Charities gain goodwill in flood calamity
A family crosses a deep flooded area to reach their homes, in Sultan Kot, Pakistan, on Sunday. (AP)
Published: Aug 30, 2010 00:46 Updated: Aug 30, 2010 00:46
MARGALA, Pakistan: Hadiya Bibi sits paralyzed in a wheelchair donated by an Islamic charity, its wheels coated in mud caused by flooding.
Over a year ago she was paralyzed by a shell she said the army fired at militants. The government never provided compensation, and now Bibi is turning to Islamist parties and charities to help her cope after raging waters swept away her meager belongings.
"I registered for help with authorities because of my injury and nothing happened. Now everything is gone. They (Islamists) will help me," she said, as members of the Al Khidmat Islamic Charity spoke with flood victims about their needs.
Pakistan's worst-ever natural disaster has made more than six million people homeless and now fears are growing that disease and malnutrition will inflict more suffering and add to a death toll of around 1,600.
And while floodwaters might be receding, anger continues to rise over the government's slow response. Authorities are still absent from many towns and villages one month after the monsoon floods struck.
The speed and efficiency with which Islamist charities, some with suspected links to militants, have helped flood victims worries government officials and the United States, which wants a stable Pakistan because of its role as a frontline state in the war on militancy.
Officials from both governments have warned the Taleban will try to exploit the disorder and misery to gain recruits.
The success of Islamist parties in providing aid points out the failures of Pakistan's government, which like many before it, is widely viewed as corrupt, inefficient and neglectful.
Al Khidmat is linked to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the most influential Islamist party in Pakistan. JI members fought in the jihad against Soviet occupation troops in Afghanistan.
But it is not believed to have ties with the Taleban or other banned groups. Nevertheless, its relief efforts have helped discredit the government because of its relative efficiency.
Al Khidmat rushed to villages like Margala after floods flattened two-storey concrete homes like pancakes and filled shops with five feet of mud even though they were shuttered.
Approximately every two days, the group provided sacks of sugar, rice, cooking oil, flour and tea to families of six, enough for a week, part of a highly organized relief campaign.
So far, the foundation has helped about 4,000 flood-affected families, with only 120 volunteers and money from Pakistanis in the country and abroad.
Its provincial leaders last week held a meeting and decided they would also provide reconstruction support to poor families.
Judging by the mood in villages like Margala, the government may have lost any public goodwill gained after an army offensive pushed the Taleban out of Swat Valley over a year ago.
"We don't want politicians. We want the Islamic groups in power. The government just steals and the Al Khidmat is pure." said Hadar Ali, a college student whose life has been reduced to laying bricks all day in stifling heat.
Swat, home to about 1.3 million people, is still recovering from hard times when the battle between the army and Taleban militants brought destruction.
The government promised to invest heavily to rebuild, create jobs and boost security forces and police, plans that have been suspended because of the flood catastrophe.
Few people expect the Taleban to return and impose their harsh rule, including Khidmat leaders. But some predict trouble if the government doesn't improve its image.
"The government has no credibility. There is going to be lots of unrest in Swat," said Al Khidmat's Swat president Akhtar Ali.
Comments
ALIA AMIR
Aug 30, 2010 17:49
Report abuseThe writer by using such sweeping statements as "Islamist parties" and labeling everyone under it has been an acute example of biasness and this is not objective reality. The article seems fit for distorting facts and presenting an ugly picture of Pakistan to western audience. Had Arab News used its resources for fact finding, this trash would not have been printed on it.
Now coming to the point, why this is trash? Because Jamati Islami is not a militant organisation and neither is Alkhidmat. Alkhidmat works all the year round and it is just not this calamity that there workers are providing help to the needy. Why do people feel threatened with it? Have a heart! When a drone attacks, and leaves people dead and injured and paralysed, do you protest and interview the US army personnel for this unhumane and brutal act? Do you ask that these people be given any compensation? and if local organisations like Alkhidmat are helping these poeople during the flooding, why is this a concern. Is it because it is Islamist help? And may you shed light on what is Islamist and how is it dangerous?
KOSLA
Aug 30, 2010 19:55
Report abuseCHRIS
Aug 30, 2010 22:16
Report abuseMonday, August 30, 2010
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor
A Pakistan Army helicopter flies over Pakistanis displaced by flooding near Thatta on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)(CNSNews.com) â“ The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) says Muslim countries, organizations and individuals have pledged nearly $1 billion in response to the Pakistan flood emergency, and Pakistanâ™s prime minister says Saudi Arabia has overtaken the U.S. in responding to the crisis.
But figures made available by the United Nations call both claims into question.
With the exception of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait, none of the OICâ™s 56 member states have contributed â“ or pledged â“ donations reaching the double-digit millions.
Fifteen OIC member governments have together given or pledged a total of $157.2 million, according to the U.N. Financial Tracking Service figures dated August 27.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilaniâ™s remark about Saudi Arabia having outdone the U.S. â“ a comment made alongside a visiting Saudi prince â“ also appears to be inaccurate.
The State Department says the U.S. is now providing $200 million -- $150 million to support immediate relief efforts and $50 million to help impacted communities recover. That is in addition to âœsignificant in kind and technical assistance.â It also does not include âœgenerous contributionsâ by American businesses and private citizens.
The U.N. puts the U.S. figure at $155.9 million plus a further $50 million pledged. It says Saudi contributions are $74.4 million, plus a further $40 million pledged.
Pakistans displaced by flooding take shelter on the higher ground near the flooded Indus River, outside Thatta in southern Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)Separate statistics from Pakistanâ™s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) say Saudi Arabia has delivered relief worth $40 million, handed over $5.3 million in cash, and that another $67 million worth of relief is âœin the pipeline.â
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu made the $1 billion announcement during a visit to Pakistan on Sunday. Earlier, he convened an emergency meeting at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following reports that most Muslim states were responding slowly to the massive crisis.
Ihsanoglu said on Sunday the nearly $1 billion had been pledged by Muslim governments, non-governmental organizations, OIC institutions and citizens, through telethons held in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He did not give more specific details.
The U.N. Financial Tracking Service figures show OIC member statesâ™ contributions as follows:
Saudi Arabia ($74.4 million plus $50 million pledged); Turkey ($14.6 million); Kuwait ($5 million plus $5 million pledged); Oman ($5 million); Bahrain ($2.6 million); UAE ($2.1 million); Morocco ($2 million); Afghanistan ($1 million); Algeria ($1 million); Indonesia ($1 million); Malaysia ($1 million); Azerbaijan ($1 million pledged); Iran ($0.75 million); Qatar ($0.6 million) and Egypt ($0.25 million). Jordan, Sudan and Syria had pledged aid in kind, with no value assigned.
Major non-Muslim donors include the U.S. ($155.9 million plus $50 million pledged); Britain $64.7 million plus a further $43.2 million pledged); European Commission ($55.6 million plus a further $39.30 million pledged); Australia ($31.6 million); Canada ($29 million) and China ($18 million).
Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the billionaire nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, visited Pakistan on Sunday to discuss the relief effort.
SAJJAD SALEEM
Sep 1, 2010 16:31
Report abuseVERONOC
Sep 1, 2010 16:52
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