September 30th - Two Months On

The flood waters are receding and international aid has increased many-fold. Things remain bleak however as stories of the millions of refugees in the big cities come in, stories of refugees who haven’t been reached by any sort of aid through any organization become realized, stories of mass devastation and the now rather overwhelming task of rebuilding this country face us. How do you feel with regards to helping out now? Ten of us started a movement here nearly 2 months ago. We managed to raise over $21,000 here in Montreal (over $26000, if you consider CIDA matching donations before October 3rd) with major events still coming up. It is by no means a large amount, but it is an amount that has affected the lives of many individuals and families. One of the issues with major disasters is the feeling of apathy that sets in, an apathy that just permeates from the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ phenomenon – which is even more so influential in foreign countries and their people because the crisis was never even in actual sight in the first place. What can one focus on now to stir emotion, to stir movement and to stir the compassions of an undoubtedly compassionate community? In our last few endeavours fundraising on the streets, an initiative which resulted in most of our raised funds, we noticed this apathy flowing through the populace. We won’t say it permeated through everyone, many had already donated, many politely refused and wished us luck, and many who just offered up a smile helping us to maintain our spirits as we fought through the masses asking for help for a desperate country. A large majority of people however had no idea anymore and wouldn’t even give us a moment to speak. This is not their fault of course, people get harassed day in day out by requests of donations and unless the feeling of ‘crisis’ and ‘must help’ exists then there is little reason they would stop their daily routines and help out. We saw our resultant daily donations from these efforts drop from an average of $1400 a day to below $400. The number is still significant, but it saps out encouragement from volunteers who have been breaking their backs each of these days. The resultant revenues generated were what kept them motivated and made everyone feel like “today was good, we did well, let us go out, let’s do it again.” New volunteers were also thinly available because of the beginning of school and added responsibilities of job hunting and studying for aptitude tests. One thing that seems to create a loss of hope is also what people perceive as the international cold shoulder. I will say that the international community has helped a considerable amount, as delayed as their compassions took, the help is considerably huge. It is simply not a criticism to point out how much they did elsewhere and how much they have done for Pakistan. Pakistanis, internationally are themselves responsible for the movements and lobbying of their governments and communities to emphasise the importance of helping those in need in Pakistan – this goes especially for students. Most aid all throughout history has ‘never’ come from the government. It has always been the people of a country who have been the most generous. This applies for Norway, Canada, the EU and it applies for the United States. To digress a moment - comparisons with other crises I personally find are just morally repugnant. The general truth is that we tend to turn a cold shoulder towards the needs of the international community. When you show apathy or a lack of compassion towards the world, a prevalent disrespect of another country’s issues by either trivializing them or stating that your own issues are greater than anyone else’s, and then maintain a stance of ‘why are you not helping us?’ take a moment to reflect as well. This is not just the politics in Pakistan, this is about a lot of us with our swollen prides, proclamations and propaganda of being Pakistani. Respect and compassion is a two way street. Understand that and please don’t trivialize anyone, anywhere else. I say this with all due respect, it’s just an honest moment and it is not pointing a finger at anyone. Our efforts have relied heavily on the compassion shown by people from all over, people from countries that need considerable help as well, and rest assured when they are in need we will be there for them. Moving on from that digression - The Pakistan Flood Victims Relief Efforts group never considered itself a significant movement. We still don’t. We know what we’ve done is only due to the dedication and passion of our volunteers, it is because of keeping an open mind and letting our projects evolve