Saudis Raise $84 Million
Schoolchildren donated pocket money and King Fahd gave millions as Saudis raised $84 million for the tsunami victims in a state-organized telethon that ended Friday.
The fund-raising drive came after accusations that the oil-rich kingdom was not doing enough to help in the disaster, which has killed more than 150,000 people.
People began filing into a Riyadh stadium and television studio Thursday to place cash and even gold jewelry into glass boxes in a 12-hour telethon, broadcast live by state TV.
A woman donated her gold bracelets, and a primary school student, who refused to give his name, donated his daily allowance of $1.30.
Oil-producing Persian Gulf states have been accused of responding inadequately to the crisis, which hit Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, the hardest.
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