Don’t Donate to Japan
Or more specifically, don’t donate uniquely to Japan. When you give money to the numerous organizations that are springing up that are oriented solely to the Japanese cause, these organizations send the money to larger organizations such as the Red Cross, which then end up with huge piles of unnecessary money that can be used only for one cause and can not be used to say, help other emergencies later on because these organizations are required to spend the money on the cause that you donated for. So if you’re going to donate, don’t donate specifically for Japan, but instead give money directly to general organizations such as the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. Don’t even tell them that it’s for Japan, or they can’t use the funds later on for other purposes. Through donating money en general, any money that Japan requires will be sent to it, and the rest will go to help other people in other places who need the assistance just as much, or be used for disasters in the future. Be logical, even when you donate.
Plus, Japan, being an extremely developed first-world country with a strong economy, doesn’t necessarily even need that many donations. Their government is churning out billions of yen right now- and the yen is still holding strong and even rising. Please be aware that many organizations don’t even know what they’re going to do with the donation money that’s earmarked for Japan (and because of that, can not be used for anything else) – thus are forced to issue vague assurances that the donations will “go towards helping victims get necessary services.” What I’m saying is that Japan isn’t in as much trouble as it seems- it will recover fine. However, there are many people in other places in the word who are suffering just as much from problems that are not as televised. These places need money just as much as Japan, if not more. So don’t earmark your money to Japan. Instead, give your money to large, international aid organizations so that they can decide where your money is needed most, and can send your money to these places (and Japan, if it really needs it.)
Further reading: http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/14/dont-donate-money-to-japan/
FYI: I know the title of the post is misleading, but it was supposed to be so in order to attract attention.
Have you read the comments to the original article? Oh boy… I think that, although it is correct to tell people not to specify a use for their donation, many will interpret it as saying ‘don’t donate at all.’ That’s what I got from the title, but then I read the article and your post. Just because Japan is a first world country does not mean that we should not donate to it. (The best example from the comments to the original was how the US received foreign aid during Katrina.)
Besides, the Kobe earthquake, to use an example from the same country, caused over 100 billion dollars in damage. I doubt that any state wants to pay that much for damage or that 100 billion would have actually been contributed in foreign aid. People want to feel like they’re helping, what’s the harm?
well written article, at first i thought this was going to be some retarded shit, but the paragraph was worth reading. catchy gmail status though!