over time based on present facts and news, it is based on critical thought, an allowance for dispute and discussion within our own ranks and lastly because of our need to just move. Move and do something. Fundraising on the streets seems to have lost its popularity with our crew, but here’s to an idea which proved itself to be more successful than we thought it could be. Close to $13000 raised simply through a great amount of dedication shown by fantastic volunteers, communicating with the public, speaking about the crisis with them, telling them what we’re doing, creating affiliations with organizations on the ground, and not to mention all the contacts we generated - it was all very important to help the cause achieve whatever it has achieved so far. Our next few events will still be targeting fundraising for emergency food and medical supplies however, we have proposals put forward by a number of organizations now and are presently on the lookout for several projects. Rebuilding is now a key part of our function. Sustainability is key. Hereon I’m going to list some of the ideas that have come forth: 1) LifeStraw Family and Lifesaver Jerrycans. Water filtration systems that provide for clean drinking water using the latest in filtration technologies. Both of these systems have filters which prevent viruses and bacteria with Lifesaver being much more effective with its 15nm pores as opposed to LifeStraw with its 15micron pores. Both last for about 20,000 litres of water as well, and then the filter needs replacement. Both also provide a family of five with 15 litres of water a day for up to 3 years. The difference is cost effectiveness which LifeStraw trumps Lifesaver on. When it comes to disease prevention however, there is absolutely nothing better than Lifesaver Jerrycans extremely nanoscopic filtration pores. However, this requires more research into the major threats in Pakistan right now with regards to the diseases the most risky and which filtration system can handle those most effectively at least cost. Distribution networks are also a big concern as we would want to help as many affected regions as we can. Lifesaver Jerrycan - $200 each LifeStraw Family - $20 each 2) The Architectural Society of Pakistan proposed a housing project, and although it isn’t entirely the best option for developing homes due to certain feudal lord disputes, what the real question here is finding projects for redeveloping villages. We have offers to consider and funding small micro projects like these are absolutely essential. I wrote about the importance of shelter in another article not online, but I will emphasise the importance of creating security and rejuvenating hope. Peace of mind when it comes to attaining a sturdy roof on your head and solid walls around you is something so necessary for continuing one’s daily life that without it people can lose all hope of any kind of decent future. 3) A friend of mine recently wrote to me about his company providing for low cost, high quality blankets. Each blanket costs about Rs. 575 ($7) and they are distributed through extremely reliable channels. With involvement already from German and Swiss companies and the Pakistan Army this is also something to consider as a target for donations. Setting goals for a number of blankets and achieving them is a small project on its own. The point of the above three suggestions is to create focussed projects, goals and also to generate efficiency and motivation. These are all projects we are going to be considering from the 8th of October onwards (after Miraas) and this is not to say they are ‘one against the other’ but it is to say that all such endeavours are already viable options and projects to look into and all of them deserve at least some degree of help. So again, just because the floods are receding and the news is out of sight and more or less out of mind for most people, I will emphasise the importance of sustainable rebuilding. I will emphasise the importance of consistently showing compassion and resolve towards helping those in need – no matter where on earth they may be. My priority right now, as part of this group is with helping those in Pakistan, and pushing those who can help to do so, and so I urge you to take a moment, take many moments, pick up your ideas and your small change, and help. There is just so much potential in every single one of you to do so much, you just need to move. So get up, contact us, contact anyone, just move. For more information on the Pakistan Flood Victims Relief Efforts click here. To make a donation to the Pakistan Flood Victims Relief Efforts click here. For information about our events so far and upcoming events click here.

