4 ms·

This is heartbreaking. Is there a place where I can donate? Will it help in anyway? Edit: Thank you for your responses. Ended up donating to Doctors without bo

by dwa3592 6mo ago

This is heartbreaking. Is there a place where I can donate? Will it help in anyway? Edit: Thank you for your responses. Ended up donating to Doctors without borders. Hope it reaches someone. I was going to say humans are really just wild animals but then i thought that would be a disrespect to wild animals.

voodooEntity 6mo ago
Dont wanne be the devils advocate here, but reality is that even if you find something "looking legit" in terms of donation, especially in such regions the most money will be "lost" halfway, and even if some will reach the destination it is more than rare that it will even help to benefit those suffering, and not land in the pockets of a few "in power" or just used to buy more weapons to kill more people..... Yes helping is a good thing, tho reality is its not as "easy" as transfer some money. Tho respecting your good intentions
- jvanderbot 6mo ago
  That's overly cynical. Donating to local warlords / psuedogovernment actors can be sketchy. Donating to e.g., UNICEF is much more likely to produce good results for refugees, especially children and mothers. I'm not aware of where to send money to stop wars - it's likely to have the opposite effect, sadly.
  - voodooEntity 6mo ago
    Even donations to organisations such as UNICEF often end up in the wrong hands. Lets go for the optimistic scenario in which UNICEF will only take a very small portion for the "processing" and really deliver lets say food and medical supplies to the region. Those warloard will simply come and take it away from those citizens and provide to their armies. Theres nothing those citizens can do against it. Do i wish it would be different? Absolutely. But sadly the world doesn't work as i would wish it to.
    - steinwinde 6mo ago
      I'm a member of an organization that collects money for Sudanese soup kitchens and hospitals in affected areas (https://sound-of-sudan.org/ https://sound-of-sudan.org/) , and I know a few other organizations that indirectly support such campaigns (e.g. https://sudfa-media.com/ https://sudfa-media.com/). Being personally acquainted with people, who spend much of their time, energy and last-but-not-least their own money on such activities, your claim makes me slightly angry. > such regions the most money will be "lost" halfway Please elaborate and don't lump all "regions" in with each other. My personal impression is that the combination of the community kitchen movement (which has its roots in the failed Sudanese revolution) and money transfers to mobile phones makes it relatively transparent where one's money goes and what it achieves. I'm not in the US, but I have no doubt that money donated to an organization like the Sudanese American Medical Association (https://sama-sd.org/about-us/finances/ https://sama-sd.org/about-us/finances/) largely reaches the people that need it. > Those warloard will simply come and take it away from those citizens and provide to their armies. I can assure you none of use would send money to hospitals or community kitchens, if this was likely to happen. What makes you think so?
      - voodooEntity 6mo ago
        So, let me first of all clear up one thing. I did not, and never intended to, degrade anyone who actually tries to make a difference. If you read my original comment, you can see that I clearly state that I respect the wish to help. I also state that I wish the world were a "better" place where things work the way we would like them to—but reality has too often proven otherwise. Also, while I will try to fully address your points, the totality of this problem is too complex and has too many factors to incorporate every variable; therefore, at some point, we have to refer to "grouping." I think you will understand what I mean by that. When I referred to "such regions," I was personally referring to a combination of factors: infrastructure, supply chain consistency, reliability, and the general political situation. In this case, I would argue that poor infrastructure impacts transport and storage control when it comes to shipments. Supply chain