Thread: Tepid response from US public to Pakistan floods

If I remember correctly, India gave USD 25 million in 2005 during the earthquake in Pak Administered Kashmir. Where is the gratitude for that, is it the 2008 Mumbai attack...

Military officers cancel trip after humiliation at US airport
By Anwar Iqbal
DAWN.COM | Front Page | Military officers cancel trip after humiliation at US airport
Wednesday, 01 Sep, 2010
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US security officials detained a brigadier at Washington’s Dulles airport on a complaint by a passenger who said he did not feel safe sharing the flight with the Pakistani delegation. -Reuters File Photo
WASHINGTON: A Pakistani military delegation became the latest victim of the paranoia permeating US airports on Monday night, when US security officials detained a brigadier at Washington’s Dulles airport on a complaint by a passenger who said he did not feel safe sharing the flight with the delegation.

The brigadier was removed from the United Airlines flight, and others in this eight-member delegation were also detained after they disembarked. They were later released.

The dispute became a major diplomatic row as the delegation, offended by this treatment, decided to cancel an important meeting at the headquarters of the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, and return home.

By the time the US Department of Defence apologised to the delegation, their leader, a two-star naval officer, had already informed Islamabad where officials approved his decision to return home on Tuesday night.

The delegation included senior officials from all three services, the army, the navy and the air force.

Dawn contacted the US Transport Security Administration, whose officials had detained the brigadier, and the Department of Homeland Security but failed to get a response.

Mathew Chandler, a DHS spokesman, and Lauren Gaches of TSA, however, asked Dawn to contact the airline.

United Airlines officials, however, told the US media that the brigadier, whose name was not disclosed, had misbehaved with a stewardess and told her that “this would be her last mission”.

Information collected by Dawn showed that the incident that led to the cancellation of the meeting happened at Washington’s Dulles airport on Monday night when a passenger on the flight to Tampa complained that a Pakistani brigadier, while talking to his colleagues, had made remarks that he found threatening.

Officials of the airline informed the Transport Security Administration who detained the brigadier and later other officials as well.

A Pakistani official, when asked to comment on the airline’s claim, said: “This is a delegation of senior officials, led by a two-star officer, not unit captains and majors. Such responsible officers do not indulge in such behaviour.”

Information collected by Dawn also confirmed the Pakistani claim as the plane was delayed for 40 minutes before the airline’s mentioned the alleged altercation between the brigadier and the stewardess.

Later, an official of the airline came with a TSA security officer and asked the brigadier to disembark. She gave no reason.

The head of the delegation asked the brigadier to get down and cooperate with the TSA. The brigadier disclosed his identity.

There was no response for about 15-20 minutes and then the airline and security officials asked the entire delegation to get off the plane.

The leader of the Pakistani delegation showed TSA officials an invitation letter from the Centcom, confirming that they were going to Tampa for a meeting. He also showed them all the passports that identified the delegation as senior military officers.

He then requested to talk to a senior TSA official or the person in-charge of security at the airport but his request was turned down.

“They did not let them speak and treated them like terrorists,” said a Pakistani official. “The investigators were unprofessional, junior officials.”

The official said that the TSA and airlines officials kept telling the delegation that a passenger found the brigadier’s remarks threatening but did not say what those remarks were.

“The delegation was detained for two hours, telling them nothing, not allowing them to talk to anyone,” said the Pakistani official.

“They received no response even when they showed them their passports and the Centcom letter,” the official said.

“At the end, they realised their mistake and apologised but by then the delegation had decided it did not want to take that flight.”

Explaining why the delegation decided to cancel the meeting and return home, the official said it was basically because of the humiliating treatment by the TSA and airline staff.

“They could not prove any of the allegations. What we gathered is that one of the passengers became paranoid, so they decided to detain an official delegation. This is an issue of paranoia,” said the official who said the Pakistani forces will hold their own inquiry to determine what caused this humiliating behaviour.