August 23rd: Upon Rallying the City

Amid onlookers in cars who honked and cried out in support for how necessary student movements are for changes to occur in society, twenty students walked the streets of Montreal bearing flags and banners. It was not a protest, but it was a symbol. A symbol to depict that even though the odds are tremendously against any favorability towards the government of Pakistan and towards garnering immense sympathy for Pakistani flood victims, that this student effort will remain united and indefatigable when faced with these challenges. However, if only alleviation and world views with regards to Pakistanis were being affected as positively as our spirits in Montreal hoped they would be.

Intriguingly, in cricket we have the beguiling Shahid Afridi, a phenomenally popular Pakistani cricketer attempting to raise funds through dinners across the Gulf and we have the Pakistani and English cricket teams who today donated part of their match fees towards the aiding the flood victims. In music we have the mystical Salman Ahmed attempting to raise funds for the victims through song, both EP and Strings have released songs about uniting and taking control of our own fates and we have the once munda Fakhar e Alam providing public service messages on how you can help with the provision of goods and news about PIA’s free service towards aiding the flood victims. Our government however acts minimally. Our overfunded army is thinned out. And our population? 20m affected by the floods, 120m unmoved.

A fifth of our country is flooded. We hear news every day about the tragic occurrences back in Pakistan. Even during the floods we have people back home who go out of their way to mercilessly beat two boys to death in a public square, we have people who look on without so much as a glancing sympathetic vote as people take refuge on the streets in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and we have a government unfettered and uninspired to take responsibility for its people. I have never heard of a more sorry state of affairs in any country in the few years I have been around to witness this world. World aid has thankfully increased fourfold in pledges and commitments, but motions are slow. More than two weeks after the floods have devastated the Northern Areas of Pakistan as well as the Southern areas along the Indus, aid is still slow and under consideration (just because it is from India). Afghanistan...Afghanistan was generous enough to donate $1m.

In Canada, radio stations are calling inquiring about why we are not raising funds for the Red Cross in Canada and why we choose to support aid agencies in Pakistan. In Canada, the coverage for the floods has increased, however it seems to take this tenor of this being a plight for ‘Muslims’(note to not humanize the people) and how Montrealers (also members of local mosques) are helping in this holy month of Ramadan. The coverage in the media has been a load of nonsense, loaded with terrific amounts of media-centric moneymaking sham reporting.

We students need support from all other students, we need to coordinate, and we need to align our efforts. No one cares that you have school or are apartment hunting or are tired from work or are job hunting. Everyone is. None of that is relevant in light of the tragedies faced back home right now. If you do not do everything you possibly can, then I can’t be certain how deep your apathy/ego runs, and that on its own is a sad, sad reality.

We need the support of our communities, our officials, and that universal and/or contemporary code of ethics that really should be reread to emphasize that when there are people in the dire straits these 20m Pakistanis are, when there are 4m children at risk of disease, we must act and we must not be satisfied with our ‘text’ to the Red Cross. We must make sure we follow the news and stay aware, we must make sure we pursue information and help as much as we can. The world at this moment is in peril, but no place right now faces as murky a future as Pakistan. Help, and help continuously. Nothing is more important than your awareness.

PS. To clarify, we are not against the Red Cross, but we are aware of their relatively high administrative costs. Considering as a group we have raised only $10,000 – if 10% ($1000) of that (on their average) goes towards administrative expenditures – then that is a 10% we can absolutely not afford to lose. Local organizations are working primarily as volunteers now and also under lower administrative costs.

August 11th- 13th Fundraising in Downtown Montreal

For the past three days a whole bunch of us have been fundraising for seven hours a day on the streets of Montreal. We have also been selling baked goods and popsicles to people.

The success of these past three days can be illuminated by the funds we have raised, the contacts we have made, and the media coverage we have had. It is great to see the Montreal population caring so much about the floods and also seeing the media attempting to give life to this movement to help raise funds for the cause as well. A lot of people we met were very concerned about the cause and it was fantastic to see how much interest they took in what we are doing and also what we are trying to achieve, which is to generate funds, but more importantly to create awareness and attain some serious momentum for raising funds for the flood victims in Pakistan.

We have managed to solicit through fundraising activities and online donations a total of more than $5000 in the past three days. More than half of the money has already been sent in to Nur Foundation, Liaquat National Hospital and Sungi Development Foundation. Also, we have had interviews with CBC Radio and CTV National which should hopefully provide the cause with a lot of momentum.

We have to be reminded about the catastrophe that Pakistan is facing at the moment and it is the sole driving factor for our hardworking team of over 30 volunteers working day in day out on this movement. On August 14^th, Pakistan’s independence will be celebrated, but there is no point in time that I can recollect during which Pakistanis have been more in need and more dependent on the conscience and generosity of international support, which can only be garnered by an unfettered persistence to keep pushing every single day to present the urgent needs of Pakistanis. They lay suffering in the rain on the streets, under bridges, with their children, with no shelter, with no money, with no food, with no clean water, while the rains pour and floods gain further impetus.

