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A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

The willow is too close to the house.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

No one could have predicted…

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Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

No Justins, No Peace

It’s the corruption, stupid.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

In my day, never was longer.

I really should read my own blog.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Republicans in disarray!

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / The Situation in Nepal

The Situation in Nepal

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nepal emergency davies

(Matt Davies via GoComics.com)
.

Now that the Everest-climbing survivors and the surrogate babies have been safely evacuated, does anyone have advice on targeting donations?

Nepal’s utter inability to effectively respond to the catastrophic earthquake that rattled the small Himalayan nation on April 25 can be perhaps best explained by the fact that its army has only one big helicopter to its name.

The massive earthquake—followed by waves of aftershocks—has already killed over 3,000 people and injured thousands across this mountainous nation of 28 million. The exact extent of the damage in large swathes of rural Nepal is still unknown, although entire villages may have been wiped out.

In the midst of this terrible disaster, there is a slender silver lining for Nepal: The international community—from economic giants like India, China and the US, to tiny Bhutan and faraway Israel—has responded swiftly and generously to help search and rescue efforts in one of the world’s poorest nations…

Per the BBC, the death toll has now topped 5,000. And the Washington Post is reporting that “Aid groups knew a Nepal earthquake would be a disaster. But they couldn’t raise enough money to help“:

In 2013, I interviewed Jo Scheuer, a United Nations official advising countries on natural disaster risk reduction. He’d been all over the world, surveying places vulnerable to floods, earthquakes and droughts, and I asked him what natural disaster scenario he feared the most. Without hesitation he replied: “The one that personally keeps me up at night, the one I fear the most is an earthquake in Kathmandu Valley. It’s one of the catastrophic hotspots in the world. We are waiting for it to happen, basically.”

And on Saturday in Nepal, it did. The exact death toll and extent of the damage is still being assessed. But signs point to a major catastrophe, and in crises like this one, the glaring shortage of aid resources will likely translate to more misery on the ground.
For the U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations specializing in disaster response, this earthquake could not have come at a worse time. The international humanitarian response system — the constellation of groups such as the World Food Program, UNICEF, the Red Cross, Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières and others — has never been stretched as thin as they are today. Between crises in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Yemen, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and Syria, there have never been as many huge humanitarian crises happening all at the same time. In U.N.-speak these are each called “Level 3” emergencies. There is no Level 4…

The day the earthquake struck Nepal, there were 15 of these appeals ongoing, totaling $18.67 billion. Donors had so far contributed $3.27 billion, leaving a humanitarian funding gap of an astounding $15 billion. In other words, the international community is paying for less than 20 percent of what relief agencies need to adequately reach everyone in need…

Reader Interactions

84Comments

  2. 2.

    Mrs. Whatsit

    I found this group after Haiti (and it may have been mentioned then by someone here). Shelter Box They distribute boxes with a tent and supplies to families affected by disasters, and have a 4 out of 4 on Charity Navigator.

  3. 3.

    Howard Beale IV

    A lot of entities are saying it’s better to donate cash than to donate supplies. The question is always-who?

    BBC World Service has been doing some good coverage on this incident.

  5. 5.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Me, I trust MSF as a rule. I feel confident that money sent to them isn’t wasted. OTOH, I don’t know that they are the best group for this particular disaster.

  6. 6.

    BerkeleyMom

    My husband treks in Nepal a couple times a year (he was there this past January). He has a good friend who is a doctor there who emailed this morning to ask for donations to “Friends of the Patan Hospital” at http://www.foph.org/helpus.html

    Wilderness Travel (a Berkeley, CA based adventure travel company that has many employees in Nepal) has a list of donation sites that includes the Patan Hospital link. http://www.wildernesstravel.com/

    Please give! And spread the word.

  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    I donated to Doctors Without Borders. As far as I know, they’re a reliable outfit that does a lot of great work.

    Thanks for addressing this topic. It’s a heartbreaking situation.

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    A vaguely topical tangent here: I have real problems with the climb Everest industry. Quality climbers risk their lives to shepherd rich people who are adequate climbers of a 14er. The guides need the money to fund staying in the mountains. Being babysat up a mountain doesn’t equal climbing it. I have the skills to climb Everest with the guides the rick folks have. I don’t remotely have the skills or ability to climb a 14er. Climbing snob? Maybe.

