The Muslim Link - June 17, 2011 by The Muslim Link

June 17th - June 30th, 2011

4 | COMMUNITY NEWS

Community News Journalist: Post-Flood Pakistan An Ignored Catastrophe Written by Farha Marfani Almost a year has passed since the devastating floods ravaged central Pakistan. The devastation these ﬂoods caused was far greater than the megathree of natural disasters – the Indonesian tsunami, the Haitian earthquake, and the Pakistani earthquake, combined. More than 20 million Pakistanis have become homeless. Most of us have only seen or read about the devastation through the TV or newspapers. People like journalist Ethan Casey and Dr. Ismail Mehr have visited the ﬂood-torn villages of Pakistan. Ethan travels and writes about Pakistan in hopes to raise awareness. Ismail Mehr and his team of doctors and disaster relief volunteers provide medical aid. They shared their experiences and noted the challenges in providing relief aid to the country in a program at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) on June 3, 2011. Organized by a few members of the ISB community, the event attracted only about twenty people, although organizers were expecting a somewhat bigger crowd.

Casey shared some pictures, and indepth insight, into the state of the areas devastated by the Pakistan floods. Casey clarified that he is not a relief worker and said that while relief work is very important and needed, it is also important to educate mainstream America about Pakistan and to foster a good relationship between Muslims and Pakistanis and the general American community. “I am in a position, coming from an all white town in Wisconsin, to talk to [other Americans] and tell them that the Pakistan that I know is not what they see on TV,” he added. Having traveled extensively in Asia since the 1980s and with a curiosity to learn and in search for adventure, Casey first went to Pakistan in 1995. After traveling to Indian-controlled Kashmir and reporting on its political upheaval, he was eager to visit Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and report on another perspective. His reports, however, were not well received by media outlets in the U.S., who were not interested in printing the stories from the Pakistani viewpoint. Yet, Casey continues to return to Pakistan, having last visited in March 2011. Through his books, articles and talks, he sheds light on the devastation

left behind from the floods and comments on the blatant media under-reporting of the floods. Villagers of Swat greeted him with generous hospitality and told him that most Western journalists fly in on a helicopter and spend only a few hours reporting from “on the ground.” Casey spent four days in Swat, traveling the villages and interviewing tribal leaders. He shared pictures of once lush fields and orchards now replaced by copious amounts of rocks, and homes which have been destroyed to piles of mud. He mentioned that the government issued Watn cards, similar to ATM cards, to those who lost homes due to the floods, entitling them to 100,000 rupees. These people have only received 20,000 rupees, and are still waiting to receive the remaining 80,000 rupees promised to them. Casey also noted that what’s more important than providing food aid to flood-torn Pakistan is providing paid labor to not only begin rebuilding homes and villages, but to recover villagers’ selfrespect and dignity. The manpower exists,

yet it has not been mobilized, he added. Dr. Ismail Mehr of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) echoed similar insights, especially about the chaotic state of Pakistani villages after the ﬂoods. In addition to describing IMANA’s efforts in providing medical aid to thousands in ﬂood-affected areas, Dr. Mehr recalled an instance when he and his team were handing out food. The images of hungry children who were shaking from hunger and worry that they would not receive food are forever etched in his memory. In response to an article he wrote for The Huffington Post about America’s negligence toward the floods, Casey received scathing comments such as, “we’ll start donating after they stop bombing us.” In contrast to the tremendous media attention and outpouring of support from Americans to Haitians during the 2010 earthquake, Casey commented that Americans feel pity for Haitians, but feel threatened by Pakistanis.

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