The Malagasy blogosphere had mixed reactions to this donation, despite unanimously recognizing the sadness of a catastrophe of this magnitude, citing that more than 70% of the population still lives below the poverty line, there is a global food crisis and some regions in Madagascar are still trying to recover from the destruction caused by the hurricane season.

Tomavana, who also translates for GV Malagasy, posted on the blog, Malagasy Miray:

“Car c’est de façon quotidienne que la majorité de la population malgache affronte les difficultés de la cherté de la vie, augmentation du prix de l’huile alimentaire, de celui du carburant, des coupures “chroniques” de courants et autre cyclone de façon annuel. Or quel contraste entre le manque de fonds, excuse immanquablement invoquées par le gouvernement face à l’absence d’efficacité des réponses apportées à tous ces problèmes nationaux et cette solidarité internationale. A ce que je sache, ce don ne provient ni de l’argent de Ranjeva ni de celui du président Ra8, mais bien des caisses de l’état, donc du contribuable ?”

Tomavana’s post induced a few reactions in the comment section:
Manalina agrees with Tomavana (fr)

“Si sans cœur tu es alors sans cœur je suis … on sait tous ce qu’il en est”

The Malagasy government is working hard to strengthen the ties with China. In recent news, President Ravalomanana traveled to Shanghai in May and is on record for wanting to “expand collaboration with China”. The Malagasy government also was also prompt to support China’s handling of the riots in Lhasa in March and state that they would participate in the Beijing Olympics whether a boycott is in place or not.

Tattum believes that charity ought to start at home and Maintikely says that her grandmother is still waiting for the roof and the walls of her home to be replaced after the latest cyclone. Maintykely also wrote in her personal blog that the president was guilty of a blatant conflict of interest when he protected the price of oil from going up with state subsidies when he owns the company that provides most of Malagasy cooking oil.

Dotmg, on the other hand, does not understand all the negative reactions to the act of solidarity by the Malagasy government (mg):

“Rehefa misy andrarezina lavo ve ao amin’ny tanànanareo dia tsy mandeha mamangy ianareo, na mandeha mamangy ihany fa tsy mitondra solondranombary tsy masaka, sa manome ihany fa fanahy iniana atao kely satria izy aza manankarena noho ianao, ka tsy ho hitan’ny vazan’ainan’ny hareny izay kely hataonao anaty valopy?”

Vola thinks that the shocking part is the fact that 100,000 USD is really not enough when one considers the fact that 70,000 people died and many more are still not accounted for. If it was meant as symbolic gesture of solidarity, she asked, then wouldn’t a symbolic amount be more appropriate?

Many Malagasy bloggers have been actively raising fund for the earthquake victims in China and Cyclone victims in Myanmar through Facebook.

Another topic of international solidarity that got the Malagasy blogosphere talking was the call for help from Diana, a high school student in Mahajanga, who wants to help a baby born with a congenital malformation and his family get the proper medical treatment. The Malagasy Diaspora in Italy, France, Canada and South-Africa came together to raise funds for the operation and transport of the baby and his caregiver to the capital city, Antananarivo.

In the past month, natural disasters hit the Southeast Asian region claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and destroying billions of properties.

Blogger Lynn Leng Lang exclaims:

“Ah, super sad lah. What the hell is happening to Asia?!”

Myanmar is still suffering as cyclone refugees continue to suffer from hunger and illnesses. The junta’s incompetence is another disaster which worsened the situation in the cyclone-ravaged regions of Myanmar.

Perhaps a U.S. official was correct to accuse the junta of being guilty of criminal neglect for blocking large-scale international aid to cyclone victims. Or as the prime minister of Singapore said, “Myanmar is fearful of allowing foreign aid agencies into the country to help because it could show that the ruling junta was not capable of handling the disaster.”

Because of the junta’s behavior, Endoh's dungeon believes the world was right in being pessimistic in giving aid to Myanmar. It is indeed extraordinary that three weeks have passed before Myanmar’s leader issued a public statement about the cyclone disaster. More than 100,000 people were killed and General Than Shwe managed to remained quiet about it. In other countries, this leader would have been ousted already.

Credibility is important so that governments can be effective in disaster management. Aid will not arrive quickly if a regime is perceived to be despotic. The sentiment of As Zewt As It Gets is common today:

“Now, I am sure all of us have got a wonderful generous heart and are all eager to contribute one way or another to help the victims of the recently occurred disasters both in China and Myanmar. However, I just want to say that we should be mindful of the channels to which we are contributing to. If you wish to contribute to any form of Myanmar relief fund, make sure the organization you are contributing to goes directly into the country to aid the victims and not just handing the money to the junta government.”

Many bloggers in the region are not fans of the junta. jere-iamwhatiam from Singapore writes:

“The purpose of a government is to govern the people, to make lives better for them, to take care and protect the people. What the government in Myanmar has done is total disregard for its people's lives and well-being. By delaying aid and a lack of prompt response to the disaster, they are just killing their own people.”

Filipino blogger Under the sun adds:

“What kind of government would put selfish interests ahead of the citizens’ welfare at a time of great crisis, when the only choice is between life and death?”

Noting that Thailand is an earthquake-prone zone, a new law requires all new buildings to be earthquake-proof. Reacting to the recent China earthquake which was felt in Bangkok, bloggers are asking about the safety of old buildings and skyscrapers.

Crunchy is also asking about the steps implemented in Malaysia to prepare for future strong tremors:

“Are houses and high rises in Malaysia built to withstand even a minor earthquake? Or even considerations and guidelines for developers to follow so that buildings can withstand tremors multiple times a year and throughout the years. With the ‘tidak apa' attitude and certain quarters or people who just cared about their pockets, I doubt these issues would get any attention at all until something major happens. What do you think? Am I being too paranoid?”

For many days, the damage wrought by a strong typhoon in north Philippines was not adequately reported by the media. Even the national government was not initially aware of the extent of destruction. The Philippine president was scuba diving in central Philippines a day after the typhoon left the country.

Darlene's blog site writes about the situation in one of the provinces hit by the typhoon:

“Typhoon Cosme destroyed more or less 700,000 homes affecting at least 38,000 families. This frightful event left residents no choice but to temporarily transfer in evacuation centers. Moreover, Cosme also lead a landslide causing roads to be closed and great flood destroying land farms.”

Strangely out of place was shocked:

“The following day, Candelaria looked waaaaaay different. The electric cables were all on the ground. Big acacia and mango trees were on houses and establishments. The church, the school and the public library had some windows broken. Almost every corner you turn you’ll see roofless houses. Some of the older structures looked like cardboard boxes on the ground. The town was, and I quote my mom, “extremely devastated.”

Pictures of the typhoon disaster in the worst-hit province were uploaded by The harvest is great. Northern Philippine Times lambasts government inaction:

“Every year, government officials say during dry months they have contingency measures for calamities like storms in preparation for rainy months. But every time a typhoon strikes, most government offices are caught flat-footed while roads are closed, barangays are submerged and power lines are down. Programs regarding disaster control or management are reactive, not proactive.”

Natasha loves noodles comments on the China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone, and the Philippine typhoon. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore delivers a speech about the need for international cooperation to help Myanmar. Assistance can also be given to other countries in the region:

“We in ASEAN cannot perform this job on our own. Myanmar's needs are way beyond what Myanmar itself or ASEAN as a whole can provide. This is why ASEAN and the UN have jointly convened this Pledging Conference. We in ASEAN can play little more than a facilitating role in fostering greater trust and cooperation between the international community - which has the capabilities - and the Myanmar government.”