Holy Water

It is stories like the following that make me worried about Bush's funding of "faith-based" organizations. Religious organizations are inherently biased and discriminate in times of need. Scroll down to read the story of the tsunami victims who were denied food and water unless they converted to christianity. Here, the Southern Baptists in Florida refused to distribute water to hurricane Wilma victims because it was supplied by a beer company .
Read more for the whole story . . .

From NBC Channel 2 in Fort Meyers, FL

Religious beliefs trump hurricane relief
Danielle Pepe
Last updated on: 10/29/2005 5:06:13 PM
CLEWISTON — Hurricane victims who wanted water had some difficulty finding it at a relief station in Clewiston Friday. The volunteer group running a supply center doesn't like the company that donated the water, so they decided not to give it to those in line for help.
 
Twenty-two pallets of the canned water, distributed free by beer company Anheuser-Busch, bears the company's label – and members of the Southern Baptist Convention refused to hand it out to those in need.
 
Resident lined up for miles to receive food and water at the distribution point. But the water was left on the sidelines by the Alabama-based group.
 
"The pastor didn't want to hand out the Budweiser cans to people and that's his prerogative and I back him 100-percent," said SBC volunteer John Cook.
 
The SBC felt it was inappropriate to give the donation out, and they weren't happy when NBC2 wanted to know why.
 
"Why do you want to make that the issue? That's not the issue. The issue is that we're here trying to help people," Cook said.
 
No one disagrees with that, but the Red Cross says Anheuser-Busch is also trying to help.
 
The water has been available all along, but the SBC volunteers set it aside and few people knew it was available.
 
While the SBC is standing its ground, the Red Cross says water is water and they're now handing out the supplies.
 
The vice-president of operations for Anheuser-Busch, Mike Harding, released a statement on the donation Friday reading:
 
“As we have seen numerous times in recent years, safe drinking water is a critical need following natural disasters such as Hurricane Wilma.  At the request of various relief agencies, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers have donated more than 9 million cans of drinking water since Hurricane Katrina hit in August, and when called on, we’ll continue to provide water to all victims of Wilma as long as it’s needed.”
 
"I don't think it makes a difference who gives it out. It's going to a good cause. It's going to help everyone," said storm victim Lisa Simmons.
And many victims are grateful Anheuser-Busch is stepping in to help.
 
UPDATE: Late Friday, as NBC2 was leaving Clewiston, we saw two members of the SBC handing out the canned water alongside the Red Cross

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Posted: Sat - October 29, 2005 at 06:09 PM, In Category:


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