  9. 9.

    Cervantes

    @dr. luba:

    I figure you can’t go wrong with Doctors without Borders.

    In general, perhaps — but they have made some bad mistakes; the way they dealt with TB in Russia, for example.

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Cervantes: Yes, that is one of the reasons I am not sure they are the best source for this crisis. OTOH, if one wants to be safe and give to something that one knows is not a scam, MSF/DWB is a good organization.

  12. 12.

    seaboogie

    @BerkeleyMom: Donation made. For once I am in a position to do so, so must share. Candles of compassion lit inside and outside, in addition to the one in my heart.

  13. 13.

    Origuy

    Remember that some employers match contributions of employees, especially large ones. I know HP does. Check your employer’s community relations information; there may be a special process you have to go through.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    @Mrs. Whatsit: Another vote for Shelter Boxes.

    And they have experience in Nepal.

    ShelterBox is already in talks with several aid agencies and Rotary contacts based in Nepal to see where we can help.

    Dave Ray, ShelterBox Operations Coordinator, said: ‘One of our contacts based in Kathmandu told us that the environment is filled with fear and that people have been told to expect more tremors. There is a lot of damage in Kathmandu and emergency relief will be required for sure.’

    In addition, a ShelterBox response team is heading to Nepal to get a first-hand idea of the scale of destruction and the level of need for shelter. We already have aid, including tents, prepositioned in the country, which could be used as emergency clinics, as well as shelters in the immediate aftermath.

    Sadly, ShelterBox has responded to several disasters in Nepal throughout the years. Most recently ShelterBox provided aid to people who had lost their homes in the north of the country due to flooding and landslides last autumn.

    ShelterBox aid is tailored to a disaster but typically includes a disaster relief tent for a family, thermal blankets and groundsheets, water storage and purification equipment, solar lamps, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, mosquito nets and children’s activity pack.

  16. 16.

    pseudonymous in nc

    Give your money to organisations that are already working in Nepal with established projects (PHASE is UK-based for its fundraising operations, so less useful for American donors, but they’re a good example) or to organisations that are set up to do rapid-response disaster relief with low overheads like MSF / DWB.

  18. 18.

    Violet

    Thanks for posting on this situation. Such a tragic event. Nepal is such a beautiful country but so poor. The death toll is already so large and is only going to get larger as they get to the remote villages they can’t access right now.

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Pretty much no one climbs a mountain like Everest without help of some kind. It takes staging and supplies and backup support and so forth. Even if you’re the best climber in the world you don’t do all of it all by yourself. The rich people who climb Everest use more support than an experienced climber but they still get to the top, if they’re lucky enough to have a good weather window and be able to do it. Not all can.

    There are a lot of problems with rich people getting to do things that the rest of us can’t. Climbing Everest is just one of them. At least it provides some income for the local economy.

  19. 19.

    seaboogie

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, my go-to charities (when I am not one of them) is MSF/DWB, and Planned Parenthood. Good people on the ground and in the trenches, and a blow against the sanctimonious h8 of the wingers – all good as far as I am concerned.

    And since we are re-litigating our reproductive rights, I will share right here that I had an abortion at 6 weeks at the ripe old age of 42. Only grey-haired lady in the waiting room, I was. In an after counseling visit, the woman asked me how I managed to get unintentionally pregnant at such a late age and I told her. Her repsonse: “Me too”. Those PP ladies are hardcore about preventing un-intended pregnancy (bowls of condoms everywhere), and so, so supportive. Plus, they have cute oven mitts on the stirrups. They rock. Give them your extry cash when you can too.

  20. 20.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Violet: Here is the thing as I see it. One should know if one is good enough to climb it. Guides and oxygen are one thing. Having someone walk you up because you can run a half marathon is another. Everest is not a particularly technical climb, but just being in shape isn’t enough. IMO. OTOH, I’d rather climb the north face of the Eiger than any of the 14s.

  21. 21.

    RSR

    Re: US press coverage.