In Islamabad, the Inter Services Public Relations said: “A Pakistani military delegation on a visit to US (on US invitation to attend a meeting at Centcom) was subjected to unwarranted security checks at Washington airport by US Transport Security Agency. Later, the delegation was cleared and US defence officials regretted the incident. However, as a result of these checks, military authorities in Pakistan decided to cancel the visit and call the delegation back.”
If you want to follow news on your mobile, click on http://dawn.com/mobile/ and download Pakistan's first mobile news application. Currently this application is for Nokia phones only

Truthfully we should not have given a dime of tax payer money.

Monday, Aug. 30, 2010
Despite Aid, Pakistanis Are Suspicious of the U.S.
By Rania Abouzeid / Kohistan

The villagers were kept away from the Americans by a flimsy barbed-wire fence near a cornfield and overseen by Pakistani soldiers. All road-transportation routes to their town of Patan, in the rugged Kohistan district of the insurgency-plagued northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had been entirely cut off by Pakistan's devastating monthlong deluge. But the crowd showed little warmth or enthusiasm for the crew aboard the U.S. Marine helicopter who had flown in badly needed supplies. They stood silently in the rain as several of the soldiers, aided by a local civilian in a blue shalwar kameez and white skull cap, rapidly unloaded the chopper, transferring much-needed bottled water, 50-kg bags of flour emblazoned with the stars-and-stripes USAID logo and boxes of fortified biscuits donated by the World Food Program. No waves, no smiles or handshakes — just curious, silent stares. In less than 10 minutes the chopper was back in the air, headed for the Ghazi Pakistan army aviation base to reload.

Although the U.S.'s massive $200 million relief package and its swift on-the-ground assistance have been warmly welcomed by politicians and the media, many Pakistanis remain suspicious of American motives. "Of course stranded people have a very positive view of America because they are their saviors," says Adnan Aurangzeb, a former member of the National Assembly from the Swat district bordering Kohistan and the grandson of the last royal ruler, or wali, of Swat. "It's fine that you see a Chinook or a Black Hawk land [in Swat] and a sack of rice with a U.S. flag on it, but that must be sustained. It must be seen that you are the friend of the people of Pakistan rather than the friend of just the government or the military." (See pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province.)

The litany of Pakistani complaints about the U.S. are well known: Washington tolerates corrupt and authoritarian leaders because it needs their support in Afghanistan, some say. Others say the U.S. is a fickle ally that will withdraw from Afghanistan and leave Pakistan to clean up its mess. And, of course, many Pakistanis buy into the jihadist view that America is at war with Islam. A Pew Research Center survey released last month revealed that 60% of Pakistanis view the U.S as an enemy, while just 11% say it is a partner. Those are staggering figures considering the $15 billion in military and economic aid that Washington has poured into Pakistan since 9/11. Money clearly can't buy love for the Americans in Pakistan. (See pictures of Pakistan subcultures.)

"This aid is not going to win hearts and minds. That $15 billion [hasn't] and this won't," says Moeed Yusuf, South Asia adviser for the Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace. "It will not do it because the problem the Pakistanis have with the U.S. is political. So you can throw money at the problem — it will ease your burden, but it will not solve it."

The only time anti-Americanism dipped in the past decade, according to a recent study written by Yusuf, was when American Chinook helicopters facilitated the 2005 postearthquake relief efforts in northern Pakistan. But that goodwill, the Pew figures indicate, was short-lived. (COmment on this story.)

This time around, the U.S. is again providing one of the largest international contributions to the Pakistan relief effort. To date, the 15 U.S. military helicopters working out of Ghazi in northern Pakistan and three C-130 aircraft making daily runs from Bagram in Afghanistan have delivered more than 1.1 million kg of relief supplies, and have airlifted more than 8,800 people from flood-affected areas in the former militant strongholds of Swat and its surroundings, including Kohistan. The Pentagon also recently announced that it is dispatching an additional 18 helicopters to Pakistan for flood relief. (See what flood victims carried away from the deluge.)

