six months from now? What happens when the need changes from a bottle of clean water to a job?
Granted, tangible results did emerge from last week's event in the Indonesian capital. Asian economies moved closer to a moratorium on debt payments, taking pressure off governments facing massive recovery bills.
Britain said it would let the countries freeze payment on $70 billion of debt, and Japan allowed suspension on about $65 billion.
Some nations will be reluctant to accept for fear of hurting their reputations as creditworthy borrowers, yet the option is there.
Officials talked about coordinating relief efforts. Aid pledges have poured in faster than countries and nongovernment organizations can figure out how to use them. The key is getting money to those who need it - and keeping it out of corrupt hands.
The creation of a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean was discussed, as well as the need for a Southeast Asian force to deal with emergencies in the region. President Yudhoyono of Indonesia urged the typically impotent Association of Southeast Asian Nations to lead the effort.
The tsunami summit meeting also helped the United States begin to rehabilitate its reputation in Asia. The Bush administration's initial silence and stingy aid pledge has been replaced by a more generous and engaged approach.
Some important issues were largely ignored, including why oil-rich Arab nations have not been giving aid generously. Also bypassed was Asia's longer-term outlook, as the waves did not destroy key ports or business, manufacturing and market centers.
Once today's aid stops flowing and the world's interest moves elsewhere, will even people like Bono be there for Asia's poor?
Poverty isn't something investors give much thought to. It doesn't figure readily into bond yields or stock valuations. It's not the first thing currency traders think about when placing bets, nor an issue that the most powerful central banks ponder seriously.
Changing that mindset is crucial to making sure economies here, the new frontier of capitalism, continue growing. It's also the key to keeping Asia's weakest links from undermining its strongest.
Let's hope Bono and friends draw more attention to this issue. It's not clear that much of the rest of the world will, six months from now.
