Darfurther Nonsense XXXIII
Brother, can you spare a euro?
European Union funding for an African peacekeeping force in Darfur has run out, and the United States and Arab League should help cover the costs until a replacement force arrives, the EU’s aid chief said on Friday.
“At the Commission level we are dry and we cannot find any more additional resources,” European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel told a news conference.
It’s not that they don’t care, you understand. They just have other priorities:
Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, has called for the opening of the border between Israel and Gaza to enable vital relief supplies to reach the people inside the Gaza Strip.
…
The European Commission has a relief package of almost €30 million for Gaza, including €10.2 million just released from its food aid reserve for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for emergency food aid in the Gaza Strip. This comes from an overall humanitarian budget of €67.4 million for the Palestinians….
I lambast, lampoon, and laugh at international hand-wringing (and impotence) over Darfur—but if I had to waste 67.4 Euros (just over $90 million), I’d waste it on the Darfurians over the Palestinians. In a heartbeat.