Brigadier General Michael Nagata, deputy chief of the office of the defense representative to Pakistan who is overseeing U.S. military relief aid, is quick to emphasize that the U.S. military isn't in Pakistan "to burnish our own image." However, he concedes that if the joint Pakistani and U.S. military assistance has "beneficial effects regarding the U.S. image here or the relationship between our countries, that would be tremendously valuable."

Nagata, who was on the Marine CH-53E that delivered relief goods to Patan in Kohistan, brushed aside questions about the locals' muted reaction to U.S. help: "I've seen absolutely nothing but gratitude for what we are delivering," he says. To be fair, technical problems with the Marine helicopter cut short that day's relief deliveries, and TIME was unable to witness other distributions. But both Aurangzeb and Yusuf say the reaction in Kohistan wasn't surprising.

"If [the supplies were delivered] in Punjab or Sindh, I think the reaction would have been different. It may not be people hugging the Americans because there's too much mistrust for that to happen, but I think over time there will be appreciation that will set in," says Yusuf.

Aurangzeb says the problem is a lack of long-term tangible assistance in the form of bridges or dams, for example, to show Pakistanis how much the U.S. has contributed to the country. U.S. assistance has to be "projected and advertised," he says. There is a bridge in Swat, he explains, built by the Japanese and with Japanese flags etched into the sides of the structure. "Every time people pass by the bridge they refer to it as the Japanese bridge. It became part of the vocabulary of the people of that area," he says. "But there's no such thing as an American bridge and there should be."

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* Pakistan Floods: The U.S. Boosts Aid Despite Mistrust - TIME

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The Daily Mail, Pakistan

America 'Mocks' Chinese Aid to Pakistan at its Own Risk
http://worldmeets.us/thedailymail000001.shtml


"The Daily Mail advises the United States that it should focus on its own flood relief efforts and avoid criticizing China or trying to drive a wedge between two close friends. If they don't, it will prove counterproductive and breed more animosity toward the United States."



EDITORIAL



August 30, 2010



Pakistan - The Daily Mail - Original Article (English)

In a competitive world, where nations vie to outdo one another in development, growth and progress, even aid to countries in distress can fall victim to competition. With the worst natural calamity in its six and a quarter decade history, Pakistan is facing disaster and mayhem. The deluge struck the people of Pakistan unawares. The worst-ever torrential rains, combined with unprecedented flooding, aggravated by India’s release of excess dam water without prior warning, has resulted in a massive catastrophe. Over 17.5 million people have been displaced and 1,600 lives lost, with the death toll threatening to skyrocket due to disease, malnutrition and exposure to the elements.



The international community has been a bit late in responding to the crisis, mostly because it's unexpected enormity. This is a disaster of biblical proportions. But once the magnitude of the crisis was brought to the notice of the world and the U.N. secretary general himself visited the flood-stricken region, aid began to slow. The U.S. initially took the lead, followed by Britain and China.



However, The Daily Mail finds it abhorrent that some Western sources have begun listing countries based on the amount of pledged aid - as if there this were some kind of competition. What's worse was that U.S. officials, led by special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, have been taunting other countries for not doing enough. Mr. Holbrooke’s special target has been China. His grouse is that, despite the U.S. providing material and monetary help to Pakistan, the majority of Pakistanis don't like the U.S. and prefer China as a friend. Mr. Holbrooke undiplomatically taunted Beijing, even asking “Where is Pakistan’s all-weather friend?”


Such mockery of true friends of Pakistan is entirely uncalled for, especially since China has been there for Pakistan at every juncture and at every moment of trial and tribulation, whereas the U.S. has provided aid when it suited U.S. interests, but has spurned it when it has not. America has even gone as far as imposing curbs, embargos and sanctions on its ally Pakistan.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US



Chinese support has come without strings. In the case of the recent flooding, China itself has been a victim, which included one of the worst mudslides in its history. These took the lives of 1500 people and affected over 10,000, yet it has bent over backwards to help its neighbor in distress. Pakistani Ambassador to China, Masood Khan, has expressed appreciation for China’s timely aid and rejected criticism of Beijing’s contribution.



