Locals fear flooded nation forgotten

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Pakistani villagers, along with their cattle, wade through a flood water to safe area.

Winnipeggers with loved ones in Pakistan hope their fellow Manitobans will empathize with the suffering of flood victims and donate to relief efforts there.

"I appeal to everybody to come forward -- even one dollar will help them," said Dost Mughal, with the Association of Pakistani Canadians Inc.

He worries that if good people don't step up to help Pakistan get back on its feet, others will. "If we don't help those poor people, only the Taliban and other people will. They'll take over them."

This week, U.S. army choppers carrying emergency food and water buzzed over the swollen river and washed-out bridges, landing in the Swat Valley, once controlled by the Taliban. They returned laden with grateful flood survivors -- newly won friends in a country where many regard America as the No. 1 enemy.

Pakistani-Canadians in Winnipeg can't send choppers but they can send money. "We're trying to raise $1 million," Mughal said. A fundraiser is planned at Crescent Drive Park Saturday evening after Muslims observing Ramadan can break their fast.

They managed to raise $880,000 for the Asian tsunami relief efforts, he said.

Passing the hat for Pakistan is different, and difficult, he said.

There isn't as much coverage of the disaster in the mainstream media as there was during the Haiti earthquake and the 2004 tsunami, Mughal said.

"The country of Pakistan has always been neglected before and it's being neglected again," said the long-time resident and business owner who estimates he's one of 10,000 Winnipeggers of Pakistani heritage. "The Canadian media needs to expose more."

Flash flooding has killed more than 1,500 people, affected nearly 14 million, and the rain continues to fall. The scope of the devastation is not helping, with access to the flood zone mostly cut off to air and ground transportation, he said.

"It's difficult for the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to go in Pakistan right now -- that's why they hesitate on where they should help."

And the political situation in Pakistan is making things worse, he said.

It's tough enough for media outlets to get reporters to the disaster areas, but now those who've questioned the government's response to the disaster have been muzzled, Mughal said. There's even less information and images circulating for the world to see and respond to, he said. People have faith in aid agencies now, not Pakistan's government, Mughal said.

"Giving money to the government is like giving them a bonus," he said, doubting that it can be trusted to channel relief money.

He said non-governmental organizations are a better bet. "All NGOs should go there and work and use the money the way they want." He said charities such as the Red Cross and Save the Children are working in Pakistan to get the basics to the victims.

One prominent Manitoba-based agency is not going there. The Mennonite Central Committee -- with operations around the world -- doesn't have a direct foothold in Pakistan, said Peter Rempel, executive director of the MCC in Manitoba. But the charity does have connections in Pakistan, Rempel said. "Any donations we're receiving (to help Pakistan flood relief) we're forwarding to them," he said.

The United Nations said hundreds of millions of dollars in international assistance would be needed.

Meanwhile, Muslim groups in and around Winnipeg are collecting funds for the Red Cross/Red Crescent and Human Concern International, a Canadian charity, said Shahina Siddiqui, head of the Islamic Social Services Association of Canada.

The Winnipeg-based Canadian Foodgrains Bank said $2 million in aid was being sent to Pakistan, with plans to distribute food kits to 11,000 households.

-- With files from Associated Press

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Worst disaster in Pakistani history

Developments on Tuesday:

-- In the U.S., the State Department announced an additional $20 million in flood relief, bringing the total U.S. aid in the crisis to $55 million. Two weeks of monsoon rains have created the worst disaster in Pakistan's 63-year history.

-- Four U.S. Chinooks -- which can carry 100 people or 5,440 kilograms of relief supplies -- and two Blackhawks flew in from Bagram air base in Afghanistan. The U.S. also deployed 84 troops needed to fly and maintain the aircraft. Because of the hostility in Pakistan to the U.S., the mission was sensitive for both countries. But so far, there has been no media or public backlash against the U.S. mission.

-- Besides helping those trapped by the high water, the U.S. assistance already is having another effect: The Pakistani Taliban denounced it and urged a boycott of western aid. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, which has attacked international aid workers in the past and has opposed foreign assistance, said it would fund relief efforts. The foreign aid "is deceiving the nation. It will not reach the affected people, but will be pocketed by corrupt rulers," Azam Tariq told The Associated Press, adding the disaster was God's punishment to Pakistanis for accepting secular leaders.

-- The world needs to give generously to Pakistan victims to counter efforts by a terrorist group trying to assist the 14 million people affected, says a Canadian aid official. "(This) is a very important moment for Pakistan right now, particularly in light of the fact militants use the poverty and the repression in Pakistan to develop an allegiance," Waleed Rauf, the Pakistan director for CARE, said.

-- A Liberal MP accused the Harper government of withholding aid to Pakistan because the community in Canada won't help them win a future election. "When Haiti struck, and (the Tory government) moved immediately; there was a lot of votes to be gained in Montreal in the areas where there is a lot of Haitians. There's not one riding that has (a lot) of Pakistani-Canadian votes," said MP Jim Karygiannis. He is asking the government to bump up its aid to Pakistan to $15 million from $2 million, as well as match donations made by community groups and non-government organizations in Canada.

-- Calls were made to send the Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team, made up of Canadian Forces personnel, to the country to help with medical needs and drinking water, and for the government to speed along sponsorship applications and visitor visas for immediate family members of the Canadian-Pakistani community.

-- From the news services

How you can help

-- Human Concern International

humanconcern.org

1-800-587-6424

-- The Red Cross

www.redcross.ca

1-800-418-1111

-- Association of Pakistani Canadians

2165 West Taylor Blvd.

Winnipeg, R3P 2C5

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 11, 2010 A4