when the going gets tough...
Driving down any road in Karachi is like a lesson in belief and faith right now. There are so many collection camps and drives happening right now, in literally in every gully, every phase, every corner shop and school. Oh believe you me I am not wearing my usual rose tinted glasses this time round. I know they could be scams, I know they could be fake and I know they may not be worthy of being trusted...but my god, Karachi I'm so proud of you.Every company, every institution, every group and every individual, young or old, has purpose on their faces right now. there is a spring in the step- our country needs us. There is some strength in our backbone- our country needs us. there's a sparkle in our eyes- our country needs us. We might not be able to change the numbers of people who have died but in some way, in any way we are responding to the call of help by shrugging away the apathy that grips us as nation. We are alive, by god, we are finally alive!
posted by jammie @ 10:44 AM
14 Comments:
I so know what you mean....a proud karachite I am!
Last night, the NBC news update showed some video clips of the rescue operations taking place in Pakistan. They repeated a clip 3 times where an man of about 40-45 years of age was holding on to a blanket type thing the other end of which was tugged by the volunteer on the supplies truck.
They claimed that the rescue operation is in chaos over there and people are looting the supplies trucks (they showed clips of men walking away with supplies). I searched for some other clips on the Pakistani news agency websites but I couldn't find one.
There is a Wiki setup at http://helppakistan.net where anyone can post links to news items, photos, video clips, donation links that they have come across.
sara i just heard form someone that ther ewas an e'quake in khi, around defense and clifton past midnight on tuesday night... is this true?
yes shez there was. about 4.0 on the richyter scale, it was a shorttremor that passed through. i think most of clifton came out of their apartments/houses to stand outside...allah ka shukar nothing serious.
it's only in a time of struggle that true strength surfaces. i just saw a piece on bbc which spoke of india and pakistanm burying the past to help each other in times of need. our best wishes are with you.
thanks divya. maybe its finally time to be friends eh? :D
it's the best thing ever, working next to people who are and feel exactly like you.Everyone in their own capacity is doing something or other even if its just prayers..its happening. and you can't help feeling PROUD!
its not only the Karachiites donating more than they can afford to.. its also everyone else.. its all the Pakistanis.. who've come together as a nation..
I dont see people grieving only over their own deceased relatives.. I see them grieving for everyone who's died, for everyone who's lost a relative, for everyone who's lost a home..
...Pakistan, I am SO proud of u..!!
reading what you wrote, seeing pictures from PAF that my friend sent, reading the news on bbc/cnn... simply overwhelms me. i feel sooo proud to be pakistani and to see the way they have come together despite their differences for one purpose - humanity. as painful as it is, watching people loose their loved ones, i cant imagine what id do if it were me. i can only pray thank Allah almighty for what i have. i wish i were in pak :( i miss it sooo much! thank u sara for your blogs, ifeel soconnected. thank you pakistanis for stepping up for humanity. i hope disaster brings pakistan together and strive for Allah instead of all the petty things they fight for!
ps sara im glad everythign is ok @equake.
sorry for all the weird typos earlier.. the last sentence shouldda read:
i hope THIS disaster brings pakistan together FOREVER and KEEP THEM striving for Allah instead of all the petty things they USUALLY fight and disunite for!
hmmmmm
Assalam o Alaikum
If you have a headlamp (like the ones the mine workers wear on head), please donate it, it will be really helpful in those areas.
It's not a big priority that we start buying these, but those of us who have such a thing, please donate these.
If you're in Pakistan give it to someone who'll make sure it reaches the affected area (like someone whos' taking the donations himself, some Doctor, or Tableeghi Jamaat guys who are sending the trucks with the people of affected area).
I have a small headlamp, it has 12 small LED's on it, runs on AAA batteries, and it gives enough light with 4 LED's and runs about 120 hours on one set of batteries!! It could be really helpful up there.
I've linked to a scan of the package to give you an idea of the size. My estimate is that it hardly weighs 200grams (including 3 AAA batteries).
http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=headlamp7iw.jpg
Waqas Usman.
waqas.groups AT gmail DOT com
PS: Please ask add it as a separate post (with Heading like "Trekkers, Mountaineers, Please Donate your Headlamps"), and fwd it to others, ask other bloggers to post it as well, if this message reaches a few thousands, maybe we can have a few hundred headlamps donated. Also, please email me at waqas.groupsATgmail.com so that we can share ideas and co-ordinate on other latest updates from the field and from the volunteers abroad (I'm in Lahore).
PPS:
Try this for thumbnail if the above link doesn't work:
[url=http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=headlamp7iw.jpg][img=http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/830/headlamp7iw.th.jpg][/url]
This is the first disaster that has actually made me cry and then do something positive. I made a donation and then setup a monthly donation to Islamic Relief through my payroll (http://www.islamic-relief.com)
My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the earthquake.
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