Awed,
humbled and shocked by the destruction
caused by the tsunamis that hammered
southern Asia earlier this week, U.S.
rap/rock quartet Linkin Park have
teamed up with the American Red Cross
to establish Music for Relief, a charity
dedicated to providing aid to victims
of the tragedy. See www.musicforrelief.org.
Linkin
Park have donated $100,000 to get
things going, and they're hoping their
fans and fellow musicians will follow
suit. "As a band, we were in
a position to help, but this needs
to be a lot broader effort —
both by our fans and by other musicians,"
guitarist Brad Delson said. "If
one of our fans can donate $10, then
that's going to help, and the faster
we can do it, the better. Here in
the States, we might not think that
we're directly affected by all this,
but we can help. And the more we can
do, and the quicker we can do it,
the more lives we can save,"
Delson continued. "Obviously,
there's been a horrendous, unparalleled
loss of life. But a lot more people
are going to die from being homeless
and the problems with the water and
diseases."
On
Sunday morning, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake
shook the floor of the Indian Ocean,
stirring up massive tidal waves —
called tsunamis — that smashed
into coastlines from Indonesia to
Somalia. In the aftermath, the death
toll in southern Asia has climbed
to more than 52,000, according to
CBS News. The United Nations has estimated
that at least a third of the dead
were children.
Millions
more remain homeless, and though they've
survived the tidal waves, the worst
may still lie ahead: Officials with
the World Health Organization worry
that diseases spread in the tsunamis'
wake — cholera, malaria and
other communicable diseases associated
with a lack of clean water and sanitation
— could claim even more lives.
"The whole thing is really a
race against time," Delson said.
In
June, Linkin Park played a massive
outdoor concert at the Impact Arena
in Bangkok, Thailand. Today, a few
miles away, that city's international
airport serves as a makeshift triage
station, with victims of the disaster
receiving medical treatment on the
tarmac. "We played what was the
largest Thai concert in the past 10
years. It was an amazing show, and
I carry with me the hospitality of
the Thai people and the people of
southern Asia," he said. "And
having been there, I can just say
that people there were so welcoming
to us, and I really hope that through
this effort we can help in some small
way."
Aid
agencies around the world, including
the American Red Cross and Britain's
Oxfam, are mounting what U.N. officials
are already calling largest emergency
relief effort in history. Hundreds
of tons of food, medicine and blankets
are arriving daily in hard-hit countries
like Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and
nations like the U.S., Japan and Australia
have already pledged more than $40
million in aid. But more help is desperately
needed; the U.N. has said that the
disaster caused "many billions
of dollars" of damage and may
be the costliest ever.
"We
don't have a specific monetary goal
right now," Delson said. "But
we hope that anyone and everyone who
can help will. We hope people will
contribute what they can, because
we can really save lives."
Donations
can be made to Music
For Relief, the American
Red Cross website, or by calling
the Red Cross at 1-800-HELP-NOW. For
more on Music for Relief, and to get
involved, please contact Rob@musicforrelief.org.
You can also send a check to Music
for Relief, c/o GSO, 15260 Ventura
Blvd., Suite 2100, Sherman Oaks, California,
91403
James
Montgomery
© 2004 MTV Networks. © and
TM MTV Networks
www.mtvnews.com
|