Subject: [CivilSoc] Donations for Kursk Submarine Families
From: Center for Civil Society International (ccsi@u.washington.edu)
Date: Fri Sep 08 2000 - 01:11:41 EDT
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From: Alex Goldfarb <goldfarb@phri.nyu.edu>
Charities for Kursk Sprout Up
by Yevgenia Borisova
Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 23, 2000, Moscow Times
As the tragedy of the Kursk submarine unfolded last week, individuals
and businesses throughout the country rushed to help the families of
the crew, with donations ranging from 60 kopeks to hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
At least five funds have been created for the families of the 118
sailors who died last week in the Barents Sea. Two of them are
managed by the state, two are connected to nongovernmental
organizations with many years of experience in philanthropy and
a fifth is sponsored by an association of naval officers.
The plethora of funds has been met with cynicism by some observers,
and many potential donors worry that contributions might not ever
reach their intended destination.
"We know a lot of examples of numerous telemarathons after which
millions of rubles vanished into thin air," said Valeria Pantyukhina,
spokeswoman for the Foundation for a Mother's Right, an
organization that for the past 10 years has assisted the families of
soldiers and seamen who died in uniform.
A Mother's Right keeps records of deaths of servicemen during
peacetime due to hazing and accidents and provides legal aid to
families, often helping them sue the Defense Ministry for such
deaths. Pantyukhina said the fund her organization set up last week
was reliable because Mother's Right is in direct contact with the
families.
A Mother's Right, along with St. Petersburg's Submarine Seamen's Club
f which unites former navy officers in northwest Russia f were the
first to start collecting cash, medicine and gifts for the
families, and helped fund their sad trips to Severomorsk.
About 400 family members are now in Severomorsk. Many of them require
medical and psychological assistance.
"We called the hospital in Severomorsk, and the doctors told us that
everything that is said on TV about them being well equipped and
having enough medicine is a lie," said Captain Yevgeny Zabava, a
member of the Submarine Seamen's Club. "The doctors said they need a
lot of medication for hearing and also a lot of tranquilizers."
Zabava said his group had sent medical supplies along with relatives
of the crew members who are from the St. Petersburg area.
He said most of the money that the organization has collected has
been brought in cash. "Already 131 people have brought money, about
100,000 rubles. One boy brought 60 kopeks," Zabava said.
After the needs of the 10 families in his area are met, Zabava said
his club will use leftover money for a memorial plaque in
St. Petersburg's St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral and will forward the
rest to a state fund for the families.
Another fund, Podlodka Kursk, or the Kursk Submarine, has been
created by Kursk region Governor Alexander Rutskoi and tycoon Boris
Berezovsky.
Rutskoi told ORT television this week the fund would be headed by
writer Vasily Aksyonov and that he, well-known lawyer Genri Reznik
and Irina Lyachina, the widow of the Kursk's captain f would sit on
the foundation's board.
"The fact that Irina Lyachina will participate means that the help
will get to families of the seamen," said Pavel Arsenyev, the fund's
coordinator.
Donations from abroad will be managed by the New York Public Health
Research Institute, Arsenyev said.
Alex Goldfarb, head of the Moscow office of the PHRI, said he was
told by Rutskoi that various contributors had already pledged $1
million.
"We opened a special bank account this morning and will be
distributing money to personal accounts of the family members as the
supervisory board decides," he said.
Goldfarb's office is no amateur at managing charitable funds. Over
the past eight years, about $140 million passed through the Moscow
office, including donations for scientific research from George Soros
and other American entrepreneurs, the U.S. government and the
Russian government, Goldfarb said.
The Murmansk region government and the Northern Fleet have also
opened accounts for donations.
Murmansk Governor Yury Yevdokimov said in televised comments that his
fund had already received 500,000 rubles from his own administration
and another 500,000 from federal coffers. LUKoil
spokesman Igor Beketov said his company had transferred 200,000
rubles to the Murmansk account and was planning further donations.
The account set up by the Northern Fleet has received 500,000 rubles
from Slavneft oil company, Slavneft spokeswoman Yekaterina Arkusha
said.
State aid has also been organized. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov
said each family would receive 1.5 million rubles from the
government. It was not clear who would manage those funds.
Meanwhile, at least one company is openly trying to make money on the
tragedy. A message at the web site www.kursk.com reads, "We are
currnetly holding this domain for a client," against a grim
photograph of waves crashing against rocks.
Interfax quoted David Pearce of BLTC, the British owner of the
domain, as saying the company was aiming to sell the domain for
pounds 3,000.
For banking details and mailing addresses of charities discussed
here, check www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/89.html
Where to Send Donations
Podlodka Kursk
Donations in checks:
c/o PHRI (Public Health Research Institute),
455 First Ave.,
New York, NY
10016
or
c/o PHRI (Public Health Research Institute)
119048
Moscow,
8 Malaya Trubetskaya, 11th floor.
Bank transfers:
Chase Manhattan Bank,
New York,
USA,
Account 114917590,
ABA 021000021
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