    I’ve been following this gentleman on twitter since the Japan earthquake. Can’t recommend the follow more highly. 99%+ news, little editorializing (at least on twitter). https://twitter.com/W7VOA

  22. 22.

    Violet

    @Omnes Omnibus: How can anyone know if they’re good enough to climb it until they climb it? And once they’ve climbed it using their own feet and hands, then they’ve climbed it.

    I’m struggling to understand your issue(s) with it. Is it because they don’t lay the route themselves? They use oxygen? It’s not a technical climb? Too many people are helping them? They’re rich?

    Can you clarify?

  23. 23.

    Mike E

    @Omnes Omnibus: I climbed a 14,015′ peak when I was 16 years old…I know I couldn’t do that today.

    The notion of being ferried up to the world’s rooftop is abhorrent to me, just the risk to the necessary crew of people makes me lose all respect for these selfish idiots who somehow think this is their accomplishment. Shudder.

  24. 24.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Violet: I think a climber should know his or her level.

    Everest, because it is the tallest but not very technical, attracts people who want it because it is the tallest. If you are in good shape, there are guides who can get you up. If you want to impress me with a 14er, then climb K2.

  26. 26.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    There are 8 peaks over 14,000,000m. Climbing them is a very exclusive club.

    14,000 meters is over 46,000 feet. Mount Everest is a shade over 29,000 feet in elevation. What am I missing?

  30. 30.

    Adam L Silverman

    Since 2011 I’ve supervised and sponsored three Nepalese generals. I’ve emailed them and asked for a recommendation of a local charity or NGO to make donations through. As soon as I hear back, I’ll put up what they recommend.

  31. 31.

    eemom

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I have real problems with the climb Everest industry. Quality climbers risk their lives to shepherd rich people who are adequate climbers of a 14er.

    Seconded. It is nauseating — though not nearly as much as the proportion of attention those particular “victims” have received in the current situation.

  32. 32.

    Violet

    @Omnes Omnibus: I still don’t understand what your issue is. Somehow I don’t think they’re climbing Everest to impress you personally.

    So they use guides. How is that a problem? Since it’s not that technical then they don’t need the technical skills required to climb K2.

    There are a lot of ways to make climbing Everest more or less “pure” and it’s a big source of discussion and disagreement. With or without oxygen. Using sherpas to carry your gear or not. Setting your own route. Climbing a different/more difficult route. The rich tourist climbers who pay guides to get them up the mountain are on one end of that spectrum. They’re still climbing it, though.

  34. 34.

    Bill D.

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was wondering. Fourteeners are the 14,000+ foot peaks in the contiguous 48 states, especially Colorado. I’ve climbed a couple and generally speaking they have no relationship to Himalayan peaks in terms of difficulty, though some have nice cliffs for the true rock climbers. I walked up the easy way on both peaks.

  35. 35.

    Aleta

    I’ve been looking for a way to send something to help the small villages too remote for aid workers to reach. (Be nice if the climbers who are so bummed about losing their chance at Everest would volunteer to carry supplies to these places.) Anyway.

    This is a foundation headed by a Sherpa who became a climber/guide at a young age. Its projects are to enable education in the schools and orphanages in the villages in the area where he grew up (Thame Village). This happens to be where the quake has leveled entire villages. Before the quake, he and others were trekking there on foot to deliver a computer and money to a school, an orphanage, etc. (You can read their blog at the Apa Sherpa site.)

    They’ve now just reached the village after a difficult trip, and tonight put out this request:

    All the House are destroyed at Thame Village of @ApaSherpa No Rescue Operation happen yet We need food, tents, tarps, hygiene supplies, there has been no help in Thame. We need supplies flown in ASAP HELP.

    https://twitter.com/ApaSherpa

    Apa Sherpa was pretty famous as a guide, but stopped working for the destructive climbing industry, and now advocates leaving Everest alone. For several years he’s been saying that climate warming has made it too dangerous, that too many Sherpa lives are being lost, that the mountain is being trashed, and that the mountain should be allowed to rest for awhile.
    His group has also done some climate change work and in 2010 climbed Everest in order to pick up trash.

    I know nothing about the other members of the board or if all the money goes to relief.

  36. 36.

    eemom

    @Violet:

    I still don’t understand what your issue is.

