http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/19/why_doesnt_the_world_care_about_pakistanis?page=full
Why Doesn’t the World Care About Pakistanis?
BY MOSHARRAF ZAIDI | AUGUST 19, 2010
The United Nations has characterized the destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan as greater than the damage from the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. Yet nearly three weeks since the floods began, aid is trickling in slowly and reluctantly to the United Nations, NGOs, and the Pakistani government.
After the Haiti earthquake, about 3.1 million Americans using mobile phones donated $10 each to the Red Cross, raising about $31 million. A similar campaign to raise contributions for Pakistan produced only about $10,000. The amount of funding donated per person affected by the 2004 tsunami was $1249.80, and for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, $1087.33. Even for the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, funding per affected person was $388.33. Thus far, for those affected by the 2010 floods, it is $16.36 per person.
Why has the most devastating natural disaster in recent memory generated such a tepid response from the international community? Something of a cottage industry is emerging to try to answer this latest and most sober of international mysteries…
… continued.
read the full article at ForeignPolicy.com, here.
Read your article and I was ready to help…then I read your list of agencies who are legit. Page 343 in Andrew McCarthy’s book “The Grand Jihad” stated that …Islamic American Relief Agency’s parent organization Islamic Relief Worldwide provides support and asistance to Hamas per the Israeli government.
Posted by Lee Ann | 25. Aug, 2010, 7:22 amMr. Zaidi, you write very well about the plight of flood victims in Pakistan.
In the end of the article you also suggest we ask our self “HOW CAN I HELP”? and there you end the article.
You fail to point out even one honest agency which can be trusted with the aid funding. And now if you decide to write and point out some honest agencies where the aid funds will be used 99% for the poor people of Pakistan then pls. also include how those agencies will further help after the flood waters recede and it is time to rebuild a nation which was born to upheld the values of ISLAM.
Posted by Akbar Gillani | 25. Aug, 2010, 6:09 pmMr.Zaidi,
Just read the article “Crime without Punishment” on dated August 26, 2010 really good keep writing.
Regards,
Hassan
Posted by Hassan Naqvi | 26. Aug, 2010, 10:31 amHi! I read your article and also watched your participation on Riz Khan’s show, couple of days back. It is indeed devastating for Pakistan and overwhelming feelings can be best undersood by any sane human being but I believe as time passes, donors will start providing better inputs which can be beyond expectations of Pakistanis. I believe that the world do care about Pakistan and Pakistanis.
Pakistan is always in good books with the western countries, especially USA & UK. I am sure they will take most advantage of this “opportunity” they have got through mother nature. This time Pakistan needs lots of input for infrastructure development and as the country is stretegically placed, western countries including middle eastern countries will do their best to help Pakistan develop in coming days. Perhaps they are watching floods to slow down. UK is the one who was keen in birth of Pakistan, and now is the time for UK to make Pakistan as better as possible. I do not think any comments David Cameron made during his trip to India were really serious but the comments were rather quite superficial and perhaps to please Indian host.
USA, UK and China can have their very best interest in development of Pakistan because by developing Pakistan they can control India and Russia. I believe in coming days these countries will provide lots and lots of resources to develop all flood affected areas by building infrastructure of roads, bridges, schools, industries and so on and so forth that the economy may start growing in shortest possible time. It is also highly possible that in less than 10 years time, India will have to free Kashmir – I do not think India has any capacity to hold Kashmir any more and it is in the best interest of Kashmir and India, both, to make Kashmir independant – and an Independant Kashmir will surely incline to Pakistan, so again west will see more benefit here, including China.
In my understanding it is only a matter of time for west and China and middle eastern countries to come forward and start helping Pakistan as much as Pakistan is wishing them to bail Pakistan out from this disaster. I think there is no donor fatigue but donors can be busy stretegizing the way forward to initiate development in Pakistan. No one can know that such issues mught have been discussed between President Zardari and western leaders during his trip to the west!!!
I believe the world do care about Pakistan.