To the students, to the youths - in Canada, in North America, in Europe, in Pakistan, in South Asia and all over the world; at this point in time you are the ONLY ones who can drive this initiative and help it succeed. Movements are made of collective efforts, and it is only through collective efforts that indifference can be shaken, and unconcerned authorities have their action revamped. Put in your time, put in all your efforts and we can make a massive difference in the lives of millions of people. 15 million people have been affected. A billion dollars worth of crops have been destroyed. Barrages, dams, bridges have been destroyed and further damage is expected. Further loss of life is expected. Disease will spread. Hunger will strike. In the end however, we must realize that we have the strength, capacity, and unity to alleviate all these troubles.

We urge everyone – no, we demand that everyone help out the people of Pakistan. Pakistanis, who have suffered endlessly because of the floods for over ten days, who have suffered at the hands of relentless blind terrorism and an inconsiderate government that assigns endless bureaucratic roles, but takes little actual responsibility, these Pakistanis need the compassion, the kindness and the charity that the whole world can exhibit.

A CBC Report from August 9^th illustrates the strong concerns with regard to the Canadian response, especially those of Pakistani Canadians.

Also to see a tiny segment about our team working on the streets of Montreal click here.

August 8th 2010 Fundraising at Tamtams

The first event we set up was a quick six hour fundraiser, from 11am to 5am, at tamtams. We had prepared posters, donation boxes, and banners to hold up and around our necks. We managed to collect close to $600 in that time with the help of only 10 dedicated individuals (Madiken, Sarah, Bebul, Zain, Erum, Asma, Jaffer, Shahjahan, Currim, Umair, Rafae ) who persisted, insisted and spread awareness about the cause – so a big thank you to everyone who helped out. During the day we met a variety of different people consisting of those who worked at very active international and local NGOs (including Engineers Without Borders), people who were very concerned about the cause as well as those who were not aware about the trouble Pakistan is facing due to these catastrophic floods but took the time to learn about what has been going on, what we are trying to achieve and contributing towards the cause. It was extremely heartening to see how much the people of Montreal cared and contributed – merci to everyone who donated.

We would also like to thank that one mysterious man who showed up for only a few minutes second, gave us $60, and disappeared across the horizon. God bless you sir.

With all this and the backdrop of rain and the beats of tamtams, we would like to thank everyone who donated so generously (especially considering my weak attempts at speaking French) to help our country, Pakistan in this time of immense need. We will be back next Sunday.

It has to be noted however, that this is essentially a very small event and as much as the proceedings will help those they reach, they are not remotely enough to alleviate the disaster that Pakistan is facing at this point. This massive catastrophe has already been classified as rivalling the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2004, the Haiti earthquake, and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake combined.

A statement from the Special Representative of Afghanistan and Pakistan from the United States:

“The United States said on Monday that the world’s response to the worst ever flood in Pakistan was not adequate and urged the international community to do more. “I am concerned that people do not see it as yet another catastrophe” that often beset Pakistan, US special representative Richard Holbrooke told a briefing in Washington. “It is a huge catastrophe.”

“It is not just talk. We are calling some of our allies and asking them to help,” Mr Holbrooke said, noting that the international community’s response to the flood was not adequate.

All funds raised from our efforts will be directed towards Sungi Development Foundation (http://www.sungi.org) and Nur Foundation (http://www.nurfoundation.org)

Osman Siddiqi - A Call for Help for the Flood Victims in Pakistan

There are not many days when I open up the DAWN News website (a Pakistan based media conglomerate) and find news about my home country Pakistan that is reassuring or indicative of a prosperous future. Those days are in fact so minimal that the joy that they are received with somehow always manages to outweigh the actual value of the good news. In similar fashion when I hear about the deaths of a large number of people in Pakistan, I am ashamed to admit that it does not have the just emotional impact that such travesties should. I feel exhausted, Pakistanis feel exhausted and I am sure all those who are aware of the plights of Pakistan do as well.