    Can’t speak for Omnes, of course, but…..oh, maybe something about rich assholes exploiting desperately poor people to risk their lives so the rich asshole can hang a trophy on his/her wall? Just a thought.

    As you say, though — hey, at least the Sherpas who make their living off those crumbs aren’t starving to death.

  39. 39.

    weavrmom

    Seconding the Shelter Box charity recommendation. They make every dollar count towards helping those in devastating circumstances.

  41. 41.

    Jerzy Russian

    @eemom: My understanding is that all of this climbing activity is very damaging to the environment on the mountain. There are piles of trash, shit, bodies, etc. that would be very difficult if not impossible to clean up. But, as was mentioned previously, many of the locals do make some money off of all of these climbers, and that is an important consideration.

  43. 43.

    Violet

    @Omnes Omnibus: Not sure why you say that. I’m genuinely curious and I still don’t understand your position.

    @eemom:

    Can’t speak for Omnes, of course, but…..oh, maybe something about rich assholes exploiting desperately poor people to risk their lives so the rich asshole can hang a trophy on his/her wall? Just a thought.

    I got the impression from Omnes that his issue had to do with the abilities of the climbers, not the rich/poor exploitation issue.

    @Aleta:

    Apa Sherpa was pretty famous as a guide, but stopped working for the destructive climbing industry, and now advocates leaving Everest alone. For several years he’s been saying that climate warming has made it too dangerous, that too many Sherpa lives are being lost, that the mountain is being trashed, and that the mountain should be allowed to rest for awhile.

    Thanks for the link and info. Since the 2014 and now 2015 climbing seasons are canceled, maybe the mountain is getting the needed rest.

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Violet: Everest can be an accomplishment that one buys. Give me the money, I am in good enough shape to have someone babysit me up.* OTOH, if I am a good climber, without a shit load of cash, getting up that mountain is a different thing.

    *Assuming good weather.

  45. 45.

    Violet

    @Omnes Omnibus: So…the ability of rich people to purchase the opportunity to climb Everest devalues the meaning of “climbing Mt. Everest”? Is that the issue?

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    Baltimore was the focus on Larry Wilmore’s show tonight. They showed the mom hitting her kid, etc and they talked about the mom’s who are doing that,. The female guest (I didn’t catch any names) said something like: where are the mom’s of all the cops who should be yelling at their sons “stop killing black kids”?

    Good for her.

  48. 48.

    Suzanne

    @Violet: All the climbers trash the mountain, and the ones that do it with oxygen canisters often leave the canisters up there.

  50. 50.

    Anne Laurie

    @Violet: Well, I can kinda see Omnes’ point. Imagine if some of the rich, spoilt new people in your neighborhood stepped up the construction nuisances (while they were elsewhere) in order to build huge vegetable gardens & orchards, with all the finest trucked-in topsoil, drip system irrigation, solar panel coldframes & greenhouses, top-of-the-line heirloom plants.

    And then, once they’d been ‘rewarded’ with fine crops of every imaginable fruit & vegetable — climate-suitable or not, that’s why greenhouses — imagine they took to the media to explain that only the best gardeners could live off their own land, but they didn’t mind “making sacrifices” to ensure that their families had real produce available year-round. If only more people cared to do the hard work required!…

    You wouldn’t consider them gardeners, no matter how many sycophants reporters did. And you’d probably be a little tee’d off at them for pretending they were.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    I’m kind of surprised that no one has front paged the president’s extemporaneous remarks about Baltimore today. I would love to see the full text posted and a discussion about what he said.

  52. 52.

    Botsplainer

    @Violet:

    There are about 10 mountains to climb before you do Everest. Each is supposed to be challenging in its own way, and elevations increase to the point where you’ll have a pretty good idea if your blood-brain barrier can handle extreme altitude.

    Some mountaineers, regardless of skill level and physical conditioning, cannot function above about 23000 feet, no matter what they do.

  53. 53.

    Botsplainer

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    About $100,000.00, as I understand it, and that spring-summer is forfeit while you acclimate and train, according to wife in travel biz.

    My wife’s got a cousin who is a professional climber. She’s a guide who summited Everest many times and has done more than one trip up K2. Woman is lithe, zero body fat.

