TV Footage of Disaster ‘as It Happened’ Fueled Donations, Relief Experts Say

As Americans and other donors around the world raced to give unprecedented sums to international relief groups, many

charity officials have been debating what made the tsunami disaster touch off such a strong response — while other devastating crises, such as the war in Sudan, have been largely ignored by donors.

The enormous devastation, the vast number of people, and the wide geographic scope are clearly part of the reason so many donors wanted to pitch in, but it was also the compelling images on television and in newspapers that helped bring home the extent of the catastrophe.

“This disaster, unlike any other in history, was actually captured as it happened,” says Matthew De Galan, chief development officer for Mercy Corps, in Portland, Ore. He says that in most natural disasters, such as the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran, by the time the cameras arrive, the event is over, and the images the rest of the world sees show the aftermath.

“But here you actually had the wave hitting, people in the water, people being swept away,” says Mr. De Galan. “The video was played all over the world — again and again and again. People were mesmerized by this unbelievable disaster as it happened — horrified, but you couldn’t stop watching.”

In an emergency like the genocide in Rwanda where journalists are not able to get immediate footage, the public doesn’t have the same visceral reaction, says Fiona K. Hodgson, vice president for leadership giving and public affairs at Save the Children, in Westport, Conn.

She also believes that the sudden nature of the disaster in South Asia was an important factor driving the outpouring of support for relief efforts.

“We believe that over the next six months there’s going to be another devastating famine in Ethiopia, but that will be a slow buildup,” says Ms. Hodgson. “We’re very concerned that there’ll be donor fatigue when that happens, and it won’t be the same kind of immediate thing that happened with this earthquake.”

Holiday Generosity

The timing of the disaster — one day after Christmas — probably spurred some of the donations, say nonprofit officials.

“Entire extended families were swept away,” says Lisa Bonds, vice president for external relations at Lutheran World Relief, in Baltimore. “That really had an impact on people who had just come away from being with their families.”

Traditionally, the holidays are a time when people reflect on what they are thankful for and share with others who are less fortunate, says Thomas Tighe, chief executive officer of Direct Relief International, in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The news of the catastrophe in South Asia “struck people who the day before had opened a lot of gifts,” says Mr. Tighe. He suspects that for many Americans the stark contrast between their own prosperity and images of poor people who had lost everything encouraged them to give generously.

As acts of nature, disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, while devastating in their destruction, are easier for donors to understand than emergencies caused by complex political situations.

“People put themselves in that spot, and they can say, ‘I’ve been to a beach,’” says Dave Worth, resource network director for the Mennonite Central Committee, in Akron, Pa. “In other places, people have a much harder time seeing themselves in that spot. Then it’s harder to identify with those people.”

Charities typically are able to raise more money to deal with natural disasters than emergencies caused or exacerbated by humans, says Peter Walker, director of the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts University, in Medford, Mass. He says that in the 1990s, the average amount of aid given for earthquake survivors was 10 times the average amount given for famine survivors.

“Your natural reaction is that it’s not the fault of the guys on the ground, whereas with a civil war or a drought, land degradation, people’s reactions to it are more complex,” says Mr. Walker.

But in this case, Mr. Walker believes, a man-made conflict, the war in Iraq, is an important factor in explaining the overwhelming response to the earthquake and tsunamis.

“There is so much despair over that war — on all sides for very different political reasons — every day hearing the body counts, and every day seeing that goal of a quick transition from dictatorship to democracy just flowing into the sand,” says Mr. Walker. He believes that people see the relief efforts in South Asia and say, “Here is something where we really can do good, and be pretty certain we’ll get it right.”

Marshall Burke, vice president of private support at CARE USA, in Atlanta, agrees.

“People have been feeling a little bit bashed by the world in America,” says Mr. Burke. “We’re seen in so many countries as being aggressive, and this is a real opportunity for people to say, ‘Gosh, you know, we really are still a good people, and we still really care.’”