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Apple Donating to Myanmar and Thailand Earthquake Relief Efforts

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Apple CEO Tim Cook today said Apple will be donating an undisclosed amount towards earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar and Thailand.

Apple-Logo-Red.jpg

"Our hearts go out to all those in Myanmar and Thailand affected by the devastating earthquake," said Cook, in a social media post.

Apple typically donates to the Red Cross following major natural disasters around the world.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Donating to Myanmar and Thailand Earthquake Relief Efforts
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/30/apple-donating-myanmar-thailand-earthquake-relief/
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Company donations are hard to communicate:
  • Whatever the sum, people will say that it is too much (big company boasting) or too little (just a too tiny fraction of huge resources)
  • Whatever the cause, people will question “why not to support cause x instead”
  • If no announcement, you’ll leave others to invent the narrative
  • If announced, people conclude you are just exploiting tragedy for publicity

All that considered, Apple does this relatively well.
 
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AAPL is an Economy in its own right . . . the fact that decisions are made to "support", rather than "decry", are important.
 
jole said:
Company donations are hard to communicate:
  • Whatever the sum, people will say that it is too much (big company boasting) or too little (just a too tiny fraction of huge resources)
  • Whatever the cause, people will question “why not to support cause x instead”
  • If no announcement, you’ll leave others to invent the narrative
  • If announced, people conclude you are just exploiting tragedy for publicity

All that considered, Apple does this relatively well.
Click to expand...

Spot-on assessment. Whatever Apple does, it will never be good enough for those who are predisposed to not liking Apple or Cook.
 
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Whilst tragic for the families impacted by the one building that collapsed in Bangkok that was under construction. No other buildings in the capital were impacted.

It seems a bit over reported for Thailand and it's Myanmar that needs all the help it can get being one of Asia’s poorest nations.

We certainly felt no shocks a few 100km to the south of Bangkok, fortunately.
 
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SteveJUAE said:
Whilst tragic for the families impacted by the one building that collapsed in Bangkok that was under construction. No other buildings in the capital were impacted.

It seems a bit over reported for Thailand and it's Myanmar that needs all the help it can get being one of Asia’s poorest nations.

We certainly felt no shocks a few 100km to the south of Bangkok, fortunately.
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It’s sad to criticize any donations to anyone. Very sad.
 
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jole said:
Company donations are hard to communicate:
  • Whatever the sum, people will say that it is too much (big company boasting) or too little (just a too tiny fraction of huge resources)
  • Whatever the cause, people will question “why not to support cause x instead”
  • If no announcement, you’ll leave others to invent the narrative
  • If announced, people conclude you are just exploiting tragedy for publicity

All that considered, Apple does this relatively well.
Click to expand...
We should just ignore it and we remember that under capitalism, ethics are irrelevant and we should find other ways to help humanity.

Edit: not sure I was clear, I meant that capitalism doesn't care about ethics, not me. We can't rely on charity, huge corporations letting some breadcrumbs fall once in a while (deductible breadcrumbs usually).
 
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I've traveled to a LOT of places in the world. But have found very few that are more stunning and enchanting than Burma. The Burmese are the sweetest, kindest people who – even without natural disasters – suffer greatly as citizens of a pariah nation, ruled by an iron-fisted military junta that overturned a democratically-elected government. Prior to British colonialism they were once one of the richest nations in Asia. Now they're one of the poorest. In more recent years companies like Facebook have done devastating damage by having no interest in moderating hate speech and online conspiracy theories that contributed greatly to genocide against Rohingya Muslims. It's not like I wouldn't feel bad reading about disasters anywhere, but it somehow feels far more heart-breaking to see news images of what the Burmese are going through right now. I'm happy to see Apple stepping up and I will absolutely be contributing what I can to disaster relief.
 
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On a completely unrelated topic...

Looking at that photo, I think that color would make a badass-looking MacBook Air.
 
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anakin44011 said:
On a completely unrelated topic...

Looking at that photo, I think that color would make a badass-looking MacBook Air.
Click to expand...
Well, I hadn’t thought of it but that would be sweet. I could put a white maple leaf sticker in the middle. I’d go for that.
 
Apple has two Apple Stores in Thailand.

- Apple ICONSIAM mall which I visited within the month of opening with my ex and bought Apple Watch Series 4 44mm and iPad Pro 11"
- Apple Central World

An indicator of how developed a country or city is how many Apple Stores it can support.

Looking back it would've been cheaper to buy from BH Photo then freight forward it to Manila instead.

Great shopping experience though!
 
BGPL said:
It'd really be something if they just gave money without posting about it on social media.
Click to expand...

And then there would be outrage that Apple is stingy and doesn't help people in need after a horrific disaster. I'm glad Apple posts about it. Hopefully it encourages their customers and people on this forum to donate as well.
 
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BGPL said:
It'd really be something if they just gave money without posting about it on social media.
Click to expand...
And given Tim Cook doesn't brag about donating his wealth, and the fact that he isn't even close to being in the top 1% of rich people, people still criticise him for not doing enough. Too many people on these forums just want to hate on others and rarely have anything positive to say about anything.

Good on Apple for supporting those who need support.
 
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Myanmar is well known for being a brutal dictatorship who are right now bombing their own people during the earthquake crisis.

They also have vast complexes with kidnapped and trafficked people who are forced to work as online scammers. The earnings from this slavery and criminal enterprise is split between cartels, the ruling junta and crypto sold at a discount to rich western tech bros.

They obviously should not receive donations at all. The junta and the gangs needs to go that’s all.
 
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As Thai ppl who affected with this earthquake,

in thailand this earthquake doesn't effect whole country picture that much.
but some fake news make this situation 10x horrible (such as some hospital
building collapses, next waves of aftershocks)

btw thanks Apple for great willing on us.
 
Know this; the vast majority of donated funds will not go to the people in need, it will go to the military Junta. Rather horrifically, the Junta is taking the opportunity to exploit the post-earthquake chaos and is actively bombing rebel positions. It is estimated there could be over 100,000 dead, but there will be no confirmation, as impartial observers or rescuers will never be allowed into those areas of the county. It should be noted, the Rebels have made significant gains in recent years, controlling around 60% of the country.
 
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