Humanitarian Warfare in Pakistan: Bombs not Bread

[nawazshahzad]

The scale of the disaster caused by the floods in Pakistan, is barely comprehensible. As Juan Cole has written, expressing near disbelief : "The submerged area of the country is as big as the United Kingdom, fourteen million Pakistanis are affected, two million are homeless." Six million need immediate relief, according to the UN., and thirty six thousand are suffering from acute diarrhoeal symptoms, with cholera already diagnosed. 1,600 are reported dead, with the number certain to multiply. Famine is a real possibility.

The great Indus river, one of the world's longest, which flows also through China, India and Kashmir, rising in Tibet and flowing in to the Arabian Sea, has flooded Sindh and Balochistan provinces, forcing the evacuation of over ninety percent of the villages. With no place to hide, people watched their homes washed away, in a monsoon season that continues through September. Hundreds of villages are inundated or completely under water, with roads, rail links, thus transportation cut, as frantic people try to flee to safer ground. It is the worst flooding in the country's history, with some experts saying the region worst affected for nearly one hundred years. A far wider area is now threatened.

When the waters subside, the million-plus people who are directly or indirectly dependent on the mangroves, will have had their livelihood affected or erased, as will the fishermen along this great expanse.

Looking at US., news sites, the enormity of this tragedy has evoked not pity, but almost universal vindictiveness. One with over 19,000 comments are typified by:

"Pray for more rain"; "Uncle Sam, I need your help again!!! …";
"Doesn't it just pull at your heartstrings that Dear Ol' Uncle Sam wants to help out the enemy-";
"Ha, God truly works in mysterious ways … forsaken by their false prophet";
"What did it cost to deploy this missle to kill a measly 12 people? Not good use of our tax dollars! Get a bigger missle,12,000 would be better!"(1) are, sickeningly, a few of the milder ones, addressed to a River Valley civilization which dates to about 3,300 BC., with tools found, used fifteen thousand years ago.
Saturday 14th August, is Pakistan's Independence Day, celebrated annually since 1947. Flags and flowers, traditionally decorate all, homes, roofs, vehicles. This year celebrations were muted to sombre, devastation and death dominated. Prayers for both replaced festivity. The army cancelled their celebrations and donated the funds allocated for their day's events to the flood victims.

President Obama in a message for Independence Day, pledged U.S. support: “… in line with deepening partnership between the two nations”, praising the Pakistani people " … as they bravely respond to widespread and unprecedented flooding." He ended: "I have directed my Administration to continue to work closely with the Government of Pakistan and provide assistance in their response to this crisis.”

Pakistan has requested helicopters from this US "partner", close by in Afghanistan, however : "A senior U.S. military official said transfer of additional helicopters, which are in short supply in Afghanistan, would require a political decision in Washington. 'Do they exist in the region? Yes', he said. 'Are they available? No' ", writes Robert Naiman.

What was available, on Pakistan's National Day, and the third day of the holy month of Ramadan, were US drones. A US missile strike on (as ever) a "militant" compound on the Afghan border, killing thirteen "rebels" and wounding five others on Saturday, in the village of Eisori, in North Pakistan, is widely reported. Wait for the bodies of the militant children, women, teenagers. It is still confusing to know how these "militants" are recognised from the air, from a computer in the US, given so many have turned out to be families having a meal, tending their land, or mince-meated infants. What happened to Courts of Law?

Unmanned drones, decimating lives since 2004 in the US's "deepening partnership" country, operated by those who have graduated from computer games to war games, with real human targets, has to be one of life's more memorable, bizarre, cowardly, illegal obscenities. Some "partnership."

The good news or the bad?

A shipload of U.S. Marines and helicopters did arrive to boost relief efforts in flooded Pakistan on Thursday (12th August.) However, given the number of US Special Services alleged to have been at sites of bombings in Pakistan, from schools to communal compounds, the cynic might wonder whether this is in spirit of co-operation and "partnership" or an eye to the main chance.