“China was one of the first countries to respond to our relief needs when the worst flooding in 81 years came. China moved with speed,” the China Daily quoted him as saying. “It isn't fair for any country or person to make oblique references to China’s relief assistance to Pakistan or to urge it to do more,” he added.



Chinese aid has risen to over $20 million, composed mainly of tents, water purification plants and other things that the Pakistani people urgently need. In addition, a 55-member international search and rescue team arrived in Islamabad on August 26. The team, which includes 36 doctors and 19 technical personnel, also brought 25 tons of high-tech medical equipment and medicine worth $1.17 million. The team was transferred immediately to help people fight water-borne and other diseases in Thatta, in Sindh Province. It should be noted that the team comprises 35 female doctors to attend to the special needs of women affected by the floods. The Daily Mail advises the United States that it should focus on its own flood relief efforts and avoid criticizing China or trying to drive a wedge between two close friends. If they don't, it will prove counterproductive and breed more animosity toward the United States.

The Daily Mail advises the United States that it should focus on its own flood relief efforts and avoid criticizing China or trying to drive a wedge between two close friends. If they don't, it will prove counterproductive and breed more animosity toward the United States.

more, it can go more, amazing, that much hatred would just make your head explode.

If I remember correctly, India gave USD 25 million in 2005 during the earthquake in Pak Administered Kashmir. Where is the gratitude for that, is it the 2008 Mumbai attack...

I think both nations try to help out at such times (natural disasters that is).

The aid had its share of controversy

The Obama administration has urged Pakistan to accept India's aid offer even as hardline elements in the flood-ravaged country have begun a vicio us campaign to blame India, the United States, and Afghanistan for the calamity, a charge Washington has simply dismissed.

Read more: Pak hardliners blame India, US for floods - US - World - The Times of India Pak hardliners blame India, US for floods - US - World - The Times of India

New Delhi, Aug.30 (ANI): The Government of India has decided to route its aid of five million dollars for Pakistan flood victims through the United Nations.

“India would be in touch with the concerned UN agencies to work out the modalities,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, Vishnu Prakash on Monday.

More at : India to send aid for Pakistan flood victims through United Nations: Govt India to send aid for Pakistan flood victims through United Nations: Govt

Pakistan flood: India among top 10 aid-givers

Anita Joshua

ISLAMABAD: India's decision to increase its flood relief assistance to Pakistan from $ 5 million to $ 25 million has placed it among the top 10 countries/institutions which have loosened their purse strings the most to help Islamabad deal with the unfolding emergency.

The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan flood: India among top 10 aid-givers

Originally Posted by paintgun

Maybe it is a chance for India to show that they can be the better one in this troubled relation

No need to prove, world knows. Might not be the haven on earth, but 1000 times better than Pakistan

Originally Posted by paintgun

Other matters aside, this is a disaster and people are suffering, they need all the help they can get

yeah....what was 26/11. It wasnt a natural disaster. Families of every single person killed by these retards; in India also suffered.
Frankly speaking after years of what Pakistan has done and what its been trying to do, I wouldnt blink an eye if every single person in Pakistan was dead

Pakistani media called for rejection of the increased aid even though india agreed it will be via UN. India first of all should not have offered any aid. This is the first time I am seeing charity givers run after beggars and the beggars refusing to take.

Originally Posted by Yusuf

Pakistani media called for rejection of the increased aid even though india agreed it will be via UN. India first of all should not have offered any aid. This is the first time I am seeing charity givers run after beggars and the beggars refusing to take.

Guys,

Regardless of the monumental arrogance and stupidity shown by their media and policians, the pakistanis still have millions of people stranded with dire need of help. Included in them are children who have not been tarnished by this stupidity yet. They do need help.

We do not always do things to get stuff, sometimes we do them because it is the right thing to do. I for one am proud of India's step and thankfully it is getting routed through the UN.

It would also be appropriate to offer help in the form of trained personnel, but of course that would be rejected.

In the end i doubt anyone will contribute as much financially and physically as the USA.

