MSNBC: Tsunami aid items include thong panties, Viagra, stiletto heels

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Useless tsunami aid includes thong panties
Sri Lankans also have no use for winter jackets, stiletto heels

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6954302/

GALLE, Sri Lanka - At the main warehouse in Galle, mountains of cardboard boxes and suitcases ready to burst take up a quarter of the cavernous building.

Some are labeled “Aid for Tsunami Victims,” but their contents — winter jackets, expired cans of salmon, stiletto shoes, winter tents, thong panties and even Viagra — have left Sri Lankans scratching their heads.

Unprecedented aid poured in after the Dec. 26 tsunami, but some of those wanting to help were perhaps too eager, shipping items of no use in tropical Sri Lanka. And seven weeks after the disaster, no one knows what to do with some supplies piled up at government buildings, aid agencies and refugee camps.

“These items just cannot be used here,” said storekeeper H. Wickremabandara, noting the average temperature is 82 degrees. “There are all these old clothes and no one wants them.”



"In a country where most people wear flip-flops or sandals, some boxes of aid contained used shoes, including soccer cleats, boots and silver evening shoes with 4-inch heels."

[Sparkle]

1. Please tell me those items didn't come from America?

[KissMeKate]

2. reminds me ot that movie "clueless"

when the girl was collecting the ski equipment for earthquake victims in honduras, lol.

We developed countries are pretty out of touch with the majority of the world some times!

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Maybe that stuff was sent by Freepers and other trolls. . .

Honestly, if you looked into some of the messages on Yahoo posted by those. . .things. . .you'd wish for a hot shower and soap afterwards.


:evilfrown:

[havocmom]

4. More likely, it is stupid stuff which didn't sell in malls and was sent by

businessmen who then wrote off the total retail value from their taxes as a charitable contribution. Probably get more from the deduction than from selling it to those stores in the business of selling last year's merchandise at discount.

[SoCalDem]

6. Bingo

A clever way to clean out the crap from warehouses, and have the government reimburse their "loss"..

:grr:

What those people need is LUMBER and TIN and other building supplies..

They can also use skilled people who know how to rebuild water purification facilities, build roads, install electrical service..

They could use dried foods and cooking utensils..

Bolts of fabric would actually be better than ready made clothing.. Lots of these island people do not wear "western" clothing anyway..

[Zebulon]

5. Maybe the could list the stuff on eBay

and make a few bucks to buy other stuff?

[paineinthearse]

7. Stiletto shoes, thong panties and even Viagra

Sounds like a paraphrase of Major Kong listing the contents of the emergency ration kits in Dr. Strangelove: "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good time in Vegas with all that stuff."

[geniph]

8. What, did people just clean out their closets?

I mean, good heavens, look at that picture - those shoes are old and dirty, let alone inappropriate. These are the same kinds of things people do in clothing donation bins - a lot of people throw raggedy, dirty, nasty old stuff in the donation bins instead of putting them in the trash where they belong.

How ... clueless.

[catmandu57]

9. I knew this was going to happen

I made a post soon after the event wondering how many winter coats and flannel shirts were going to be given as aid.

[Ian David]

10. Yep, they cleaned out the closets.

I can see sending things like tents to people who have lost their homes. Even winter tents, if you didn't know any better, would still be well-intentioned.

But high-heel shoes?

Viagra?

Perhaps people thought the tsunami victims could barter them for useful things?

I just wonder what they'll do with all the Nintendo game systems...