  54. 54.

    Violet

    @Anne Laurie: Well, I’m happy if anyone is gardening and if they can afford fancy stuff to make their vegetables grow well, good for them.

    The types of people you’re describing probably wouldn’t be out gardening themselves–they’d hire gardeners. And knowing me, I’d be down there talking to the gardeners to see what they’re doing and share tips.

    The media is stupid and they’ll report anything so if they profiled yet another rich person’s house or garden, that wouldn’t be a surprise.

  55. 55.

    Cliff in NH

    Yep Omnes is right.

    (ouch my head hurts)

    there is technical, real climbing, and there is I’m human, and if you carry my stuff I can walk up a long hill with some ladders and ropes, you save me if there is trouble, but I can’t save you.

  56. 56.

    Cliff in NH

    @Violet:

    yea, You would be talking to the gardeners they hired, but They sure wouldn’t socialize with the gardeners they hired.

    That’s the point.

  59. 59.

    srv

    I was thinking BoBo must be depressed about his divorce, so I could fund an Everest summit for him. Followed by his accidental immolation (who knew that polartec was infused with napthene?).

    Apparently that would require a lot of oxygen cannisters at that altitude. Can anyone do that calculation.. I figure 60 seconds would do it. So flambé at 29K’, how many tanks is that? How many sherpas per tank? Please help Kickstart that flame.

  60. 60.

    Mandalay

    @Violet:

    How can anyone know if they’re good enough to climb it until they climb it?

    They can’t, and physical conditioning has nothing to do with it.

  61. 61.

    Cliff in NH

    @Violet:

    you save me if there is trouble, but I can’t save you.

    Note the Bold. It’s your fucking Life on the line.

  62. 62.

    srv

    @Botsplainer: I topped out at 15000′ – Salkantay Pass.

    If there had been a grave dug, I would have jumped in it. Fuckers I know that have done Kilamanjaro w/o O2? I get them drunk and punch them in the face.

  66. 66.

    Bobby B

    I was hoping that Nepal casualties would include DEA agents but that hasn’t shown up in the news, at least it’s not being reported. They are, like, IN that country.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m kind of surprised that no one has front paged the president’s extemporaneous remarks about Baltimore today. I would love to see the full text posted and a discussion about what he said.

    I hope so too.

    Way better than talking about the usual dysfunctional Republicans. Dee-pressing.

  68. 68.

    Cliff in NH

    @Violet:

    Your fault for mixing stupid analogies, while disregarding the reality of setting protection and following safe practices on a mountain.

    g’nite.

  69. 69.

    srv

    How do you liberals live with yourselves?

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Guard to monitor planned U.S. military exercises in the state this summer, an apparent response to Internet rumors that the exercises are actually a prelude to a military takeover.

    The new exercises are called Jade Helm 15 and include elite teams, such as the SEALs and Green Berets, from four military branches, reports the Dallas Morning News. They will take place from July 15 to Sept. 15 in seven states.
    …
    Abbott’s request comes a day after more than 200 people packed a meeting in rural Bastrop County, the AP reports. Those attending questioned a U.S. Army commander about whether the government was planning to confiscate guns or implement martial law.

    Command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria answered questions for two hours, according to the Austin American-Statesman, but did little to sway those convinced that something is up.

    “It’s the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany: You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police,” Bob Wells, a Bastrop resident, told the American-Statesman after the meeting. “They’re gathering intelligence. That’s what they’re doing. And they’re moving logistics in place for martial law. That’s my feeling. Now, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist.'”

  71. 71.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: I was watching a show on MTV tonight (sounds crazy, I know) and I was really impressed. At one commercial break, they had an image of the president and they had a short excerpt from his comments today:

    We as a country have to do some soul-searching. This is not new. This has been going on for decades.

    At another commercial break, they had these 3 quotes by Leah Eliza Balter from the Baltimore Sun:

    The real revolution is…
    thousands of people across America standing in solidarity against police brutality.

    The real revolution is…
    youth activists using their voices and their fearlessness to fight for the future of their generation.

    The real revolution is…
    people of different races walking through the streets of inner city Baltimore…

    I was really impressed, and it made me feel more hopeful.

