Estonia, bathing in excess cash and without any problems of its own, will allocate one million kroons for earthquake victims in Haiti, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet. Even though the country's unemployment approaches that of Spain, Paet said helping others before helping oneself has always been a trademark of Estonians. "We are the world's most unselfish people. If someone opens a door for you somewhere, that person is likely an Estonian. If someone helps an old lady across the street, that person is probably an Estonian. We are a nation known for our kindness, open spirit, and generosity." Paet made the announcement flanked by hungry pensioners wearing tshirts reading Mi casa, su casa.Urmas Paet (right) and the hand that feeds.
True, very magnanimous of them given they just pledged another million kroons last month for some other disaster. New taxes appear every other day (my daughter's outer-zone bus tickets to the city just trebled in price). Ministers try to make a scandal of Mikko Fritze's salary yet they refuse to lower their own. Someone should take all the parliament and city council members out and spank them. They're behaving like spoiled children of czars.
ReplyDelete(Blink. Blink.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I see what you did there.
Less than one kroon per person. I'm not bathing in excess cash, but I generally throw away/drop any coin smaller than 50 sents. I would lose more money (time) dealing with them than it's worth.
ReplyDeleteBut I guess it all adds up. My vote for worst waste of $10,000 last year was the program to signpost the boundaries of the historical parishes (including the districts in Tallinn). I still do a double-take when I see a sign "Tatari" and I'm not on Tatari tänav.
On Haiti though, my concern, knowing how locked Estonia is into the corporate-industrial complex with its wars and contracts, would be that the money will be used to further displace the poor. A common tactic by developers after the tsunami was to prevent fishing villagers from moving back.
You feel that Estonia is giving too much aid? I don't know that the economy would be in any less of a shithole if one would cut away some measly aid.
ReplyDeleteBesides, my cousin-son Andreas is hard at work in Haiti while possibly 100 of his friends and collegues in the UN were killed, so I would like to ask you to give some of your private wealth: http://digg.com/d31FbBQ
A nation with a GDP in the toilet and high unemployment is much like a family on the verge of bankruptcy. Should the family say, "You know, we could cut back on eating out and we could forgo the 700 cable TV channels and the kids summer camp, but lets not because it wouldn't make a real difference because we're bankrupt anyway". It's the principle of the thing. Estonia doesn't have enough money so it needs to turn off the cable tv. The Estonian economy really isn't THAT far from Latvia's situation. How much foreign aid does the IMF allow Latvia to give Haiti?
ReplyDeleteGood news is that Estonia will donate the money through the Red Cross, which reduces the likelihood of the government (theirs or ours, I guess) stealing it. Also, Estonia will send a couple of experts (an IT guy, for sure).
ReplyDeleteHave a look at the Haiti disaster photos and anyone will be glad Estonia sent money or help.
ReplyDeletefrom today's NYTimes:
ReplyDeleteThe United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, described another “small miracle during a night which brought few other miracles.” An Estonian bodyguard named Tarmo Joveer was recovered, virtually unscathed, from beneath 13 feet of debris at the United Nations offices at the Christopher Hotel on Thursday morning, where 100 more of the organization’s workers remained buried inside.