consistency (even with organizations like UNICEF) is often not guaranteed; local partners change frequently, often influenced by the local situation, making it nearly impossible in some regions to maintain trusted chains. Reliability suffers because of these factors—when it is hard to maintain trusted partners, the problem persists. As for the political situation, I don’t believe I need to elaborate further. So, when I say "such regions," I mean areas that fit this basic pattern. While not a perfect comparison, a notable example of this is when food supplies sent for civilians are intercepted by local armed groups. The supplies might reach the target location, but they do not always feed the people they were intended for. As you work in this area, you likely know this is not an isolated occurrence. I am also not from the US, and I cannot speak specifically to the Sudanese American Medical Association. If they are truly creating change, that is a great thing, and everyone is free to donate to them. You will not see me advocating against donating to them. Regarding your question on why I think you would send aid even if diversion was likely: I don't believe you would willingly fund "warlords." Rather, I believe that in high-risk regions, the intent of the donor doesn't always control the reality on the ground. My skepticism isn't a critique of your virtue or your specific organization, but a reaction to a historical pattern of aid diversion in volatile zones. You do this work because you believe the collected money will reach its destination and will not be abused, and I respect that you follow your beliefs for the "greater good." You seem to be a good person doing important work, and to do that, you need to believe in the efficacy of your mission.
- throwaway173738 6mo ago
  What do you have against Doctors Without Borders?
nhatcher 6mo ago
Try Share The Meal[1]. It's quite easy to use and I think it has an impact. Sadly also a way to keep in touch with devastating news like this one [1]: https://sharethemeal.org/en-us https://sharethemeal.org/en-us
therobots927 6mo ago
[flagged]
- lostlogin 6mo ago
  Can any downvoters explain the downvotes?
  - therobots927 6mo ago
    My comments always get downvoted. HN has more duplicate accounts / bot activity than you would think and they’re primarily used for sentiment suppression. Specifically anti imperialist / anti capitalist sentiment.
    - ahhhhnoooo 6mo ago
      Anti imperialist and anti capitalist sentiment gets downvoted here without a doubt. I think the idea that it's bots and not, say, a community that has self selected mostly into people who are pro imperialist and pro capitalist is perhaps an extraordinary claim.
  - thevinter 6mo ago
    It's a very simplistic and radical point of view that doesn't take into account the reality of the world we live in. It also doesn't take into account the intricacies of foreign politics and seems to assume that the gulf states are the only bad actors here. Finally "gulf states" is a catch-all so big that it's borderline funny. (What did Bahrain do?)
    - lostlogin 6mo ago
      Thanks. They make their money from oil, which we all buy.
    - therobots927 6mo ago
      You know being against slavery used to be considered radical, right? If it’s so simplistic how about you explain why it’s so important for Saudi Arabia to perpetuate a genocide in order to acquire gold. And how about you explain how it’s okay to be economically linked to that type of behavior by proxy. I’m assuming you have some kind of expertise in this subject matter as opposed to just vomiting up whatever the neoliberal talking head “experts” tell you to believe.
lostlogin 6mo ago
My neighbour who is a nurse did stints there while working for the International Red Cross, it was either 3 or 6 months. https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/sudan https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/sudan
- jahnu 6mo ago
  Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are also there https://www.msf.org/conflict-sudan?page=0 https://www.msf.org/conflict-sudan?page=0
Rekindle8090 6mo ago
It would probably be better to donate to the people in your immediate circle of family and friends
aaron695 6mo ago
[dead]

