Disaster tourism amidst concern for Muslim Ummah (Islamic Countries Not Helping Pakistan)

ISLAMABAD: The worst floods in the living memory of Pakistan remained an obvious topic of concern for the diplomatic corps in Islamabad throughout the week as Europeans and especially UN officials questioned the response of the Muslim world to a mammoth disaster wreaking havoc in the second-most populated Muslim country of the world.

Few gatherings of foreign emissaries rallied around the unending phases of floods happening in across the country, devastating over 15 million people and destroying over two million acres of standing crops while washing away millions of homes and state structures in over 70 – 37 directly and the rest due to the influx of displaced people – flood-affected districts.

“Its really surprising to see that the Muslim world is not showing any enthusiasm for a country where we see people sacrificing their lives in the name of the Muslim Ummah from any corner of the world,” opined a surprised western diplomat, just to trigger a comparison of the aid pouring in from across the world for Pakistani flood victims. Quoting charts from this newspaper, one of them said that out of $460 million needed for flood victims, as assessed by UN agencies for relief efforts, just over $100 million had reached the various UN organs while the government of Pakistan had collected only $25 million (mostly in-kind) from various countries.

Islamabad to decide on Indian flood aid after gauging world response

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\16\story_16-8-2010_pg7_12

By Muhammad Akram

LAHORE: Amidst reports that Islamabad may accept $5 million aid offered to it by India if it is routed through the United Nations, Foreign Office sources said that a decision to this effect will be possible only after gauging the response from the rest of the world.

The consideration comes in the background of the visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and an announcement by the government to form a commission under “men of integrity” to oversee local and international assistance for over 60 million flood-hit people of the country.

The floods have been described by the UN as the world’s worst current disaster, affecting more people than the 2005 South Asian tsunami (five million), the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan (three million) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake (three million) put together.

The apathy of Pakistan’s friend on the question of aid from them at this hour of need is best exemplified by ‘friends’ like most of the members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) except for Turkey, Kuwait and UAE, whose response has been limited to a cursory condolence messages or a few airplanes with aid in kind.

Iran has yet to live up to its past contribution to Pakistan when in need, by extending a helping hand to the hapless people of the country.

Many in Islamabad believe that it is the trust-deficit between the two countries that is halting the inflow of aid from Tehran.

The trust-deficit, said diplomatic sources, started with the misuse of aid that Iran gave to Pakistan in the aftermath of massive earthquake of 2005 and culminated when action was not taken by Pakistan against terrorist organisation Jundullah, whose operatives killed dozens of Pasdaran-i-Inqlab members, including generals, in a terrorist attack early this year. As far as India is concerned, Pakistan accepted Indian aid in 2005, when blankets and food was airlifted for the survivors of earthquake in Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. That was the time when ties between the two countries were thawing as a result of peace process initiated by former president Pervez Musharraf and then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004.

“Kashmir was a different context. When India offered assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the quake in Kashmir, there were political reasons to do so,” former Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal was quoted as saying by an Indian newspaper.

The coverage of the floods in the Indian media has also been limited, with “less than one percent of news time” devoted to it, according to Prabhakar of the Centre for Media Studies, which monitors six mainstream Indian television channels. Even international aid agencies such as Oxfam, which has launched an international appeal for aid for Pakistan, have shied away from trying to raise funds in India, as they are not sure if the Indian govt will allow to send relief material and funds to Pakistan.

During the 2005 earthquake, India sent three consignments of relief material like tents, blankets and medicines. For the first time ever, IAF planes landed in Islamabad to deliver relief material. Another Indian newspaper said in its reports that “India may have missed a golden opportunity to impart tangential impetus to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s dogged bid for lasting peace with Pakistan by not extending a helping hand in the neighbour’s flood relief effort”.

The newspaper said New Delhi’s silence on the flood devastation in Pakistan had not only been noted by influential sections in Pakistan, but also rankled sections of the Indian establishment. Some, in fact, have begun to rue missing what they called a “great opportunity” to reach out to the Pakistani people in their hour of need.

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=60372

U.S. Aid to Pakistani Flood Victims Ramps Up

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2010 – U.S. Army helicopters took advantage of a break in the weather to fly relief missions in Pakistan yesterday and today, rescuing 916 people and delivering 89,000 pounds of relief supplies.
Four Chinook helicopters and two Black Hawks aided Pakistani officials in the northwestern part of the country, where flooding and landslides have isolated large swaths of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

To date, U.S. helicopters have rescued 2,305 people and transported 211,000 pounds of supplies in 40 sorties. Weather has been a tremendous obstacle, with monsoon rains still falling over the area. The choppers, based in Afghanistan’s Ghazi air base, could not fly for two days earlier this week.

