Refugee crisis in Pakistan
Posted by Ethan Casey on May 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment
The refugee crisis in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province is worsening, by all reports. This should worry us all, for both human and political reasons. Human suffering ultimately is more important than anyone’s politics, and if only we Americans injected more concern for others’ suffering into our politics, I think everyone would be better off.
There are a number of Pakistani charitable and civic organizations in the US, and in the past couple of days I’ve received urgent emails from several of them. Here’s part of one from the Los Angeles-based
Council of Pakistan American Affairs:
“It is a time of crisis for the people of the NWFP. Their lives have been disrupted by weeks of fighting and before they can go back home to a Taliban free homeland, they need food, shelter, and medicine to make it through. Fighting hasn’t ebbed in weeks and thousands more have fled the battle grounds. Even though assistance in the form of food, medicine, and shelter is being provided, much more needs to be done. This is time for all Pakistani organizations to come together and help the refugees.”
One thing I feel can be useful about my work is to help make more extensive and effective connections between Pakistanis expatriates living in the US and the mainstream American public. I’m struck by how often Pakistani groups in the US appeal to each other and themselves to relieve suffering in Pakistan, whether in the form of emergency aid like what’s needed now or by building schools and providing health care. But they too rarely reach out to mainstream America and, with the impressive exceptions of the
Central Asia Institute founded by Greg Mortenson and Todd Shea’s
CDRS Pakistan, I know of few non-Pakistani Americans who are particularly aware of, or concerned about, or doing much to alleviate, the human suffering of Pakistanis in Pakistan.
There are three culprits for this: the American media (whose interest in Pakistan is all about politics, violence and US foreign policy), the famously self-absorbed mainstream American public, and US-based Pakistani expats who often don’t know how or even whether to reach out to the wider public. So perhaps someone like me can help by making them more aware of each other.
So for now, here are links to a few admirable US-based Pakistani organizations (in addition to those linked above) that I know personally and have worked with over the past few years:
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