By Tim Large
06/23/2005

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Below is an excerpt of an article from Reuters AlertNet:

LONDON (Reuters) - In the weeks following the Asian tsunami, Chuck Simmons squirreled himself away in his home in Rochester, New York, scouring the Internet for any scrap of evidence to document American generosity after the disaster.

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"It was created to make a point, that we weren't as stingy as some portrayed us."

Six months after killer waves roared across the Indian Ocean, sensitivities still run high about the true generosity of rich countries, despite an unprecedented outpouring of aid in the weeks following the Dec. 26 tragedy.

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Simmons started his "Stingy List" in January after U.N. relief coordinator Jan Egeland made comments many interpreted as accusing Washington of being miserly. At the time, the U.S. government had given $15 million plus military support costing about $6 million a day.

"Jan Egeland basically opened an incredible Pandora's box by accusing the U.S. of being stingy," said Joel Charny, vice president of advocacy group Refugees International.

"We then had this maniacal race to see who could be the most generous. And it got to the point where agencies and countries were just throwing money on top of money on top of money."

A lot of that cash has yet to make it to the ground. Research by humanitarian website Reuters AlertNet shows some 35 percent of $5.3 billion promised by the world's 10 biggest governmental donors and multilateral organisations has not yet been earmarked for spending.

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In terms of aid dollars alone, the United States is by far the biggest tsunami donor with a total $2.34 billion of government and private pledges -- almost double Germany's $1.25 billion. Britain was the third-largest donor, followed by Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway.

But put the aid on a per-capita basis and you get a different "generosity ranking". By this measure, Norwegians gave by far the most, with combined governmental and private donations amounting to $59 per head -- seven times more than Americans and 10 times more than Japanese.

Even that doesn't tell the full story. Experts say you must consider the "quality" of aid to assess real generosity. Is it going where it's needed or simply serving the donor's interests?