Where have all the Tsunami pledges gone ?

It all happened five months back. Giant waves struck havoc across the south and south east asian land mass. Thousands of lives lost, millions of lives changed, forever. Millions of people around the world, moved by the vastness of the tragedy, pitched in. Relief operations, donations, money, condolences poured in. It was heartening to see that the world cared.

First, it was rescue. All those who were trapped but still alive were to be rescued. That was the top most priority. Then came the relief operations for the survivors. And finally the reconstruction had to begin, to piece together the shattered lives.

The world's 19 wealthiest nations met in Paris. Public and private aid pledged worldwide for the countries hit by the tsunami disaster had crossed $10bn mark. Out of which public aid made by governments totaled around $8bn and private donations around $2bn. This was remarkable indeed.

This was about 5 months ago.

Cut forward to today.

Headlines and news reports scream...."Almost two-thirds of the money promised by governments to help the millions of people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami has not yet been received by the UN, confirming the fear that many countries would try to wriggle out of their commitments."

Says a New York Times report "...Waning government support and shrinking resources could delay the identification of thousands of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami indefinitely..."

Where have we gone wrong. All the wealthiest nations in the world not to be seen lagging behind in their donations, jumped over each other to give. Even the US, which started out with a lazy 11 million, increased it to 35 million after criticism and finally notched it up to 350 million. But they were all just pledges.

Now they are all wriggling out. Like all other forgotten victims. The memory of the public is indeed short.