Maybe it’s the pinch of $4-a-gallon gas and the economic downturn. Maybe it’s distrust of Burma’s ruling junta or concern over human rights violations in China. Or maybe the American people are going through “disaster fatigue,” the feeling that we’ve seen it all before.<\/p>\n
But the simple fact is this: In the weeks since a cyclone laid waste to Burma’s delta region and an earthquake devastated a central Chinese province — catastrophes that collectively left 184,000 people dead or missing and displaced millions — Americans have donated an estimated $57 million to disaster relief charities as of yesterday.<\/p>\n
Compare that with the $207 million that Americans donated in the first five days after an Indian Ocean tsunami struck southern Asia in 2004. Or the $226 million raised in five days after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast.<\/p>\n
Americans historically respond to natural disasters with an outpouring of giving, but the charitable response to the cyclone that hit Burma on May 3 and the earthquake that struck China on May 12 has been modest at best.<\/p>\n
The relief group AmeriCares collected $10 million within two weeks of the tsunami. But the charity said it has raised a combined $1 million for its efforts in Burma and China.<\/p>\n
“It’s very clear that the breadth and depth of the people who have been touched emotionally doesn’t compare to the tsunami,” said Curtis R. Welling, chief executive of AmeriCares.<\/p>\n