The flooding in Pakistan may end up being the biggest natural disaster in the nation’s history, United Nations officials said yesterday.

The deadly floods, triggered by the monsoon, have spread from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the more populous provinces of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh in the south, said Martin Mogwanja, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan.

The flooding has destroyed or badly damaged more than 250,000 homes, and has left at least 1.5 million people homeless, according to Pakistani and U.N. figures. Pakistani officials say around 1,600 people have died in the floods, and perhaps 4.5 million people are affected in some way in the country.

“What makes this unique is the scale of the disaster and its effect throughout the entire country,” U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson said Aug. 6. “The earthquake and the displacement of 2 million people from the Swat Valley were more localized. So while the loss of life … in this disaster may be less, the economic impact and the need for reconstruction assistance over time could well be greater.”

The number of affected people is expected to rise to 6 million by the end of the week, as the flood waters on the Indus River move south. At least 92 bridges over the river and its tributaries have been destroyed, and more than 200 major roads have been damaged, Patterson said. “There are four major dams at risk,” she said. “Crop and livestock loss will affect long-term livelihood and food security.”

Officials with the U.N.’s World Food Program estimated that as many as 2.5 million people will require food assistance.

The United States has added $35 million in assistance to the $10 million already allocated. “Our [Defense Department] colleagues, recognizing the growing crisis, immediately went on a search for emergency meals,” Patterson said. “On [Aug. 7], U.S. aircrews aboard the U.S. Air Force C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft flew into Rawalpindi and delivered about 50,000 halal meals in support of a Pakistan government request. That number grew through the week to nearly 436,000 meals.” Halal meals conform with Islamic law.

The United States also has provided prefabricated steel bridges, inflatable boats and water filtration capabilities.

Related Sites:
DVIDS Video: Background Footage of Pakistan Floods
Related Articles:
Photo Essay: U.S. and Pakistani Soldiers Help Flood Victims

Quote:

www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=60409

Afghan Airmen Fly Aid to Pakistani Flood Victims

By Judith Snyderman
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2010 – Over the past month, members of the fledgling Afghan air force have been carrying out lifesaving humanitarian missions in Pakistan and Afghanistan, demonstrating their skills and giving a glimpse into the future shape of the air corps.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael R. Boera, commander of NATO Training Mission Afghanistan’s Combined Air Power Transition Force, told bloggers during a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable yesterday that the Afghan air force is currently flying four Mi-17 helicopters on missions in Pakistan, where monsoon triggered floods have killed some 1,600 and imperiled millions of lives.

Boera said Afghan air force leaders coordinated the relief effort directly with Pakistan officials.

“We don’t have any U.S. air advisers with them,” he said. “We did that for a reason. They have progressed and are good enough that they can go out and do this.”

Boera added this is not the first time the fliers have performed this type of mission. Just before the rain started in Pakistan last month, it hit the eastern portion of Afghanistan. Over a two-day period, Boera said, combined Afghan and U.S. aircrews rescued more than 2,100 people stranded near Jalalabad, Pakistan.

“They did phenomenal work,” Boera recalled, adding that in the past year, Afghan airmen also have come to the aid of their countrymen near the national capital of Kabul following an avalanche and after a commercial airliner crash. They also helped south of Kandahar after flooding earlier this year.

Members of the Afghan air force are also making a name for themselves by flying generators and school supplies to rural outposts in northeastern regions of Afghanistan that are otherwise reachable only by donkey.

“Seeing is believing,” Boera said. So, when the air corps engages with the people of Afghanistan, they are helping to carry out the counterinsurgency mission.

“They’re representative of what the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can bring to the people of Afghanistan that many other [Afghan] forces can’t do, and certainly a local villager elder can’t do, because of the lift that’s required,” Boera explained.

Since NATO Training Mission Afghanistan stood up in November, Afghanistan’s air force has grown from fewer than 2,800 to 3,900 airmen. They have also added to the fleet. A C-27 that arrived this week became the force’s 50th aircraft. Ultimately, Boera said, he expects the fleet to include 146 aircraft. The majority, he said, will be Western-type airframes, and the rest will be Russian models, such as the Mi-17.

The Mi-17 has proven to be effective during relief operations, he added, “because it’s got hoist capability, there’s more power to it, [and] it’s got a common cockpit configuration.”

