Qatar's Gift

My university, Xavier, is getting 17.5 million dollars from Qatar. Thanks, or perhaps I should say shukran aktir Qatar. Five million will be spent on new scholarships, and the rest will be for a 60,000 square foot expansion of the College of Pharmacy. Qatar is donating a total of 60 million to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Several other Gulf Nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also come through financially. More information is in this NY Times article, and the local paper covers it here. Thankfully, they are donating the funds directly, without using an intermediate agency such as the Red Cross. As I understand it, Xavier has not received even one dollar from the U.S. government. This country needs to do some serious reflection and soul searching in my opinion.