And the US has a bit of form when it comes to Ramadan missiles. In Ramadan in Iraq, the US., military signed their missiles with: "Have a nice Ramadan, Saddam."

UN Secretary General, Ban, has finally limped in to Pakistan, saying not a lot. The Taliban have offered, allegedly, twenty million dollars in aid if Pakistan rejects US aid (given US form, they could possibly be on to something – further once in, the US., have a tendency to stay) and President Obama and his family are swimming in Florida to promote tourism in BP infested waters.

One commentator reached a US news site, and compared poor Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette. A long way from: "Change we can believe in."

Nearly five hundred years ago, William Shakespeare put it well : " … perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame; savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust." Funny world. by Felicity Arbuthnot, Global Research

Source: Pakistan Ideology

Nawaz

 

[DurPhitteMunh]

Who cares about Pakistan?
By Jude Sheerin
BBC News
Donations have been sluggish to the Pakistan floods appeals, as they were back in 2005 when the part of Kashmir the country administers was torn apart by an earthquake. The BBC News website asked some experts to comment on possible reasons why.

Donor fatigue

Dr Marie Lall, Pakistan expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and senior lecturer at the Institute of Education, says: "I think there is donor fatigue all around. The [2004] Indian Ocean tsunami, the Burmese Cyclone [Nargis, 2008], the [2005] Pakistan earthquake, and [this year's] Haiti earthquake. It is getting too much; we are in a recession and people are short of money."


Is there a limit to our emotional response to images of suffering?
Rebecca Wynn, Pakistan specialist for UK-based aid agency Oxfam, says: "Many donors have made substantial contributions in humanitarian assistance to Pakistan over the years, particularly in response to the conflict-related displacements over the last two years. Of course, the fact that the people of Pakistan have been hit time and again by disaster is even more reason to give."

Dr Elizabeth Ferris, senior fellow at the US-based Brookings Institution, a foreign policy think tank, says: "It should also be noted that the international humanitarian system isn't set up to deal with more than one major crisis a year. USAID, for example, committed one-third of its annual budget to the Haitian earthquake response. And among the general public there may be a feeling of, 'Well, I donated to the victims of the Haitian earthquake and Haiti is a far needier country than Pakistan.'"

Corruption

Yale University economics professor Dean Karlan, an expert on charitable giving, says: "Corruption concerns may explain why giving is lower to developing countries than many would like it to be, but it does not explain why there is less money pouring into Pakistan now than does to disaster relief causes in other developing countries with similar governance issues."

Dr Marie Lall says: "People in Pakistan are sceptical the government will be transparent. But they are giving to philanthropic organisations. In the UK, I think people are sceptical of [non-governmental organisations'] overheads and costs. They don't know which ones are transparent and reliable, even though local organisations such as TCF [The Citizens' Foundation] are doing an incredible job."

Dr Elizabeth Ferris says: "People are always sceptical about their money reaching flood victims, particularly in countries with reputations for corruption. But Haiti didn't have a very good reputation in this regard. [Pakistan] President [Asif Ali] Zardari trip to Europe [during the floods] was not a good move. For a few days, that was the 'story' of the Pakistani floods, which doesn't inspire people to be generous, particularly in this economic climate."

Terrorism

Dr Marie Lall says: "British Prime Minister David Cameron's comments in India [when he said Islamabad promoted the export of terror] did not help."

Dr Elizabeth Ferris says: "People are less likely to donate to any country seen as a haven for terrorism. And more generally, the fact that so much Western news coverage in recent years about Pakistan has been negative, stressing its links with the conflict in Afghanistan. I think this is the major reason for the slow public response - the image of Pakistan in our media. There may also be a feeling, particularly in the US, that Islamic governments and charities should be stepping up to the plate to donate."

Timing

Rebecca Wynn says: "This disaster has come at a bad time, following the financial crisis and the Haiti earthquake. Many donors made huge commitments to Haiti, so may find it hard to fund another major disaster, particularly in the same year."

