Indonesia to the Rescue!

The Minister in charge of Indonesian Tsunami relief has some words to say to those who criticize America's response to Hurricane Katrina:

"Any country in the first two weeks, they are always criticized," said Alwi Shihab, who took charge of the aid operation three days after the waves hit Aceh province on Dec. 26, killing a staggering 130,000 people and leaving 500,000 more homeless in Indonesia.
"The first 10 days we were cursed for being sluggish. If the government satisfies half the people, the other half will complain. And this one half will be heard by the world," Alwi, a respected former foreign minister, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He goes on to describe the different reactions from the population of Indonesia and New Orleans:

Unlike in New Orleans, where law and order broke down soon after the levees broke, there was little or no looting in Aceh - something most people attribute to the region's strong community ties. Aid officials also were impressed by the self-sufficiency of the Acehnese.
"The reality is that people picked themselves up very quickly," said John Long, an Irish aid worker who has been in Aceh since soon after the disaster.