Ex-presidents: Don't forget commitment to tsunami relief
Bush, Clinton on tour of South Asia
PHUKET, Thailand (CNN) -- Former U.S. Presidents Bush and Clinton, on a tour of the regions ravaged by last year's deadly tsunami, said it is all-important that people and governments don't lose interest in donating relief.
"What we have to do now is not to forget these people and places when all the cameras are not there." Clinton said.
The two former presidents were asked by the current President Bush, the elder Bush's son, to lead the U.S. effort to provide private aid to the hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims.
Bush, Clinton and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra briefed reporters in Thailand on Saturday.
Clinton said in the region as a whole the estimated losses are $11 billion to $12 billion. The have been commitments from governments and individuals of $7 billion.
"We need to be thinking about what we're going to be doing over the next year, what we're going to be doing over two years if necessary. That's the number one problem that we'll just forget and not see this through," Clinton said.
Clinton and Bush praised Thailand's efforts in tackling relief. Bush said it is important to go forward with reconstruction now -- "get these fishermen back in business, get these resorts back in business."
It is important to maintain the interest of the American people and the private sector so "they will continue to generously support whatever efforts are determined best on the ground," Bush said.
Clinton stressed that the American people "are really behind this" relief effort. He said one-third of all U.S. households have donated to tsunami relief with the median contribution less than $100.
"The ordinary people of the United States are behind this," he said "I've never seen anything like it."
"I don't think there's ever been a tragedy that affected the heartbeat of the American people as much as this tsunami has done," the senior Bush said, according to the Associated Press.
Clinton said Thailand "is in a position to manage this and have things back to normal in a year or so."
"It seems to me that you are well on your way here," he said, referring to the Thai efforts. He said that in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, recovery might be tougher because more people have died and more of the affected areas are more remote.
Clinton said it is important that donor countries honor the commitments they made and that donations are spent properly. Another $4 billion must be raised, said.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that the official tsunami death toll ranged from 169,070 to 178,118. The number of missing is believed to be as high as 128,426, with most presumed dead.
'U.S. will be there to help'
Bush said that the decisions on how to spend the money must be made by the local governments. He said each country must determine its priorities and "United States will be there to help."
"I think we oughta be very respectful of the local expertise and the knowledge of the countries in which were trying to be of assistance," Bush said.
Thaksin, meanwhile, said Thailand is working on a regional early-warning system and the country is going ahead with its developing its own system.
Earlier, school children waving American flags welcomed the former presidents Bush and Clinton to their dusty fishing village, according to an Associated Press report.
Bush and Clinton stood in intense tropical heat of Ban Nam Khem as two children who lost family members in the tsunami presented them with drawings of the disaster, one showing a giant wave and a rescue helicopter and the other depicting floodwaters sweeping away people, cars and boats.
"It's so devastating," Bush said. "They're still finding wreckage, still actually some bodies being recovered."
A crowd of several hundred villagers greeted them from behind barriers, and a group of Thai school children in red caps and white shirts waved paper American flags.
One banner in the crowd read: "Bill, let's talk please."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
I don't think there's ever been a tragedy that affected the heartbeat of the American people as much as this tsunami has done.
