Semi Postals To Help Japan?

I wonder if we will be seeing semi-postal issues to raise money to help the people of Japan? I have a recent French issue that helped the people of Haiti. Of course, with the amount of stamp-using people getting smaller and smaller, it may not be a very effective way to raise the money. BUT, it is still a good idea...

Thoughts?

The France/Haiti connection is a strange situation. The semi-postal is probably the least the French could do, considering their respective histories.

A fair reading of history would say that France was pretty aggressive in its colonization of Haiti. And then, France essentially assessed a massive "fee" against Haiti after the slave revolt, which took almost 150 years for Haiti to pay off.

History has a way of recasting everything, so perspectives on the nature and propriety of the assessment have probably been reworked over time...however, I don't think the fundamental question of whether Haiti paid the equivalent of billions of dollars to France over the years since independence has been challenged or denied.

So a semi-postal seems like a small token...

It would surprise me if any government will use this mechanism for the Japanese situation. Not to say there won't be outpourings of offers of aid, both governmental and private. I'm sure there will be. A semi-postal from any country other than Japan itself would surprise me, though.

I really have seen very few modern semi's, so I don't know much about the rules and politics involved. I did double check on that France/Haiti stamp after reading the above!

A person could make up a small thematic collection for semi-postals that benefit someone or something outside the country's borders. (That would immediately eliminate most semi-postals.)

It would be an interesting series of stories, I would think.

Iceland did that for the great floods in Holland (among other countries) in 1953. European nations in general are far more likely to use semi-postals as a way of generating funds (excepting Great Britain, who have never shown much interest in semi-postals). It makes you wonder how much Iceland could help with its tiny population - in 1953, the population was only 151,000. But every bit helped, I suppose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_...lood_of_1953

Ryan

THe latest Linn's shows a sheet of Japanese semi postals just out. The extra money is for the earthquake/tsunami victims. I don't know exactly how or even the legality of trying to post a copy of the image.