December 29, 2004 13:19

LINKIN PARK RALLY MUSICIANS OVER QUAKE DISASTER

Metal giants rally musicians in the race to save lives...

Photo Gallery: Linkin Park
Photo: Andrew Kendall

LINKIN PARK are leading the way of musicians using their platform to help the survivors of the Asian tsunami disaster.

The band have teamed up with the American Red Cross to set up Music For Relief, a charity in aid of the victims of the disaster, and have started things off with a $100,000 donation.

Guitarist Brad Delson told MTV: “As a band, we were in a position to help, but this needs to be a lot broader effort – both by our fans and by other musicians. If one of our fans can donate $10, then that’s going to help, and the faster we can do it, the better.”

On Sunday morning, an earthquake registering 9 on the Richter scale shook the floor of the Indian Ocean, setting off massive tidal waves known as tsunamis that smashed into coastlines from Indonesia to Somalia.

According to the BBC, the death toll has already risen to 60,000, but the United Nations reckon that disease could cause the figure to double.

Delson continued: “Here in the States, we might not think that we’re directly affected by all this, but we can help. And the more we can do, and the quicker we can do it, the more lives we can save. Obviously, there’s been a horrendous, unparalleled loss of life. But a lot more people are going to die from being homeless and the problems with the water and diseases. The whole thing is really a race against time.”

$40million in aid has already been given by the international community, but more is desperately needed if the death toll is to be minimised.

“We don’t have a specific monetary goal right now,” said Delson. “But we hope that anyone and everyone who can help will. We hope people will contribute what they can, because we can really save lives.”

Donations can be made at www.musicforrelief.org or at www.redcross.org.