Within the past seven days alone, a commercial airplane crashed near the capital city of Islamabad leaving every single person on the plane dead. Within a few days the public assassination of Raza Haider, a senior leader of an influential political party and an elected representative of the province of Sindh, took place. As a result of this assassination, widespread panic completely shut down Karachi, a major commercial hub for Pakistan, with cars and buildings being burnt, random gun shots being fired, and at least 54 people killed. As it so happens, as I write this piece, Sifwat Ghayur, the Chief of the Frontier Constabulary just got assassinated. Moreover, while I was simply sending this in to be edited, a mosque in Karachi just had a grenade thrown inside killing 22 people. As you can see, the country is in absolute turmoil at this point and the people feel entirely helpless. I in fact feel extremely bereft at this point; in the time it has taking me to even write this article some astonishingly appalling acts have occurred all over my country and I do feel thoroughly helpless against these random, senseless acts of violence occurring almost every day.

However, we cannot let these atrocities detract attention from areas where the international community and Pakistanis can in fact help, where we can in fact uphold a positive influence in the lives of people. The recent monsoon rains have resulted in catastrophic floods, displacing more than 3 million people (twice the population of Montreal) and taken the lives of over 1,500 people in the Northwest regions of the country.

There have been pledges of assistance made by countries around the world, however, these pledges fall incredibly short of the actual help needed. The reality is the monsoon season is far from over, and in the coming days more areas in Pakistan are facing the threat of floods. UNICEF has called out for aid efforts to increase, emphasising the need for clean water, nutrition, vaccinations and sanitation. The WHO has called these the worst floods that have hit Pakistan in history with an increasing number of casualties, immense damage to healthcare facilities (39 of which have been destroyed), and with a high risk of imminent waterborne diseases. The WFP and MSF are also increasing their efforts as they recognise the immense hardships Pakistan is facing right now and will be facing in the coming weeks with the outbreak of malnutrition and disease. Among the widespread societal concerns in the Northwest are the individual accounts. One eye witness, Alamzeb reported to the BBC and his account goes as follows:

We never thought the waters would rise so high. I was away at my aunt's house in the Nowshera Cantonment area. When the waters overflowed the river, I got worried. My relatives said to wait until the tide ebbs, but it kept rising, and soon it was clear that my part of the city had drowned. My mother died. She was old and diabetic and couldn't climb to the third floor of the house to avoid drowning. My younger brother, who is only 12, tried to drag her up. She was washed away. We haven't found her body. My brother is traumatised.

Several reports record other tragic incidences.

The question in every cynic’s mind is could this have been avoided? Perhaps it could have been. Perhaps the infrastructure could have been better developed. Perhaps the meteorological department could have warned the people well in advance of a disaster of this magnitude. Perhaps the government should be doing more. I urge you, however, to be realistic about the ground realities of Pakistan. Our president is out masquerading in Europe. Our government has been ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world. For further consideration, the majority of the people affected face severe economic hardships – during any consideration they are the marginalised, during an election or rally they are the manipulated, and during the development of their community they are ignored. Again, 3 million people were displaced from the same region not even a year ago (of which a million had still not found a way back to resettle). Now the same people are facing these catastrophic floods. They absolutely need our help.

This is a cause for immense concern and I urge everyone, not just every Pakistani, to unite and help out a country in desperate need for your attention, your action and your awareness. Can you imagine a week such as this happening around you, in Canada or the United States? We are talking about people who lost their homes, lost families, are vulnerable to serious diseases, and are thirsty, hungry and in dire need of immediate support. Three million people are in question. Everyone in need in this world deserves the attention of those without. Three million people and counting.

We have set up a team in Montreal to raise funds for the victims and the money we raise will primarily be contributing to the work of the Nur Foundation (who provide primary health care, clean water, and relief items) and the Sungi Development Foundation (who provide food packages, health, and nutrition packages). There are going to be a large variety of events that will take place in the coming months and our efforts will not wane. We urge you to also take action, help, and donate to the organisations who are helping the victims as best as they can and do your part not simply because you can, but because you must.

Donations at Nur Foundation at http://www.nurfoundation.org

Donations at Sungi Development Foundation at http://www.sungi.org