A question, regarding the floods in Pakistan.

The recent threads on Islam and the cultures associated with it got me thinking.

Since the devastating floods in Pakistan, many disaster relief organisations have been surprised and saddened by the inadequate level of response from the rest of the world. Countries have been called on again and again, by the DEC and the UN, to once again show the generosity that emerged for the 2004 tsunami, and the Haitian earthquake.

Since reading some of the opressing and, I will go as far to say, rather distorted, viewpoints towards Muslims, I began to wonder if the slow response is down the this feeling that is seemingly more prevalent in the West than I had imagined.

Do we honestly think twice before reaching to our pockets, because, in the back of our minds, we see Pakistan as a country which embodies a religion to be feared, and to be pushed away? Because we don't agree with what we see as an outdated culture? Because we believe it to be a spawning-ground for terrorism? And thus, do these concerns overwhelm our conscience?

I've been donating through my workplace, since I know that the money I give there will definitely go to the appeal and not to line someone else's pocket.

Of course, circumstances do not always allow good-intending folk to be charitable, but I would be interested to know who donated to Haiti and whether their decision was any different with regards to Pakistan.

Your thoughts, please.

I know that some people have "donor fatigue" after all the horrid events of this past year.

However, Canada is giving $33 million, and on top of that, is matching Canadians' donations thru registered charities dollar for dollar. This worked amazingly for Haiti, and I hope it does the same for Pakistan.

NB - the reason I said I do not intend to donate is because I am BROKE. I continue to support a young gal in India, though.

Everyday I read bad news about the flood. ITS THE WORST IN THE WHOLE CENTURY!!! The worst thing!!!:eek: A FULL MOON'S COMING UP TOMORROW!! the flood might drain into the Arabian sea and that might take a couple of weeks.:( Its getting worse and stupid government isn't even helping!:mad::rolleyes: Please pray for Pakistan! Please!:(

Yes, Sana, Pakistan has been in our prayers since the flood happened, we mention it every week at church.

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Originally Posted by Karen

Yes, Sana, Pakistan has been in our prayers since the flood happened, we mention it every week at church.

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Nice :)

I have to agree with Catty1 here - donor fatigue.

I don't believe that Islam has anything to do with it. At some point people (and nations) have to step back and say that enough is enough - unfortunately. When I see what the U.S. has given in aid over the years to many, many different countries (and cultures & religions), it makes me rather sad that the U.S. is so slow (or non-existent), in giving aid to their own people in their own country.

What's the explanation for that, I would ask...........:(

I don't know if Islam has anything to do with this, but the flood wouldn't have been this bad if the government made Kalabagh Dam. And guess what the rivers and the dams are full and still, load shedding :rolleyes: They should do something about this. The government isn't doing anything. The ppl are doing everything up till now. :(:)

I would suggest the time of year may be part of the issue.

The 2004 tsunami (Dec 26) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (Jan 12) happened in winter months, when I sit and watch TV a LOT. The scenes they showed where heart wrenching, and yes, I gave.

This time of year, I am lucky to watch 3 hours of TV per week. While I am aware of the floods in Pakistan, I am not seeing the images "in my face" every minute. So the impact, the "oh my gosh those poor people," and the feeling that something like that could happen to me, a random thing like that, well, that message is just not hitting me the same way.

I agree that it doesn't have to do with Islam. I think fatigue is the main factor. I think the US needs to mind business at home. The way Katrina was handled (or rather NOT handled) was a wake up call. I also feel most of these relief efforts eventually just line the pockets of the politicians in these countries. Corruption in government is the reason they can't react to disasters. The infrastructure isn't there to cope.

Donor fatigue applies to more than disaster relief for me. Daily I receive requests to donate money for abused and/or abandoned animals, for local school kids soccer uniforms, for church pantries in their food banks. It's endless. I donate plenty and I'd like to be able to donate more but I have to pick and choose. Race, religion, culture, country, none of these have anything to do w/how much or to whom I donate. It's a matter of how much I have to give and to whom I last gave so that I can rotate to some other organization or cause. Donor fatigue? Whew!

I don't know if it's Donor Fatigue but I've stopped giving till I'm blue in the face. When I look around and see how our government treats our homeless and elderly it sickens me. If they spent half the money they send to every country in need in our own country we wouldn't have homeless starving people sleeping on the streets. Charity begins at home.
When school starts it will be a never ending parade of kids ringing the doorbell wanting donations for everything from hockey games to travelling abroad to expand their horizons, etc etc. When we were in school and wanted something we earned the money, we didn't get it going from door to door.

