The Red Cross has spent only $5m of its $24m Disaster Fund donations.

The March Lotto fundraiser draw is sitting unused. That's another $11.77m.

People in disaster zones - the supposed beneficiaries - want to know what's happening.

Red Cross

The Red Cross is defending its timeline, saying it's allowing for crucial planning and trials.

Secretary-general Sarah Stuart-Black says the organisation is about to ramp up its donation distribution.

It aims to distribute most of the $24m by August and the remainder by January.

It's been a fine balance between distributing $24m too quickly and getting it wrong, and being criticised for dragging the chain, she says.

For the moment, while 79 cents of every donated dollar remains unspent, it's earning interest of $150k.

Stuart-Black acknowledges some beneficiaries might not realise money they've received has come from the Red Cross.

That's because Red Cross has teamed with others like the Hawke's Bay Regional Trust, which it gave $1m.

Donations have also gone on food parcels, temporary accommodation and the Wairoa Liveable Homes Fund.

So far Red Cross has received 140 applications for grants and approved 32.

It's currently assessing another 70 and hoping to make an announcement on at least 10 others in the next week.

Stuart-Black notes all donated funds and interest will go to affected communities. Red Cross is absorbing the overheads involved in managing the appeal. That is expected to cost about $1m, she says.

Lotto

The Department of Internal Affairs says the $11.77m in lottery profits are for community benefit.

The funds are not available to fix individual homes, to clear silt from businesses or to mend fences on farms.

Clare Toufexis, GM Community Operations, says the special draw was to support the medium- to long-term recovery rather than the immediate relief response.

She didn't say when the money would be distributed. Teams are working with affected communities and other providers, she says.

Meanwhile at ground level ...

One uninsured Wairoa business owner says she lost least $20k worth of equipment and stock.

"That Red Cross money would have been great - we'd be in business right now."

She'd also like the volunteers who stopped their lives to help with cleaning up to benefit.

Another says the lack of immediately-available funds from Red Cross, Lotto and the Government is unacceptable.

He's been working with community groups using funds, volunteers and corporate connections he organised himself.

Bureaucracy and red tape are the problems, he says.

"We'll show you the money when you show us the receipts," farmers and growers are told. It's a Catch-22 situation.

People are hanging out - for help, for next week's Budget and for cash, he says.

Where was Red Cross?

Stuart-Black explains Red Cross' absence during the cleanup.

"We're basically enabling people to clean up rather than paying for the trucks and the diggers that are actually lifting the silt.

"We're supporting the families and the communities through either helping to clean out their homes to make them liveable … or providing the equipment and protective gear that helps them do the cleanup themselves."

"It takes time to think about how they want to recover, and what they need to do that."

Source

• Stuff

But as individuals face varying degrees of disruption, a collective sense of frustration has built among those in dire need of financial assistance but haven't seen a cent from collections.

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Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon has sought answers from Immigration NZ and the Government over the treatment of these refugees after volunteers and advocates laid complaints.

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'As soon as the cyclone hit, we opened our hall for immediate shelter for neighbouring families who had discovered their homes were uninhabitable,´ said Caritas Samoa Director Puletini Tuala. 'Cyclone Evan battered our mainland and left us with no power. We initially did not have a generator for the evacuation centre but secured one on Saturday. Since the lighting has been available we noticed an influx in families coming to seek shelter and support.'

'We are not sure how long shelter will be required. The need could go on for several weeks meaning that families will be here right through Christmas and into the new year period. It is an anxious time for us all,' said Mr Tuala.

Samoan authorities have confirmed four people are dead and eight missing after Cyclone Evan hit Samoa late last week. Most of the damage is in the downtown and suburban areas of Apia. Power and water supplies have been severely disrupted, and initial reports estimate more than 1000 homes destroyed.

Caritas Samoa has also distributed emergency relief items from six pre-positioned containers - four on the main island of Upolu, and two on Savai'i. Equipment such as hygiene kits, jerry cans, tarpaulins and kitchen sets has helped families establish temporary shelter and homes.

Despite their own concerns, Mr Tuala passed on messages of solidarity for neighbouring Pacific islands that also face the destructive power of the cyclone. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has been in contact with Caritas Tonga, where there are no reports of damage at this stage.

The category four cyclone is currently hitting Fiji, where at least 37 evacuation centres are holding more than 3500 people in the north. Power was lost just after 11am this morning. It also impacted the territory of Wallis and Futuna, and Caritas Oceania agencies are attempting to make contact to assess the extent of damage.

Caritas agencies in the Pacific are mobilising to provide cyclone relief and assistance to thousands of people in Samoa, Fiji and elsewhere affected by Cyclone Evan.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has launched an Appeal for Pacific Cyclone Relief, and is committing an initial NZ$15,000 towards emergency relief in Samoa

'We will continue to monitor the impact of the cyclone in the region, and respond through our partners and networks on the ground as they inform us of their needs,' said Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Director Julianne Hickey.

Donations to the Caritas Pacific Cyclone Appeal can be made by:
Phoning 0800 22 10 22 to make credit card donations or
Donating online using a credit card at www.caritas.org.nz or
Posting to Caritas, PO Box 12193, Thorndon, Wellington 6144, New Zealand.

In "Nazis On The Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Europe" Gerald Steinacher, a research fellow from Harvard University, sheds light on just how thousands of Nazis managed to evade detection and start a new life.

Steinacher based much of his book on unpublished documents held by the Red Cross that revealed a system struggling to cope with the millions of displaced people in post-war Europe, and one that could be exploited by fleeing Nazis.

The historian estimates the some 8,000 SS men managed to escape to Britain and Canada alone using documents issued to them by the Red Cross by mistake.

But most fleeing war criminals either headed to Franco's Spain or South America.

While the Red Cross provided inadvertent help, the Vatican, the book claims, may have provided more considered help for Nazis desperate to avoid prison or the gallows. Owing to a desire to revive a Christian Europe or out of a morbid fear of the Soviet Union, the Vatican, through its refugee commission, said Mr Steinacher, provided leading war criminals with false identity papers.

The Red Cross also depended upon Vatican references where issuing travel documents.

The Vatican has always refused to comment on its wartime activities and has kept its archive closed to the public.

Source

• The Telegraph
• Image: Amazon