Here's a reader's view on my previous post on the holiday refund response from some Singaporeans.
From Kate:
Subject: in response to :" Massive earthquake: our holiday can get refund or not"
Dear Mr Lee,
Kindly also refer also to
Sri Lanka struggles to distribute aid (ST)
and also
Indonesia struggles to bury dead (CNN)
The intelligent and responsible way to help is not to throw money at the problem at hand, but to work with authorities to coordinate efforts. It has been reported that S'pore is also sending military personnel, who will lend their planning expertise to the operation. I'm sure that is important as well. There are reports of helpers who have fled from scenes of destruction, and someone needs to make sure the right people are sent to the appropriate places. Right now there are many areas which need the money and food, etc. Surely sometime is needed for this kind of logistics planning?
I think it is the quality of the help that is important, not just the dollar amount. S'poreans have also been very generous as citizens, and we are all trying to help as much as we can. Afterall, these are our neighbours, and our country has close links that go way back with all these countries. Rest assured that more money will be contributed to the sites that need them, after the needs have been ascertained. It's not just S'pore that is ascertaining the situation, the US is as well.
I hope that you can provide balanced reporting of S'poreans' reactions, and not just the handful of people who complained about refunds. You might as well base your perception of ALL westerners on the couple which is planning to conduct their wedding on Phuket, alongside the funerals which will take place. Sounds unfair? Then please do not judge Singapore based on a few examples of callousness.
Sincerely,
Kate