by dwa3592 6mo ago

voodooEntity 6mo ago

Dont wanne be the devils advocate here, but reality is that even if you find something "looking legit" in terms of donation, especially in such regions the most money will be "lost" halfway, and even if some will reach the destination it is more than rare that it will even help to benefit those suffering, and not land in the pockets of a few "in power" or just used to buy more weapons to kill more people..... Yes helping is a good thing, tho reality is its not as "easy" as transfer some money. Tho respecting your good intentions

jvanderbot 6mo ago
That's overly cynical. Donating to local warlords / psuedogovernment actors can be sketchy. Donating to e.g., UNICEF is much more likely to produce good results for refugees, especially children and mothers. I'm not aware of where to send money to stop wars - it's likely to have the opposite effect, sadly.
- voodooEntity 6mo ago
  Even donations to organisations such as UNICEF often end up in the wrong hands. Lets go for the optimistic scenario in which UNICEF will only take a very small portion for the "processing" and really deliver lets say food and medical supplies to the region. Those warloard will simply come and take it away from those citizens and provide to their armies. Theres nothing those citizens can do against it. Do i wish it would be different? Absolutely. But sadly the world doesn't work as i would wish it to.
  - steinwinde 6mo ago
    I'm a member of an organization that collects money for Sudanese soup kitchens and hospitals in affected areas (https://sound-of-sudan.org/ https://sound-of-sudan.org/) , and I know a few other organizations that indirectly support such campaigns (e.g. https://sudfa-media.com/ https://sudfa-media.com/). Being personally acquainted with people, who spend much of their time, energy and last-but-not-least their own money on such activities, your claim makes me slightly angry. > such regions the most money will be "lost" halfway Please elaborate and don't lump all "regions" in with each other. My personal impression is that the combination of the community kitchen movement (which has its roots in the failed Sudanese revolution) and money transfers to mobile phones makes it relatively transparent where one's money goes and what it achieves. I'm not in the US, but I have no doubt that money donated to an organization like the Sudanese American Medical Association (https://sama-sd.org/about-us/finances/ https://sama-sd.org/about-us/finances/) largely reaches the people that need it. > Those warloard will simply come and take it away from those citizens and provide to their armies. I can assure you none of use would send money to hospitals or community kitchens, if this was likely to happen. What makes you think so?
    - voodooEntity 6mo ago
      So, let me first of all clear up one thing. I did not, and never intended to, degrade anyone who actually tries to make a difference. If you read my original comment, you can see that I clearly state that I respect the wish to help. I also state that I wish the world were a "better" place where things work the way we would like them to—but reality has too often proven otherwise. Also, while I will try to fully address your points, the totality of this problem is too complex and has too many factors to incorporate every variable; therefore, at some point, we have to refer to "grouping." I think you will understand what I mean by that. When I referred to "such regions," I was personally referring to a combination of factors: infrastructure, supply chain consistency, reliability, and the general political situation. In this case, I would argue that poor infrastructure impacts transport and storage control when it comes to shipments. Supply chain consistency (even with organizations like UNICEF) is often not guaranteed; local partners change frequently, often influenced by the local situation, making it nearly impossible in some regions to maintain trusted chains. Reliability suffers because of these factors—when it is hard to maintain trusted partners, the problem persists. As for the political situation, I don’t believe I need to elaborate further. So, when I say "such regions," I mean areas that fit this basic pattern. While not a perfect comparison, a notable example of this is when food supplies sent for civilians are intercepted by local armed groups. The supplies might reach the target location, but they do not always feed the people they were intended for. As you work in this area, you likely know this is not an isolated occurrence. I am also not from the US, and I cannot speak specifically to the Sudanese American Medical Association. If they are truly creating change, that is a great thing, and everyone is free to donate to them. You will not see me advocating against donating to them. Regarding your question on why I think you would send aid even if diversion was likely: I don't believe you would willingly fund "warlords." Rather, I believe that in high-risk regions, the intent of the donor doesn't always control the reality on the ground. My skepticism isn't a critique of your virtue or your specific organization, but a reaction to a historical pattern of aid diversion in volatile zones. You do this work because you believe the collected money will reach its destination and will not be abused, and I respect that you follow your beliefs for the "greater good." You seem to be a good person doing important work, and to do that, you need to believe in the efficacy of your mission.
throwaway173738 6mo ago
What do you have against Doctors Without Borders?

nhatcher 6mo ago

Try Share The Meal[1]. It's quite easy to use and I think it has an impact. Sadly also a way to keep in touch with devastating news like this one [1]: https://sharethemeal.org/en-us https://sharethemeal.org/en-us

therobots927 6mo ago

[flagged]

lostlogin 6mo ago
Can any downvoters explain the downvotes?
- therobots927 6mo ago
  My comments always get downvoted. HN has more duplicate accounts / bot activity than you would think and they’re primarily used for sentiment suppression. Specifically anti imperialist / anti capitalist sentiment.
  - ahhhhnoooo 6mo ago
    Anti imperialist and anti capitalist sentiment gets downvoted here without a doubt. I think the idea that it's bots and not, say, a community that has self selected mostly into people who are pro imperialist and pro capitalist is perhaps an extraordinary claim.
- thevinter 6mo ago
  It's a very simplistic and radical point of view that doesn't take into account the reality of the world we live in. It also doesn't take into account the intricacies of foreign politics and seems to assume that the gulf states are the only bad actors here. Finally "gulf states" is a catch-all so big that it's borderline funny. (What did Bahrain do?)
  - lostlogin 6mo ago
    Thanks. They make their money from oil, which we all buy.
  - therobots927 6mo ago
    You know being against slavery used to be considered radical, right? If it’s so simplistic how about you explain why it’s so important for Saudi Arabia to perpetuate a genocide in order to acquire gold. And how about you explain how it’s okay to be economically linked to that type of behavior by proxy. I’m assuming you have some kind of expertise in this subject matter as opposed to just vomiting up whatever the neoliberal talking head “experts” tell you to believe.

lostlogin 6mo ago

My neighbour who is a nurse did stints there while working for the International Red Cross, it was either 3 or 6 months. https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/sudan https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/sudan

jahnu 6mo ago
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are also there https://www.msf.org/conflict-sudan?page=0 https://www.msf.org/conflict-sudan?page=0

Rekindle8090 6mo ago

It would probably be better to donate to the people in your immediate circle of family and friends

aaron695 6mo ago

[dead]