Boera said members of the Afghan air force are expanding the scope of operational missions they are able to perform. But next month, he added, they’ll repeat a vital service mission so Afghans can head to the polls.
“They’re prepping for election support, and this will be the third time the Afghan air force assets are used to support pushing the ballot boxes out to those remote areas of Afghanistan so that it can maximize how many Afghans can vote,” Boera said.

Biographies:
Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael R. Boera

Related Sites:
NATO Training Mission Afghanistan
“DoD Live” Bloggers Roundtable

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=60406

Peleliu Helicopters Launch for Pakistan Relief
By Navy Lt. j.g. Beth Gauck

Amphibious Squadron 3

INDIAN OCEAN, Aug. 12, 2010 – Two Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit launched from the flight deck of the Navy amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu today as part of the continued U.S. humanitarian assistance to Pakistan in support of flood relief from a recent monsoon. Video

A Marine Corps CH-53E Sea Stallion assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 launches from the USS Peleliu flight deck Aug. 12, 2010. The passengers and cargo are the first wave to go ashore Pakistan in preparation of a mission to deliver relief supplies to flood-stricken regions. The CH-53E is loaded with tools, ground support equipment, communications gear and general supplies to support flight operations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Dunlap
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The helicopters are the first two aircraft of 19 Navy and Marine Corps helicopters that will deploy to Pakistan to operate in partnership with the Pakistani military.

Their mission is to support the Pakistani government as needed, and provide additional critical heavy-lift capability. These helicopters have the strength to lift 16 tons of food and equipment and the capacity to evacuate stranded people on short notice, a necessity in areas damaged by flood water, officials noted.

As monsoon rains continued to worsen the flood region and displace millions of people, the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group and embarked Marines of the 15th MEU arrived in international waters off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan, on short notice with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165. The squadron has four CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, as well as 12 CH-46E Sea Knight medium-lift and transport-capable helicopters. In support of the relief efforts, the amphibious ready group is augmented with three MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Navy Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 from Norfolk, Va.

“On my last deployment with the 15th MEU, we conducted humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Indonesia following the tsunami,” said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Todd Oneto, commanding officer of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165. “I am confident in our ability to help Pakistan in its relief efforts.”

The Navy and Marine Corps team is uniquely capable of providing sustained humanitarian assistance operations at sea and ashore. In addition to the USS Peleliu, the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group consists of amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor and amphibious transport dock ship USS Dubuque. All three ships are capable of moving equipment and personnel simultaneously by surface or air.

The Peleliu ARG and 15th MEU are executing a regularly scheduled deployment to the region in support of ongoing maritime security operations, and serve as the theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command. The team reports directly to Expeditionary Strike Group 5, which is responsible for all amphibious forces deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet, and oversees the planning and execution of contingency response missions and maritime humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations.

The 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility encompasses 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.

Related Sites:
USS Peleliu
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit http
Special Report: U.S. Provides Support During Pakistan Flooding
Photo Essay: U.S. and Pakistani Soldiers Help Flood Victims
DVIDS: Latest Video on Pakistan Floods

Related Articles:
Afghan Airmen Fly Aid to Pakistani Flood Victims
USS Peleliu to Provide Helos for Pakistan Relief

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=60437

U.S., Pakistani Forces Collaborate to Help Flood Victims

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2010 – The flood in Pakistan has caused unprecedented damage and left millions of people across the country homeless. The problem is beyond comprehension, and international support groups, including the U.S. military, are doing what they can to help.

Army Brig. Gen. Michael Nagata, deputy commander of the U.S. defense representative’s office in Pakistan, joined a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable today to discuss the details and operational aspects of ongoing U.S. military flood relief operations in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

In response to an urgent request from the Pakistani government for helicopter support, six helicopters from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade deployed from Afghanistan Aug. 4 to Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan. Since then, they have been shuttling food and other supplies to refugees and rescuing stranded victims. The flood has killed more than 1,600 people and submerged massive portions of the country.

“The magnitude of this disaster is beyond anything anyone was prepared for, in Pakistan or across the world,” Nagata said. “No one can remember a flood this bad, which had such far-reaching consequences. We have to rise to the level of damage and harm this disaster is causing.”

Reports have come out of Pakistan estimating that the scale of the flood may outpace the disastrous tsunami that destroyed so much in Southeast Asia in 2004. Though the death toll is on par with recent natural disasters, United Nations officials estimate that 13.8 million people will need aid in the aftermath.

Though the Army’s four CH-47 Chinook and two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and their aircrews have delivered more than 160 metric tons of supplies and rescued more than 3,000 people, the Ghazi contingent has been hampered by rain in the valley.