Dr Marie Lall says: "Timing may be a factor, but I think it's more to do with not realising the scale of the disaster, and the attitude by the British government; the UK should be leading the aid effort, given the Pakistani diaspora here and the fact that we need Pakistan for the war in Afghanistan."

'Wrong' disaster

Professor Dean Karlan says: "Sudden events seem to generate more funds. A flood (and droughts) happen gradually and build. There isn't any one single day in which news is huge. For the same reason, this pushes the story away from the media spotlight. But massive and sudden earthquakes or tsunamis draw our immediate attention and shock us."

Dr Elizabeth Ferris says: "It's important to note that in general people are likely to give more to emergencies occurring in countries geographically closer to them - although this didn't hold true for the tsunami. But when you trace contributions over time, you find that Americans and Canadians are more likely to respond to disasters in the Western hemisphere while Europeans tend to be more responsive to African countries (and their former colonies, in particular)."

Dr Marie Lall says: "This was not one cataclysmic event, but one which grew over three weeks. The fact that 25% of the country was or is under water is not understood. The low numbers of dead, relatively speaking, mask the disaster on the ground. The crisis has destroyed crops, dead livestock and damaged homes and infrastructure. Food prices are through the roof and there won't be a normal harvest. It will get worse. Farmers will starve."

BBC News - Who cares about Pakistan?



This is for all the pakistani member here to ponder. Why is your image around the globe so low....i mean sooooooooo low that people aren't willing to help you even in times of such a grave natural disaster? Obviously there's something you need to set right. Do it. Or else time will soon slip by. The world will move ahead and you will be left behind.

Oh and by the way, please do the reader's comments on this page. Kindly....Kindly do read them. They are from ordinary people like us. They might open your eyes, who knows!

 

[Speaker]

I can understand your anguish over the comments in some random website, and at the drone attacks. But how can you criticize Obama for prioritizing his country over yours? Especially when the current disaster has been amplified in large parts due to the ill-preparedness and slow response of your government?

 

[Vassnti]

I am sorry for you that you are so bitter that you ignore the multiple posts about the US helping Pakistan during the floods, supplies, helicopters, water plants, millions of dollars.

You dig back to 2004 and the first Iraq war for points to attack the US on.

What is beyond belief is you suggest Pakistan should turn its back on the US and side with the taliban for a supposed 20 million did swat show you nothing?

 

[Ahmad]

Dr Elizabeth Ferris says: "People are less likely to donate to any country seen as a haven for terrorism

that is wrong, keep politics aside, people of britain have donated £30m from their own pocket and that is different from the british gov donations. it is about humanity not ISI, GoP and army.

 

[Tuahaa]

I saw the site with 19000 posts... I was the only one that defended Pakistan but was quickly overwhelmed by the flamers. It did make me angry when they called us animals... insulting Islam was another thing in its place, but it happens worldwide.

I guess you can't help it; nobody realizes we spent 2bn on the war on terror which apparently makes us their ally (lies!) but when something like this comes up, we can see the true beliefs of the general public.

On another note; why don't we have a single politician that can put his country before his pocket? I fear Zardari will give up his place as a corpse- corrupt or not, people will want change

 

[Ahmad]

I saw the site with 19000 posts... I was the only one that defended Pakistan but was quickly overwhelmed by the flamers. It did make me angry when they called us animals... insulting Islam was another thing in its place, but it happens worldwide.

if you are on your own, you should expect nothing but this. it is truely frustrating that they repeat their non sense and you are powerless to change their wrong mind.

