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Humanitarian crisis in NWFP, Pakistan

June 11th, 2009
posted by Ryan Rowe

 Hey there,

Well, it’s been another spell since I last wrote on here.  Sorry for the long absence.

I’ve been busy lately getting involved with providing relief aid/funding to assist with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan.  Currently in its fourth week, some 3 million people have been displaced by the military campaign against the Taliban.

Many of the Pakistani people in the UAE come from the NWFP and are thus directly affected by the fighting.  Many are among the poorest people living in this country - i.e. the taxi drivers and construction labourers who are a very very large section of the population.  One such taxi driver I met about 10 days ago hasn’t spoken to his family in weeks.  He works 14-16 hour days making perhaps 1000 dirhams a month (US$275).  Although he barely spoke English, the sadness on his face was clear, but his situation was bleak. As mobile phone communication is cut off and due to the mass displacement of people, people such as this man may not even be able to get money to their families, or even speak to them, much less travel home to find them and see if they’re ok.

Here are a couple of photos of cool Pakistani taxi drivers I’ve met around Abu Dhabi (photos were taken in November 2006):

Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 2006

 

 Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 2006

As the fighting intensifies, this has the situation to escalate into a humanitarian disaster.  People are being forced to flee their homes with just the clothes on their back - injured, homeless, and destitute - the most vulnerable being the elderly, women and children. Many people have no access to clean drinking water / adequate sanitary facilities, so conditions are ripe for the outbreak of disease. Polio, which was on the path to being eradicated, is now on the rise again.

Pakistan/IDPs/ Newly arrived displaced people at Jalala camp. Mardan district North West Frontier Province. © UNHCR/A.Rummery/7 May 2009.

If you’re reading this, I urge you to take the time to visit the website of any number of humanitarian organisations working on relief efforts in Pakistan and donate.  We all need to do our part, please - here are a few organisations I recommend where you can make an online donation:

Pakistan Red Crescent Society
United Nations Refugee Agency
Medecins Sans Frontieres

The United Nations estimates that perhaps as much as US$600 million is needed to cope with the current crisis. The money raised will help establish refugee camps and provide food, drinking water, clothing, medicine, shelter, and other basic supplies, for example:
 
- US$100 can provide a survival kit, with essentials such as blankets, cooking utensils and a stove
- US$200 can provide shelter to a family in the form of an all-season tent
- US$500 can fund the construction of two fresh water wells to provide clean water for refugees
- US$1000 provides a therapeutic feeding kit to feed up to 100 children

If you are interested in informing yourself in more detail about the crisis, I recommend ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int), which is a portal for information on humanitarian efforts ongoing around the world.

If you have any comments on the above, please feel free to comment directly below or email me by using the contact information provided on this site.

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