Posted by Anup Panchal | 27. Aug, 2010, 12:33 pmTo the second commenter “Lee Ann”:
You’ve got to be kidding. No seriously. After you read Mr. Zaidi’s article and got to realize the potential issues behind this lack of international response, you went and did exactly what has kept the international community at bay in the recent Pakistani disasters. You referred to a list documented by Andrew McCarthy’s book “The Grand Jihad” as the basis to not having donated any money. I take it Mr McCarthy provided irrefutable hard evidence in the said book to support his claim? I take it that you made a conscious personal effort to verify the veracity of the said claim? surely no one could be obtuse enough to trust the claim of a book which is titled “The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America”, without sufficient inquiry. See Ms. Lee Ann, this is a guy who blatantly blames the entire religion of Islam smack in the title of his book for sabotaging America. Not the extremists, not the terrorists, not the crack-pots no, he blames Islam in its entirety and its followers. And you withheld aid to dying Pakistanis based on his word that an organization with the word Islam in its title MUST be supporting Hamas, of course.
I hope there are more discerning people out there than yourself ma’am because this is just sad.
Posted by Tamur Haq | 27. Aug, 2010, 10:55 pmTo the fifth commenter “Anup Panchal”:
“…I believe as time passes, donors will start providing better inputs which can be beyond expectations of Pakistanis. I believe that the world do care about Pakistan and Pakistanis.”
Anup, despite what you believe, the stark reality of the tepid international response documented by Mr. Zaidi is a shock that still has the Pakistani community reeling. You decided to list numerous potential political benefits for international involvement in the recent Pakistani disaster. However, you fail to realize that the interests of the international political community in the region has nothing to do with the feelings and emotions of the international civilian community (per say) towards Pakistan and Pakistanis. The crisis is not the lack of interest or aid, the crisis is the utter destruction of the image of Pakistan as a country populated by humans in need. As Mr. Zaidi pointed out in the article, the international response, mostly civilian, towards recent disasters in other parts of the world has been overwhelming and extremely helpful but the same was not the case for Pakistan. Even after the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon declared it the worst humanitarian crisis he had ever witnessed, no one seemed eager to step forward.
So, Anup, the world really does not care anymore. As clearly as you can state it, the average response in everyone’s mind goes something like this: “Well they have propagated enough destruction in the rest of the world, let them take care of themselves”.
Even with a country of their own, Pakistani’s cannot be more out of place and alone in the rest of the world at this precise moment in history.
Posted by Tamur Haq | 27. Aug, 2010, 11:11 pmMr. Zaidi, I recently stumbled upon your article and I cannot be more delighted to see such eloquence and structure coming from a Pakistani writer. Congratulations. I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective of the situation. In my opinion, you are asking all the right questions. There’s a lot of “why is this so?” in your thought. What about the answers? how about delving deeper in the roots of all these issues and proposing solid reforms to your audience?. Even simple actions taken by a handful of people can have lasting affects. Thanks again for the helpful insight.
Posted by Tamur Haq | 27. Aug, 2010, 11:34 pmThere are two potential outcomes. No one will help because of the well thought out reasons and the military will siphon the majority of whatever aid does come through. In that case, the Nation will never recover allowing the extremists (who receive more money than the military) to shine and recruit whoever is left so that the country becomes another Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Karzai “controls” only 21 out of 130 provinces. Pakistan will go that way, as the extremists that the ISI “controls” will carve out the majority of Afghanistan and the FATA and other provinces and ompose Shariat and other laws. As long as Saudi Arabia and like minded countries continue funding them, this is the logical conclusion.
The other outcome is what all of us want. Pakistani people back the Government and throw out the ISI and Military, which will need the Government to actually take the line of the “popular will” if it is created. They co-operate with Afghanistan, India and even Iran (never mind the Sunni Shia divide) and massively develop those areas that the extremists control and fight them on the ground, along with the ISI. America can help with money and some muscle, India with technology and a proven method to develop areas like IT, Textiles, even Engineering Goods and Biotech etc. Iran can help with easy and cheap access to oil (Infrastructure will require a lot of energy) as well as money.
History is on the side of the military, but that can be overturned. In 1950, right after Pakistan and India gained their independence, between the edge of Europe (Turkey) and the end of Asia (Japan), there were only TWO democratic regimes (India and Sri Lanka). Today, there are many more, and all of them have thrived or started to thrive (think South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh). There is ample reason for Pakistan to join that list and get away from being perceived as they are now.
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