Meles Zenawi Quotes

The time when people really want government is in an emergency.

When your house is on fire—that is not the time to talk

When the house is on fire, don't tell me what your spiritual gift is. Just grab a hose and put out the fire.

I mean, if we said right now, there's somebody in the next room who's dying, let's all go save their life, you know, everybody would just get up immediately and go get involved in that.

This is the United States of America. It means we respond to our fellow Americans in times of crisis and emergency and disaster.

Don't wait until you're in a crisis to come up with a crisis plan.

You wait until the forest fire is on your front step before you step up.

Part of the redesign of FEMA is that they have so many people on standby, whether it is a retired nurse or a doctor who will take time off to go exactly where they are needed.

We are taking the steps necessary to be ready to send whatever assistance is requested of us, and we are preparing to receive citizens who seek refuge in our state.

We are giving assurance to the American families that help is on its way.

It's really very simple, Governor. When people are hungry they die. So spare me your politics and tell me what you need and how you're going to get it to these people.

Every little thing counts in a crisis.

I'll just tell you, I'm not a big FEMA fan.

My father did a lot of disaster relief work, and he was always in places where there was a lot of pain.

Come a crisis, we want other people.

You take care of emergencies first—in life and in politics.

The Nation trembled on the brink. Events moved with such speed that it was necessary to decide to act on the instant, as each successive crisis arose.

Responding to a natural disaster is a complex problem.

Access to humanitarian assistance and information are all the more important during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I think we live in a constant state of emergency.

When your house is burning down, you don't worry about the remodeling.

The current situation of the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear plants is in a way the most severe crisis in the 65 years since World War II.

The limits of prudence: one cannot jump out of a burning building gradually.