As the U.S. deals with Hurricane Katrina, it's important not to forget the people of Southeast Asia affected by the December 2004 tsunami, a relief worker told a roomful of students Friday.
Pete Newell, a relief worker for the non-profit organization Food for the Hungry, spoke to 50 students during a Southeast Students Association meeting in the Art Building to compare tsunami relief efforts to hurricane relief.
Newell has visited Meulaboh, Indonesia, twice since the tsunami to help with relief efforts.
He just returned from New Orleans to survey the damage left by Hurricane Katrina as well.
Newell said in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Americans have forgotten other parts of the world affected by disasters.
"There are over 35 other disasters going on in the world right now," Newell added. "There are civil wars and epidemics going on."
It's only natural for Americans to think of themselves first, said Japanese language senior Carlos Ross, who attended the meeting.
"We're going to think about our region before any other," he said.
But Newell doesn't think Americans are to blame.
"Relief efforts get sensationalized by the media," he said. "The media has such a hold on our minds; it decides what we care about."
Newell said the media comparing the two disasters might be a mistake.
"In Meulaboh, people had a 30-minute warning [for the tsunami] after the earthquake," he said. "In New Orleans they had five days."
The devastation caused by the tsunami was also on a greater scale.
Newell said more than 275,000 people were killed.
"The tsunami is the largest natural disaster we'll ever see in our lifetime," he said.
While the tsunami had a larger death toll, financial support from the Red Cross has been relatively similar for both disasters.
The Red Cross has raised more than $810 million worldwide for Hurricane Katrina relief and is still taking donations, while the tsunami relief was capped at $1 billion, Newell said.
The U.S. has funded $52 billion for the hurricane and $8 billion for the tsunami, he added.
To aid in tsunami relief efforts, the city of Phoenix has adopted Meulaboh for the next 10 years, Newell said.
In the next decade, Phoenix will provide funding and volunteers to help small businesses in Meulaboh rebuild, place orphans and families in new housing, and teach the people of Meulaboh new trade skills, he said.
Chris Lundry, a political science graduate student, said 10 years is not sufficient time to help in tsunami relief efforts.
"It will take a generation for them to rebuild," he said.
Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.
