South Asian Earthquake: Don’t care… or don’t know?

i am sad about the earthquake. my friend priya is trying to collect clothes, money, food, shoes,basically anything to give to these ppl. so many people have died and we are talkin about indians here the least people can do is give a few dollars. even a few dollars makes a difference.

Many of those so called ``pledges`` will never materialize, most of them will be loans that will plunge the country into further debt and impoverish the people as finace charges that become profits of banks in the developed countries, take a larger chunk out of the budget (which as is spends very little on social services).

Further, past IMF/World Bank loans show that these ``pledges`` will come with strict conditions on who gets the contracts and most of the money will be recycled back to the West in the form of lucrative contracts given to their firms for reconstruction or project management.

This ``aid`` business, used as an implicit tool of oppression by the U.S. has proven to be, throughout the past several decades, a mere farce

People of world care about pakistan, doners gave pleadges for 5.3 billion dollars exceeding best hopes.
Arjun your all comments are wrong.

Karen Hughes, the public face of the Bush Presidential Campaign (in 2000), was sworn in as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy on September 8, 2005. The president explained during the swearing in ceremony that Hughes is being appointed to explain ``our policies and fundamental values`` to people around the world, specifically to the Arab and Muslim world. In Pakistan at a news conference (reported by The Dawn newspaper 11/15/’05), Ms. Hughes stated, ``the Bush Administration was seriously concerned about the devastating Oct 8 earthquake... (and was) urging the international community to play its due role .`` This comment when read in the context of the recent report by Oxfam, a non-government global relief agency reveals the organized hypocrisy that defines the U.S. elite. Oxfam, documented figures showing that the rich countries including the U.S. were failing to respond to the UN appeal for funds for the earthquake victims (Oxfam press release - 26 October 05). With winter approaching, people in the hundreds of thousands were (and are) at risk of death, but are being widely ignored by the U.S. elite, except for a few oft-repeated public relations stunts, like the Karen Hughes news conference, massively advertised by local media, to win over the “hearts” of the people.

Summarizing the figures of how the rich countries are failing to fund UN relief for the earthquake victims, Oxfam states: ``Governments that have given less than one fifth of their fair share include Japan (17 per cent), Germany (14 per cent), US (9 per cent) and Italy (7 per cent).” That Karen Hughes would turn a miserly 9 percent fulfillment of her country`s responsibility to the UN into a well publicized ``care campaign`` is expected from an Administration that was congratulating its own ``response`` to the Louisiana hurricane disaster even as the poor that were left stranded were drowning in New Orleans.

Compare the minuscule aid given for earthquake victims by the U.S. to the lucrative F-16 contract given by the government of Pakistan to the U.S military industries, which ensures profits of tens of millions of dollars for the U.S.corporate elite. Pakistan agreed to purchase 77 second-hand F-16s (since they are being purchased from a third country, probably Israel and upgraded by the U.S.) from the U.S at a price tag of $40 million a piece. This contract is one of the many cases of the poor countries feeding the profits of corporations in the developed world because the military and state institutions of the poor country are controlled by proxy by the U.S. elite. Now, compared to this huge amount that will be taken from a poor country, the U.S. returns a minuscule percent of it in the form of aid that comes with conditions that circumvent the sovereignty of the recipient nation. The U.S. elite exports poverty to the developing world and imports wealth from it. Operating with a specific worldview, in control of the world’s wealth and the apparatus of public relations, these elite ensure that their decisions will prevail over all others. In such relationships, the poor countries lose on every occasion.
Asadi

#55 zeena behna, no need to yelp at a casual observation. it was posted nearly half a dozen times in your ilog, and then here as well, so made me wonder if it was a publicity gimmick. jeolousy would be logical amongst one`s own profession, I`m no MD, so relax. yeah I don`t see the need for roaring who did what, it`s immodest, esp. if the need is genuine and the efforts are sincere. plus the fact that you lot are doctors and it is your duty to go where no insurance follows. For groups to get recognition, broadcasting it a few times, quietly if possible, preferably on a plaque in their offices or a half-page in some journal, is dignified and sufficient. if you want pats on the back from laypersons, use your resources to lobby governments for more aid going to the right places, and get a headline on page two. repeated self-congratulations do no good except bloat egos, while people on the ground still need more food and more medicine. I`m sure APPNA isn`t the only organization rounding up funds so strenuously, and their efforts, elaborate or meagre, are surely adequately appreciated by those on the receiving end. that should be quite enough.

Hello Beena, nice to see you back in action.

#25 by Romair

[The way Pakistanis of all types, rushed into Kashmir, after the earthquake, was unprecendented. I didn`t see anyone rushing into New Orleans, after Katrina. Or in various other disasters.]

But that is because most Pakis have little or no faith that their government (read military dictatorship) is upto the task of helping the victims, whereas in the case of Katrina, Americans did. That is the key difference which you, as usual, are incapable of fathoming.

Most of the victims are low-income people who are chokidars, servants, waiters and peons, specially the non-Kashmiris who don`t have the Mirpur Vilayti Window - if the Margalla Towers hadn`t collapsed, the response would have been even weaker. It`s the crying baby that gets picked up, and most of the victims - especially the non-Kashmiris haven`t learned to make their cries heard.

