[reverse_swing]

Originally posted by rafiq
actually, there are resorts on the other side of phuket that are open. the 3 months of winter are the peak business period for thai tourism. If tourists don't return, what are these people going to live on - charity from the US and Saudi Arabia? As much as the above picture shocks our sensibilities, the tourists are essential to returning the place to normalcy. The reconstruction effort will take months and years - at what point should tourists return?


I saw a list of which nations have donated towards the $2B so far. All the news is about the US (which is now upto $350M) but nowhere to be see are the oil-rich Muslim countries. Saudis have had to dig deep to come up with $10M. That's shocking. I was also stunned that Singapore, a neighboring country, has come up with a measly $1M or so. Even Nepal donated $100K.

If calculated per capita, the UK($96M) and the USA($350M) are at the bottom of the list, not at the top.

Edited on, January 3, 2005, 3:14 PM GMT, by reverse_swing.