940NEWS Tsunami pledges are in; now the world must pay up, aid groups say

940NEWS: "Tsunami pledges are in; now the world must pay up, aid groups say
at 14:38 on January 7, 2005, EST.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The outpouring of aid pledges for victims of the Asian tsunami has been huge. But donors have failed to make good on their promises after some past disasters, and aid groups say they will keep the pressure on to make sure the help announced with such great fanfare doesn't evaporate.
World leaders who gathered in the Indonesian capital this week vowed they'd stand by survivors for the long haul. Nearly $4 billion US has been promised so far.
It's reminiscent, on a larger scale, of donors' promises of more than $1 billion after an earthquake killed 26,000 people in Bam, Iran. A year later, Iran says it's received only $17.5 million.
In Central America, the story was the same after Hurricane Mitch roared through in "