#54 kidbeegorilla
It looks like you are jealous of earthquake victims being helped through APPNA.........
Strange, really strange.........

You`re acting like a one with nothing to achieve, nothing to help, nothing to roar, nothing to do band baja for. Yes, that is what they are doing......healing the wounds of those who are in dire need. Physicians in USA are hardworking , intelligent honest professional people, highly unlike people like you, who have nothing, but, to criticise for NO reason. People like you are extremely mean and can`t hide their jealousy. People like you are good for nothing, but, yet, feel pleasure like devils to criticise negatively every good deed. APPNA band baja is helping daily, helping thousands in need , fresh groups of doctors are being sent on weekly basis with surgical equipments..................What do you have to roar about????Show your cards.............

# 52 hear, hear!

zeena, why the rigorous drumming of APPNA band baja? I was under the impression the medical profession was bound to help people of THE EARTH by oath.

#48 by mustt on November 15, 2005 6:24am PT


Most of the Tsunami hit areas were very popular with western tourists while Pakistan certainly isn`t.


Less than 0.1% of westerners have actually been to those places and yet there were collections at a lot of street corners...

Indonesians are muslims so that can`t be it..

It`s donor/disaster fatigue ...And the paki government trying to save it`s honor and dignity by acting like it didn`t need all the help it could get...

God helps those, who help themselves.

Beena

There is a great outpouring of earthquake related articles, especially on captive crowds - like chowk.com. I was interested to read if you had any cutting insights. Most of the stuff you talked about was already covered in ``Why Doesn`t the World Care?`` by Aamir Ibrahim - published on chowk on Nov 3.

nothing new - I`m afraid - saying the same thing to the same people isnt adding any value.

thankfully, people who care have enough sense not to play politics in this hour of need. nor do they sit around waiting for goras to appear:



Ordinary Pakistanis jam highways in rush to volunteer

GARHI DUPATTA, PAKISTAN - In these valleys near the epicenter of Pakistan`s earthquake, industrialist Nauman Wazir is applying the skills that made him rich in the steel business to push relief aid to quake survivors. Sometimes that means paying money under the table to move mountains - or pieces of mountains at least.

``Being businessmen, we use our own methods, giving money here and there. Anything to get this done,`` says Mr. Wazir, explaining how he paid out of his own pocket to have landslides cleared so trucks could reach inaccessible areas. ``Since the quake I`ve not been at my job. We`ve probably lost millions of rupees,`` he adds, standing in a tent village funded by the Industrial Association of Peshawar, a group he oversees. ``But I could not have lived through the trauma had I not done something.``

All across Pakistan, efforts to overcome the disaster have been borne by thousands of citizens like Wazir. Their efforts underscore a robust local response that contrasts sharply with relatively tepid donations from the international community.

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of philanthropy in the world, with studies showing that 58 percent of Pakistanis volunteer their time to needy causes, giving nearly $700 million a year in charity. Alms giving is built into the very social and economic fabric of the state, with some $70 million automatically deducted each year from national bank accounts as part of the mandatory Muslim prescription known as zakat.

But observers say that, even by Pakistani standards, the public response has been overwhelming, with relief aid and volunteers immediately pouring into the affected areas from all over the country. It has reinvigorated a civic spirit not seen in some four decades.

...Individual donations like this have so far amounted to a staggering whole, with the President`s Relief Fund reporting nearly $100 million already deposited to date, and another $100 million in pledges from NGOs and the corporate sector.

...But Pakistanis are not only giving generously of their money, but also their time.

Tanveer Afzel`s tent in Abbottabad, near the quake`s epicenter, sees a steady trickle of volunteers. The affable Mr. Afzel, a banker by profession, accepts them graciously, providing rounds of tea and crisp instructions in several languages as to where they can deposit relief goods.

...``It was as if one huge family had been struck. Thousands of families were acting as one,`` says Ms. Khattak. ``This is coming at a time when the national spirit will reinforce the country`s unity.``

Re: # 46

Dear Mr. Hindvi, I never said that Turks are not religious. My understanding is that the Turks hate Arabs with a vengeance, and this whole ‘Ummah’ thing is a Desi concept. Turks are more interested in joining their EUmmah than they are the interested in the other type. Similarly, Iranians don’t give a hoot about Ummah either, at least such was not the case for the better part of 80s and 90s. Ummah was divided into two: Um and Ass. I think Pakistanis supported Saddams back then. Let’s not forget our recent history too fast.

# 48… Dear Mr. Mustt…another reason for lack of reporting is that Pakistan didn’t allow any Western Media inside Kashmir before the earthquake. There are still devastated parts that are out of bounds for “foreigners”. Reporters are not allowed in certain parts of Pakistan, and if god forbid something happens in the Tribal Areas or part of Baluchistan, I hope Pakistanis don’t complain for lack of international coverage.

Beena, I usually hate to state the obvious but someone has to come out and say this: There is one major difference between the Tsunami hit areas and northern Pakistan. Most of the Tsunami hit areas were very popular with western tourists while Pakistan certainly isn`t. So as far as the western media is concerned the Tsunami hit alot closer to home and many westerners lost their lives and loved ones to it. So there are huge differences in the way the popular media has reported the two tragedies. As a result, the general public in the richer countries of the world are in comparison pretty apathetic to the consequences of this earthquake. Likewise, their governments!