  73. 73.

    Anne Laurie

    @Violet: Well, how would you feel if, when you complained about your new not-very-often neighbors tearing up everyone’s property & keeping you all from sleeping, the response here had been “Meh, rich people have the right to be comfortable in their own homes, you should just shut up and deal”?

    It wouldn’t be, as Kay says, fair.

    I think Omnes feels the same way about rich people who pay the very premium price for the “experience” of climbing Everest, and then boast that they’re climbers. Of course they have the right to do it, but it’s still annoying to people who’ve put in the actual effort to be climbers.

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    @PurpleGirl: IIRC, last I heard was that she had heard about her friends – that they were okay – but hadn’t yet heard from them directly.

    But I haven’t read every thread since then, so that may be outdated information.

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    @Anne Laurie: Yeah, my takeaway from what Omnes was saying was that they haven’t earned their bragging rights because it’s really their money that got them there rather than some personal accomplishment.

    Adding insult to injury: the rich folks are risking the lives the sherpas for their bragging rights.

    Apologies to Omnes if I misunderstood his position.

  76. 76.

    opiejeanne

    @srv: Oh hell, I have trouble at 7500 feet, in a car. Takes me half a day to adjust, and then I’m good up to about 9000 feet, and that’s about it. Miserable headaches.

    It pains me to know that I won’t ever be able to climb Mt Whitney.

  78. 78.

    Botsplainer

    @srv:

    Wife and middle daughter did Salkantay on some “Mountain Lodges of Peru” trek. Said she struggled to find energy to put one foot in front of the other.

  79. 79.

    Anne Laurie

    @opiejeanne: Fifteen years ago, when I was in my mid-40s, I flew into Albuquerque with a head cold and spent my few days there wheezing audibly. Rode up on the Sandia Peak tramway, which is “only” about 10,000 feet, and my nailbeds turned purple at the summit. It alarmed my travelling companion, who insisted we take our tourist snaps, forgo lunch, and go back on the next tram down.

    I’ve had problems with vertigo most of my life, but if I needed a reminder that mountain climbing would never be part of my skill set…

  80. 80.

    Robert Sneddon

    The telescope operators on many high-altitude observatory sites like Mauna Kea (4200 metres) and the Atacama Desert (about 2,500 metres) have to acclimatise to the low-pressure environment and some workers just can’t take the strain even after spending time at half-way houses at lower altitudes. It can be debilitating for them even going up to the site for nightwork and then going “home” to a lower altitude for the day.

  81. 81.

    Cervantes

    Suzanne:

    What happened with MSF and TB in Russia? I have given to MSF a few times, but I never heard about this.

    It can be argued that MSF, because of “managerial” (read “financial”) requirements, used the wrong medications to treat drug-resistant TB in some of Russia’s prisons, and that this mistake led to a worsening of the epidemic. The story is more complicated, of course, but that’s the gist.

    Renée Fox, emerita at Penn, has a book out about the organization. Discussion of the above criticism begins on p. 232. Here is the book:

    Renée C. Fox, Doctors Without Borders: Humanitarian Quests, Impossible Dreams of Médecins Sans Frontières. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 2014.

    You can buy it directly from MSF.

    And for background material on multiple-drug-resistant-TB, I suggest this article.

    Maybe I’ll try to find a new charity.

    Despite the above criticism, I would say that MSF is still good, and better than many (if not most) — but I would not choose it for the current crisis in Nepal, for which my suggestions are here.

  82. 82.

    opiejeanne

    @Anne Laurie: Ugh. Good call on not sticking around.

    After I was acclimated, I was able to hike, not climb, up to @8800 feet to visit Lake Agnew in the Eastern Sierras when I was in my 20s. Up into my 40s we hiked to Lake Walker and Lake Parker, one of which is a fairly easy hike and the other is considered difficult but I can’t remember which, and those start at about 7800 feet and rise. The difficult one was not worth the trouble, ending at a dark, scary lake that is not pretty, but we would always forget which was which, and that was before the internet was everywhere. The other one toddled along past beaver ponds and through high meadows and was just a gorgeous walk. There is one hike that starts at some cabins that John Muir’s daughter used to live in.

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