A Pakistani porter uses a forklift to unload American aid for flood victims at Karachi airport on August 16, 2010. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty)
Pakistan’s floods are producing some mind-boggling numbers: 3.5 million children are at risk of disease, and roughly one-fifth of the country is under water. 20 million people have been displaced from their homes by the ongoing deluge.
And some more disturbing numbers: the UN has asked for $460 million in emergency aid. To date, donor nations have only pledged 35 percent of that amount. A little less than half the donations - roughly $76 million - has come from the United States.
The floods in Pakistan have arguably failed to grip the western world in the way that the Haitian earthquake did, and some are asking why. Salman Ahmad fronts Pakistan’s popular rock band, Junoon. His family is watching the flooding in real time. “Both my sisters, my brother and my mother are [in Pakistan,]” he says. “My mother is deeply concerned that people can’t get food and medicine. It gave me pause listening to the tone of my mother’s voice.” Ahmad joins us to talk about his own charitable efforts for Pakistan.
Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council, says that the flooding presents the United States with an opportunity to restore shaky relations with Pakistan. “I think [short-term] aid does change minds very briefly,” he says. “Longer-term aid and a longer-term relationship will change minds over the longer run."
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Comments [1]
So if I understand this correctly, it is being suggested that the U.S. can improve their standing with the people of Pakistan by pledging more money toward the relief efforts for the victims of the recent flooding there. It is also noted that the U.S. is responsible for 50% of the total money that has already been pledged by all participating nations combined. Am I the only one bothered by this? I believe we have reliable intelligence that suggests Palistan has been complacent in allowing terrorist activities to take place on their soil. These would be the terrorists that have vowed to carry out unthinkable acts against the U.S. and our citizens anywhere in the world. It has also been suggested that Pakistan is harboring Osama Bin Laden, the self avowed #1 enemy of the U.S. Remind me again why we would want to help these people, who only want to call us friend when we open up our checkbook. Do we not have other more pressing issues within our own borders that are more deserving of our financial support?
The humanitarin side of me says it would be wrong not to help the people of Pakistan. The practical side of me says that we, as a nation, need to stop being the 9 1 1 call for the rest of the world. No matter where the disaster strikes, we are always first to respond with food, water, medicine, etc. How many countries, if any, offered us financial support when Katrina devistated the Louisiana? If we are to offer assistance to Pakistan, we should receive something in return.
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