News from Pakistan

P. and I have a friend from Pakistan who we met during our development masters. He is back living in Islamabad at the moment and so we were naturally concerned about his safety after the quake.

We heard from him today and, thank goodness, he and his family are all safe. However, what he also told us was quite disturbing.

You must have witnessed the devastation on the T.V. Believe me things are much worse and every day brings in more stories of death and destruction. We are experiencing after shocks even now (6 days after the quake).

Our organization (ISLAMIC RELIEF) is one of the leading NGO's to carry out relief activities in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani controlled Kashmir. All employees in the Country Office, Islamabad are working round the clock. None of us is having more than 3-4 hours sleep. The task is enormous and every second is vital.

There is so much to write but unfortunately i dont have much time. Even now i am in the office.

It seems that individuals and countries have not responded to this disaster in the same way that they did to the tsunami. It may be because the area is so inaccessible, and so pictures are not making their way onto our tv screens, or, perhaps, people are still experiencing 'donor fatigue' after last boxing day (26 Dec). Either way, I hope that money and support does start flowing in to help the people who are trapped, injured, exposed and dying.

My thoughts are also with the aid workers, like our friend, who are working around the clock in a fight against time. [Here is a guardian blog by another such aid worker that is worth a read]

If you want to donate, here are a few agencies that accept online donations:
Islamic Relief
World Food Programme
UNICEF
Oxfam