What chaps my hide is how everyone, including big name stars jumped in for Haiti and all that money flowed in for relief there.. Yet, nothing is being done there with all that money! People are still living in tents. The only help they are getting are from organizations that take stuff there on their own.. Where is that money that was donated there? It makes you stop and think about where you donate your money.. Why are they sitting on it? Why isn't it being used to help the people it was donated to help?

That is MY problem in donating to Pakistan. I feel so sorry for those people, no matter what religion or where they are. My heat breaks for them and what has happened to their lives.

I am sure I am not the only one who wonders what happened to all the donations in Haiti and questions donating so quickly anywhere else.

"what happened to all the donations"

There is NO accountablity for any aid given anywhere. The US gives Pakistan one BILLION dollars of aid a year! :eek: WAY before the floods. What was all that money used for? A billion goes a long way in a third world country. Just sayin.

Hey, I know, you're right the government is doing this. Its best you give it to somebody who you know is a friend of somebody in Pakistan. Its best you do it that way. Send the money or post it to some foundations which are collecting money for this. You can mail the money? I don't actually know how to send money to another country.

T guess they are using money for their own self. I don't know but I say its bestyou post the money. My dad was also collecting money for the refugees. Gotta go, bye. Mom is teeling me to help her find my glasses. Oey! Can't see properly. GLASSES LOST!!!:eek: My eyes are like this blue guys here. :)

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Originally Posted by Karen

Yes, Sana, Pakistan has been in our prayers since the flood happened, we mention it every week at church.

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My church too.

We can donate at church with our regular offering and they will forward the funds to faith-based organizations that are already established to help in Pakistan.

Thanks everybody who's helping :)

Thanks for the responses. Perhaps after taking in some of the attitudes from other threads, I jumped the gun on this topic.

I can understand donor fatigue, and the 'charity begins at home' philosophy. Still rather sad at the donor to non-donor ratio of the poll, but it is right for people to follow their principles with regards to their finances.

I've always believed that the best charity is action rather than hand-outs, and if opportunity allowed I'd be straight out to Pakistan helping with the aid efforts. Charitable fatigue is never an issue when you become directly involved, I have found. But of course when direct involvement is not possible, the only help we can often give is through money, and I can affirm it is not nearly as gratifying.

There was a speaker for the DEC on television a couple of days back who described the disaster as 'on the scale of Haiti and the 2004 tsunami, but with the complexity of the Middle East.' I'm still pondering what entirely she meant by that.

Freedom and Laura's Babies, the publicity issue is very interesting. So many celebrities jumped on the Haiti bandwagon - who can forget that god-awful rehash of 'Everybody Hurts'? - and for Pakistan? So far I've seen David Suchet in a very typical, Oxfam-style advertisement appeal, and nothing else.

There's a major difference between Haiti and Pakistan.

Pakistan chose to use enormous resources to develop nuclear weapons rather than pull the people in the rural areas out of the 7th century.

Haiti has not had a functional government for decades.

The United States gives hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign aid each year, to countries of all religions. Money better spent on our own people and problems, IMO.

US foreign aid is actually about 20-30 billion per year.

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

US foreign aid is actually about 20-30 billion per year.

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.....and some US schools are asking children to bring their own toilet paper
to school with them. How does that make any sense?

Being that school budgets are (or should be ) a local item, all that tells me is that we have school districts who can't budget.

Our economy's pretty bad right now and it's not looking like it's going to get better any time soon. A lot of people are out of work, and many are struggling to get by. I know that my local food bank is really hurting, and that's where I have been donating lately. Maybe others are in the same boat, either they can't afford to donate to Paskistan or they are choosing to help others in their own community.

There are probably some people who aren't donating because of Islam, but I doubt that it's the reason for many. I haven't heard about Pakistan nearly as much as I did about Haiti, but like someone else said, I haven't been watching tv hardly at all so that could be why. Pakistan is in my prayers.

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

Being that school budgets are (or should be ) a local item, all that tells me is that we have school districts who can't budget.

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Perhaps I shouldn't have used your quote specifically to hang my comments on. But, it was what I was thinking, so...

Communities generally budget very well for the funds (taxes,fees) they
collect, but with the bad economy & people out of work, budgets are much
tighter then they have ever been.

Every Sunday afternoon there is a national call-in radio show on CBC called "Cross-Country Checkup", and the donating to Pakistan was the topic.

One young woman, a Pakistani-Canadian, said that so many people in her home country don't trust the government at all. However, she and some friends contacted family and friends in Pakistan, and after verifying that these people there could actually get to the disaster areas, they are channeling their money to those individuals. Then these people in Pakistan buy the supplies and take them directly to where they are needed.

Also, there are NGOs like Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross...hopefully not having to deal with the government!

For those who wish, the show can be heard via MP3, podcast, or right on the site:
http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/archives.html