The half a million liri donated by Maltese people may pale in comparison to some of the sums being shipped out to Asia as disaster aid – but it does show one thing, that we are not as bogged down in island mentality as we thought.

Just a few days before the special edition of l-Istrina was organised, Lm816,000 were raised in the traditional Christmas calendar local charity event. Only a few days later, the Maltese and Gozitan public was asked to help the survivors in Asia – it dug into its pockets once again and came up with the goods.

Perhaps what was even more staggering was the response from the public to donate essentials such as bottled water, medicines, food, blankets and clothing – Lm3 million worth in total.

We cannot even begin to understand the horror of the tsunamis that battered south Asian coasts but, no matter what news channel one has tuned into for the past week or so, the images are vivid enough.

What we must understand is that in many areas in Asia, entire communities are having to cope with the double tragedy of losing every single worldly belonging as well as family bereavement.

The West has long been sheltered from natural disasters on such scale and while it might sound philosophical, we can only be glad to help these unfortunate people because we would also have to depend on others in the event of such a disaster hitting our island.

There were islands the size of Malta that have lost half their population as well as half their land mass – the tragedy of it all is simply too great to take in.

So let us continue to donate items.

The CPD, which has organised the bulk of collecting, might do well to issue a specific list of items that are most in demand after the everyday victuals and necessities above mentioned.

While we may not have enough clout to help save entire communities – this is definitely a case of every little helps. What we must remember is that these items, which are largely being sent to Sri Lanka, will take 20 days to arrive by sea. So if another call for supplies is issued, it might be better to use foresight and predict what the disaster-struck area will need in a month’s time.

The purpose of this editorial is not only to give the Maltese and Gozitans a pat on the back for donating more money and supplies – it goes beyond that. What we must understand is that this is also an example of globalisation – we are part of the world community and thus, have a duty and a responsibility to help those in need. And there can be no other candidates for peoples who are more in need than those in southeast Asia.

The powers that be should also ensure that the aid goes directly to those who need it. While we understand that Sri Lanka has been in the midst of a civil war for years now, we also understand that a cease-fire has been called. We must ensure that supplies being sent over do not fall into the wrong hands and go directly to those who need it.

The same goes for the money raised by l-Istrina. We have no doubt that all that was collected was raised in good faith but we must make sure that the money goes to those who need it – those people that can build a new house with the equivalent of Lm5.

The funds need to go to those parents who have no job to go to but need to support and raise children because their spouses have died as well as those poor, poor children who have been orphaned by mother nature – those who are really in need.