The
World Needs Information
International
Response to the South Asia Disaster
By
Khaled Al-Maenna
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The
tsunami disaster is one of the most vivid in
history. It is an event that has affected
millions. What has been equally striking is the
response from the international community. The
immediate public expression of sorrow and
sympathy for the victims changed into voluntary
work, dispatch of relief goods and setting up of
long-range plans to help the victims of this
great disaster get back on their feet.
 The
initial response in our part of the world was
slow. Even the media reports on the events were
small compared to the major networks in Europe
and America, where, as I write this, the focus
is still on Southeast Asia. I received calls
from many Muslims in America who said that in
newspapers, on radio talk shows and even in
Internet chat rooms the criticism of the Gulf
states due to their tardy reaction to the crisis
was appalling.
"They
are taunting us," said a Muslim physician
from Los Angeles.
For a
moment I too felt helpless. But not in despair,
as I was getting calls from young and old
inquiring about how they could help their
brothers and sisters in distress. This was an
exhibition of the true spirit of our people.
They wanted to help not for publicity but as an
act that conformed to our ideology. Then came
the news of the Kingdom's donation followed by
the Tsunami Relief Telethon.
| Men,
women, children all came forward to
give. The spirit of giving lies within
our nature. And we did it without
hesitation. We did it in the form of a
telethon not because we wanted to
publicize our donations, but because
it was expedient. We had no need to
call attention to our generosity.
Saudi Arabia has a long history of
being at the forefront of efforts to
aid those in need. Finance Minister
Ibrahim Al-Assaf has stated on many
occasions that although we are a
developing country ourselves, since
the mid-1970s the Kingdom has given
more than $75 billion in assistance to
developing nations. That is nearly
four percent of Saudi Arabia's GNP.
Internationally, many developed
countries have not met the suggested
target from many aid agencies of 0.7
percent of GNP in overseas development
assistance. So we can hold our heads
high. |
..The
spirit of giving lies
within our nature.. ..since
the mid-1970s the Kingdom
has given more than $75
billion in assistance to
developing nations. That
is nearly four percent of
Saudi Arabia's GNP..
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I will
admit that there was inertia among us in the
first four or five days after the tsunami, but
there was a reason for this. The closure of
Islamic charities, the hounding and persecution
of innocent people whose only crime was helping
give aid to the needy, frightening individual
donors, all created a state of numbness and
confusion. The telethon was an excellent move
because it gave our people the green light to
give.
 And
yet, our effort to empty our pockets still
wasn't pleasing to some. At the time of the
telethon I received a call from a journalist at
the BBC. "Why are you publicizing this
charity effort?" he wanted to know.
"Isn't it that in Islam the left hand
should not know what the right has done?"
"You
really are a strange people," I told him.
"Day in and day out your media is attacking
us for lack of concern for the victims of
tsunami. When we do something and let people
know it, you come up with such strange remarks.
You still aren't satisfied."
And
this brings me to the point of the media. We
have worked and continue to work to create the
best Arabic media. However, if we don't reach
out to others in a language they understand,
much of this effort becomes futile. Basically we
are simply preaching to the converted.
It is
time for us to invest in a modern satellite
television network that reaches out to millions.
We need to sponsor programs that appear on other
television networks too. We do not want to
re-invent the wheel. When we can, let us use
what channels are available. For example, we
should have welcomed foreign TV networks to
cover our donation drive and see what our people
were doing.
| There
are some who would say that such
attempts at influencing global public
opinion are futile - that no one cares
to highlight our contributions. My
response to this is that the current
negative perceptions were not created
overnight and we cannot resurrect our
reputations in a matter of days. We must
help people care about what we do by
showing our goodness at the grassroots
level. And since we consider helping
others a matter of duty, demonstrating
our continuing commitment to aiding our
brothers and sisters around the world
will come as a matter of course. |
..since
we consider
helping others a
matter of duty,
demonstrating our
continuing commitment
to aiding our brothers
and sisters around the
world will come as a
matter of course..