“Weather is certainly a factor,” Nagata said. “Of the available flying days we’ve had, we’ve only been able to effectively fly about half that time.”

The Swat Valley hasn’t had to face the same issues other parts of the country are dealing with, especially concerns over waterborne disease. While flooding in the lowlands of Pakistan has left massive amounts of standing water – breeding grounds for bacteria as well as infectious-disease-carrying insects – the water in Swat is moving very rapidly. Nagata said the big concern there is getting to people who have been stranded, because bridges and roadways were washed away so quickly.

Should health concerns become a bigger issue, Nagata said, U.S. medical personnel assigned to Ghazi, as well as the entire medical corps of the Pakistani military, will handle it. International organizations also may play a role if disease becomes a critical issue.

Some media have speculated about concerns of Taliban activity in the region, as one of Pakistan’s recent major military offensives against the extremist group was focused in Swat. Nagata said he hasn’t seen any evidence of extremist activity, but noted he’s paying more attention to relief efforts and allowing Pakistan to handle security issues.

“What fills our radar screen is the urgent need to get support to the people,” the general said. “We’re not here to conduct anything but disaster response and relief.”

Today, two Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters and a Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in Pakistan as part of the continued U.S. humanitarian assistance to Pakistan in support of flood relief efforts.

The three aircraft are part of the contingent of 19 helicopters ordered to Pakistan this week by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. The aircraft flew into Pakistan from aboard the USS Peleliu, which is positioned in international waters in the Arabian Sea. They will join two other CH-53E helicopters that arrived at Ghazi yesterday, bringing to five the total number of aircraft in Pakistan from the USS Peleliu.

The remaining aircraft will arrive over the next few days and will include two more Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters and 12 Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters. The U.S. helicopters will operate in partnership with the Pakistan military throughout the country’s flood-affected areas.

The 19 aircraft will relieve the six U.S. Army helicopters, which will soon return to duty in Afghanistan.

The total U.S. military presence in Pakistan, Nagata estimated, is a few hundred servicemembers, all of whom are there at the invitation and request of the Pakistani government.

Nagata emphasized the U.S. commitment to helping Pakistan recover from the disaster and praised the courage of Pakistanis during this difficult time.

“We will be here so long as the government of Pakistan requests and requires our assistance,” the general said. “This is an enormous disaster. The people of Pakistan are courageously battling against the elements to get to people in need, repair bridges, and help their fellow Pakistanis who are in distress. Whatever we can do to get to those people in distress to support our Pakistani counterparts is well worth doing, and we’re proud to be here.”

U.S. military support to Pakistan is just one piece of a much broader U.S. government response. The United States has pledged to provide about $76 million in assistance to flood-affected populations in Pakistan, which includes both financial assistance and the immediate provision of urgently needed supplies and services, drawing on unique U.S. capabilities and resources.
Since the floods began on July 29, the United States has contributed:

— A month’s ration of food to about 181,000 people through the partnership with the World Food Program;

— Humanitarian contributions that include $11.25 million for the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees and $5 million for International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total U.S. commitment to about $76 million to expand existing emergency programs in all flood-affected parts of Pakistan;

— $3 million to the World Health Organization for the expansion of Pakistan’s disease early warning system (and to establish the first 15 treatment centers for water-borne illness in high-risk flood-affected areas;

— $4.1 million to Save the Children for food vouchers that enable flood victims to purchase food in their local markets;

— Through yesterday, U.S. helicopters assigned to the Pakistani interior ministry’s 50th Squadron rescued 1,019 people, airlifted 78,473 pounds of supplies and engaged in other support missions;

— More than 1,100 rolls of plastic sheeting and 14,000 blankets, which arrived in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Aug. 10 and will benefit about 11,100 families or 66,000 people once they’re transported to Punjab province for distribution;

— A total of 436,944 meals delivered via U.S. Air Force airlift to civilian and military officials in Pakistan, a contribution of about $3.7 million;

— Emergency relief items delivered to the National Disaster Management Authority in Peshawar, including 18 rescue boats, six water filtration units, 10 water storage bladders and 30 concrete-cutting saws valued at $746,000; and

— Twelve prefabricated steel bridges, valued at $3.2 million, made available as temporary replacements for highway bridges damaged by flooding and a 25-kilowatt generator costing about $30,000.

Related Sites:
Special Report: U.S. Provides Support During Pakistan Flooding
“DoD Live” Bloggers Roundtable
CIA Factbook: Pakistan

Related Articles:
U.S. Will Stand By Pakistan During Crisis

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