 

[GentlemanObserver]

ill-preparedness and slow response of your government?

ill-preparedness

NO!
National Disaster Management Framework:

http://www.ndma.gov.pk/Docs/NDRMFP.doc
Disaster SOPs:
http://ndma.gov.pk/DOCs/SOPs/All%20SOPs 9Aug08 Final.doc

Prov Disaster Management Guideline:
http://www.ndma.gov.pk/Docs/Distric...s/Provinical Disaster Planning Guidelines.pdf

Monsoon Contingency Plans:
http://www.ndma.gov.pk/Docs/AnnualReport/Monsoon Contingency Plan 08 Final.doc

http://www.ndma.gov.pk/Docs/AnnualReport/Supplementary Monsoon Contingency Plan 09.doc

Flood Contingency Plans:
http://www.ndma.gov.pk/Docs/AnnualReport/Jehlum Flood Contgency plan 09.doc

Disaster Risk Management Plans by Province:
AJK: http://ndma.gov.pk/Documents/Provincial DRM Plans - Reduced Sizes/AJK/AJK.zip

Baluchistan:
http://ndma.gov.pk/Documents/Provincial DRM Plans - Reduced Sizes/Balochistan/Balochistan.zip

NA:
http://ndma.gov.pk/Documents/Provincial DRM Plans - Reduced Sizes/NA/NA.zip

Punjab:
http://ndma.gov.pk/Documents/Provincial DRM Plans - Reduced Sizes/Punjab/Punjab.zip

Sindh:
http://ndma.gov.pk/Documents/Provincial DRM Plans - Reduced Sizes/Sindh/Sindh.zip

PEER Staff training 2007-2009:
http://ndma.gov.pk/Docs/BooksAndPublications/PEER/Pakistan_PEER_Complete_Database.pdf

---

Next time do your research before uttering nonsense, and FYI: FEMA, the mother of all disaster management agencies with all its plans and knowledge and resources was caught off guard with Katrina.

SO PLEASE GIVE THE PAKISTAN BASHING A REST WILL YOU!

And BTW: Which government are these guys from?

 

[Ahmad]

I saw the site with 19000 posts... I was the only one that defended Pakistan but was quickly overwhelmed by the flamers. It did make me angry when they called us animals... insulting Islam was another thing in its place, but it happens worldwide.

if you are on your own, you should expect nothing but this. it is truely frustrating that they repeat their non sense and you are powerless to change their wrong mind.

 

[Ghostwhowalks]

the sad fact is that the image of Pakistan has taken a severe beating across the world. Only history will judge whether this is warranted or not, but seriously, do some introspection and ask yourselves- are those 19000 posters to blame?

Just go through the threads of this and similar forums. A large number of Pakistani posters spew venom against the US. I am not saying whther this is justified or not, all I am saying is that when an average american sees this kind of venom being spewed, he is most likely to retaliate in kind. Plus keep in mind that the average American (and elsewhere int eh western world) has been indoctrinated into Islamophobia that peaked post 9/11.

So it is but natural that they hold these views since in their eyes, as told to them by countless media reports, their soldiers are dying fighting an enemy that is being supported by an "ally".

 

[GentlemanObserver]

the sad fact is that the image of Pakistan has taken a severe beating across the world. Only history will judge whether this is warranted or not, but seriously, do some introspection and ask yourselves- are those 19000 posters to blame?

Just go through the threads of this and similar forums. A large number of Pakistani posters spew venom against the US. I am not saying whther this is justified or not, all I am saying is that when an average american sees this kind of venom being spewed, he is most likely to retaliate in kind. Plus keep in mind that the average American (and elsewhere int eh western world) has been indoctrinated into Islamophobia that peaked post 9/11.

So it is but natural that they hold these views since in their eyes, as told to them by countless media reports, their soldiers are dying fighting an enemy that is being supported by an "ally".

enemy that is being supported by an "ally".

Taliban exist on both sides, don't confuse Afghan Taliban with Pakistan Taliban.

Plus keep in mind that the average American (and elsewhere int eh western world) has been indoctrinated into Islamophobia that peaked post 9/11.

Same can be said of the countless Muslims across the world who see Muslims treated as sub-human, not to mention the countless Pakistanis who remember the time America abandoned Pakistan.

Works both ways you see.