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I would
like to see Saudi Arabia start an organization
similar to the Peace Corps where our young
people could volunteer their time and skills in
underdeveloped areas. We have many wonderful
young men and women who would be pleased to
share their talents with those less fortunate
and it would be an important growth opportunity
for our youth too. Also, as a part of the
tsunami relief effort I would like the Kingdom
to make a commitment to sponsor orphanages in
the affected areas. There can be no greater gift
than to give a child a future.
And, if
everyone will forgive me, I would like to put
forward a word of caution. Right now, agencies
are enthusiastically counting the pledges of
international aid. But last week, Barbara
Stocking, the director of aid agency Oxfam urged
donor countries to avoid the broken promises of
previous disasters and ensure that all of the
monies pledged are delivered.
"We
must ensure we don't repeat the mistakes of
previous humanitarian crises in Afghanistan,
Liberia and elsewhere where donors have either
failed to deliver the aid quickly enough, or at
all, or delivered aid at the expense of other
disasters," she said.
Stocking
cited the Bam earthquake in Iran a year ago when
$115 million was pledged to a UN appeal but only
$17.7 million was delivered. The people of Bam
are still living in tents and the current, more
horrifying disaster, has swept them off the
front pages and into oblivion and despair. Are
those women and children in Bam less deserving
of aid than the tsunami victims?
While
condemning the sinners I must also applaud those
with enterprise in our midst. Samsung's Chairman
Kun-Hee Lee, on learning of the true extent of
the tsunami damage, increased Samsung's
financial commitment to the relief effort and
immediately sent out a medical team from the
company's headquarters in Korea. That medical
team is already on the ground in Thailand
helping relieve the misery of the tsunami
survivors. I wish I could cite a Saudi
organization that had made such a decisive move.
Whatever
else we do by way of the tsunami relief effort
we must mobilize the media to provide ongoing
coverage of the events in the affected areas as
they unfold. Silence in this respect is not
golden. We are humbly satisfied that Arab News
has played a vital role in letting the world
know what we are doing in the Kingdom to help
those less fortunate. We pledge to continue to
provide fair, balanced and in-depth coverage of
the rebuilding programs as they are launched in
the devastated nations. We believe that what the
world needs now is information, not deception.
Reprinted
with permission.
Khaled
Almaeena, [email protected]
 Mr.
Khaled Al-Maeena, a well-known public
relations consultant, media personality, editor,
and journalist in Saudi Arabia, has been
Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, the largest
English daily newspaper in the Middle East, for
over 15 years. He first joined the
newspaper as Editor-in-Chief from June 1982
until February 1993 and rejoined in March 1998.
He was Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi
Public Relations Company (SPRC) from 1993 until
2000. He served as an anchor and hosted
popular talk shows on Saudi Television (STV),
and has also worked as a radio announcer and TV
program director.
Mr.
Al-Maeena has represented the Saudi Arabian
media at several important summit meetings in
the Arab world, including the Arab summits of
Baghdad and Morocco. He was a member of a
Saudi Arabian diplomatic delegation to both the
People's Republic of China and Russia after
diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and those countries were
established.
Mr.
Al-Maeena has extensive knowledge of the Western
media. Throughout his professional life,
he has made frequent visits to the United
States, Europe, Asia, and the Gulf countries,
and he has been a guest lecturer at a number of
internationally renowned universities, colleges,
and institutions.
Mr.
Al-Maeena has interviewed numerous heads of
state and has himself appeared on CNN, CBS, and
STAR TV, especially during the Gulf War.
He steered the Arab News team during the
Gulf crisis and is credited with being the first
to bring newspapers back into liberated Kuwait.
A
regular political and social columnist for Gulf
News, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Eqtisadiah,
Arab News, Times of Oman, Asian
Age, and The China Post, Mr.
Al-Maeena is also a committed sports promoter
and has successfully promoted squash and tennis
tournaments in Saudi Arabia.
In
1982, Mr. Al-Maeena joined Saudi Arabian
Airlines (Saudia). He has served there in
various capacities, including public relations
advisor to the airline and Editor-in-Chief of Saudia
World.
Mr.
Al-Maeena received his education in several
countries, including the United States, Britain,
and Pakistan. He is fluent in English,
Arabic, and Urdu.
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