As we return to Madison for the spring semester, it is important to remember the events that took place while the university community was enjoying winter break. Students and faculty will jump right back into their daily grinds Jan. 18, just as we had planned to last semester.

The people of Southeast Asia will not be resuming their lives as planned on Jan. 18. The horror that took place in the blink of an eye has left behind reminders that will stay with us for a very long time. The still-rising death toll has already passed the 150,000 mark, and experts warn it is not going to stop growing anytime soon. The thousands of new orphans make prime targets for child-slave traffickers who were already active in the region prior to the wave. Once-thriving communities have been wiped out. Entire ways of life have been destroyed.

We should all consider ourselves fortunate this disaster happened thousands of miles away and not in our backyard, but we must also do for the people in the affected regions what we hope the world would have done had a natural disaster occurred in New York, Los Angeles, or Miami.

Americans need to offer aid in any and every possible way. For the great majority of us, that is in the form of monetary contributions. Everyone in the civilized world with anything to give has a moral obligation to send aid to those in need.

Unfortunately, there are many dangers associated with sending money to the affected region. Indonesia in particular, but the entire region as well, has been a hotbed of al-Qaeda activity. Such third-world Muslim countries have been ripe breeding grounds for Islamic fundamentalism.

With thousands of charities already purporting to be involved in tsunami aid, and billions of dollars destined for the region, there is a considerable risk of significant amounts of money ending up in the wrong hands, being siphoned up by terrorist organizations and being used to further evil.

It is no secret that much of al-Qaeda’s funding is laundered through organizations masquerading as charities, and that numerous legitimate charities have seen their contributions ending up in the hands of extremists. It is particularly important in this case that care is taken when deciding where and how to send money. For Americans wishing to donate personal funds to the relief effort, one safe place to look is the USA Freedom Corp, www.usafreedomcorp.gov. This organization, whose tsunami relief co-spokesmen are former Presidents Bush and Clinton, lists numerous avenues through which individuals can safely contribute personal funds toward the relief effort.

There will also be tremendous amounts of money sent by member states via the United Nations. In light of the oil for food scandal, it is urgent that all aid channeled through the U.N. is scrutinized to the highest degree. The U.N. is currently in the process of creating an Internet-based tracking system where donors could see where their money is actually being sent. The system, which will eventually be audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, will allow private charities to join and will ensure that money is being used only for its intended purpose. This U.N. initiative is promising, but vigilance is still necessary.

The U.N. plan is a large, unprecedented undertaking that will take time to implement, but whose protocols are necessary immediately. Enormous sums of money are already being sent to the region and will not be part of the tracking effort. The current task of ensuring that money is properly spent remains in the hands of individual donors being responsible and doing research before clicking the “donate now” button.

There is nothing that the international community can do to bring back lost friends and loved ones or erase memories of the giant tidal wave destroying ways of life, but we can help to improve the lives of the survivors by curbing the spread of disease, feeding the hungry and rebuilding a society in the wake of disaster. These tasks require large sums of money be sent to fund the relief effort. While the world should do everything it can to send this much-needed money, we must be sure not to send it impulsively and blindly. If it ends up in the wrong hands, the results may be just as deadly as the tidal wave.

Adam Smith ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics and political science.