World disasters call for “red-helmet brigade”
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Demand grows for international reaction force
Peter Goodspeed, National Post Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010
As Pakistan struggles with the biggest natural disaster in its history, complaints are increasing over the slow international response and demands are growing for the creation of an international reaction force to cope with catastrophes.
“When you look back at disaster after disaster, we are confronted with the same problems,” said Dr. Keith Martin, a Liberal MP for the British Columbia riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca.
“The co-ordination of logistics on the ground always starts from square one. From the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004, to the earthquakes that killed thousands in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the devastation Hurricane Katrina inflicted on the southern United States, to the Haiti earthquake and now the floods in Pakistan, it is obvious we have learned very little.”




































