DAMMAM, 8 February — The relief campaign undertaken by several cultural and social organizations in the Eastern Province for helping the victims of a massive earthquake that hit the Indian state of Gujarat last month is receiving a lukewarm response.

Funds received at the International Indian School did not reach SR15,000 until Monday evening. This does not include funds collected by staff and students of the school which amounted to nearly SR80,000 until yesterday. The school expects the figure to reach SR100,000 mark.

Confusion and lack of trust in bureaucracy has slowed local response, community members say.

Many Indians are apprehensive in donating cash, fearing that Indian government officials will misuse the funds. They cite examples of Orissa and Lattur where Indian media reported misuse of funds to the tune of millions of rupees meant for the victims of a cyclone and an earlier earthquake.

There has been a lukewarm response to calls for relief goods. Donors were confused by an Indian Embassy circular which cited the “dignity of the quake victims” and urged people to donate “wearable clothes and not discarded items”. Many assumed that the embassy wanted new clothes.

Several cultural organizations found this occasion as an opportunity for self-promotion. As a result, more than a dozen meetings of several cultural groups have taken place since the earthquake without producing any progress in the relief operations.

In a statement to an English-language newspaper (not Arab News), the Indian school chairman, Dr. S.V.R. Rao, said a 15-ton consignment of powdered milk donated by a local company here had already been delivered by Air-India.

However, the dairy company has not yet confirmed its donation.

The Indian school agreed to give its premises for collection of materials. Several cultural organizations came forward to manage those materials and put their volunteers to sort and pack the goods.

However, this afternoon there was not a single volunteer present at the reception and the school staff were seen running around amidst torn and dirty clothes.

There is, however, a silver lining. Individual efforts by Indians have succeeded in collecting sizable amounts for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and many have sent materials through the DHL facility.