Originally Posted by kuku

In the end i doubt anyone will contribute as much financially and physically as the USA.

Yes, and we'll get blamed for not donating enough right now, and totally forgotten in 5 years. Muslims will still hate us because we don't like them building their monument near WTC.

I wouldn't be as harsh as sumku though. I would blink an eye or two if every single person in Pakistan were dead.

No, I probably wouldn't blink an eye.

I wonder what the implications for global warming would be if killed off every single person in Pakistan?

Originally Posted by gunnut

Muslims will still hate us because we don't like them building their monument near WTC.

If that hate manifests itself in something that puts American lives at risk, America will doubtless crush Pakistan with a sledgehammer. That does not mean that the world should not help Pakistan out for humanitarian reasons right now.

And if we really want to play the game where the stuff we give translates to a PR exercise, maybe we should take a leaf put of China's book.

How about they hate us, burn our flags, abuse women, sponsor terrorism, oppress religious minorities, support the Taliban...

Why We've Given Less To Pakistan's Flood Victims

September 2, 2010

Why We've Given Less To Pakistan's Flood Victims : NPR

* Transcript


Pakistanis displaced by flooding reach for food aid thrown by a volunteer.
Enlarge Kevin Frayer/AP

Pakistanis displaced by flooding reach for food aid thrown by a volunteer during a distribution outside a temporary camp operated by the Pakistan army in Sukkar, southern Pakistan.
Pakistanis displaced by flooding reach for food aid thrown by a volunteer.
Kevin Frayer/AP

Pakistanis displaced by flooding reach for food aid thrown by a volunteer during a distribution outside a temporary camp operated by the Pakistan army in Sukkar, southern Pakistan.
text size A A A
September 2, 2010

By and large, Americans haven't opened up their wallets to help victims of the flood disaster in Pakistan. According to Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, charitable donations by individuals, foundations and companies totaled just $25 million as of Aug. 30.

By comparison, the center's data show that Americans donated $900 million to relief efforts in Haiti within five weeks of the earthquake there.

Disaster relief experts were nearly universal in agreeing that there are at least three reasons why fundraising for this disaster has been challenging.

The first has to do with the nature of the disaster, says Randy Strash, the strategy director for emergency response at World Vision, a Christian relief agency with worldwide operations, including programs in Pakistan.

Fewer Donations For Floods

“Earthquakes, regardless of their location, under the same circumstances will raise 10 to 15 times more from the private donors than a flood,” Strash says.
Comparing Disaster Donations

An examination of charitable donations in the five weeks following various disasters since 2001 reveals that the floods in Pakistan haven't generated as much giving.

— Hurricane Katrina, 2005: $1.9 billion

— Sept. 11, 2001: $1.1 billion

— Tsunami relief, 2004-05: $900 million

— Haiti earthquake, 2010: $900 million

— Pakistan floods, 2010: $25 million



Source: Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy

The slow-moving nature of floods, combined with typically lower death tolls, removes a sense of urgency in many donors’ minds, Strash says. He says many people use the number of dead as a "barometer" for the severity of a disaster.

Fewer than 2,000 people have been reported killed by the floods in Pakistan, compared with an estimated death toll of over 200,000 in the Haiti earthquake. But disaster experts warn that the humanitarian situation in Pakistan may be even more serious than in Haiti because millions more people have lost their homes and livelihoods in the flood.

The Media's Impact

The relatively lower amount of news coverage in Pakistan may be another factor.

“There hasn’t been that much media coverage relative to the kinds of coverage that we certainly saw in Haiti and many other disasters,” says Nan Buzard, senior director for disaster response at the American Red Cross.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism said there was 10 times as much U.S. news coverage of the earthquake in Haiti as of the floods in Pakistan.

Buzard said without a stream of stories and vivid images playing over and over on cable TV, public awareness of a disaster is low and donations are correspondingly weak.

Experts also point to donor fatigue. Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy estimates that about 40 percent of American households donated money to disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

“The fact that people were so generous with Haiti and we’re in a difficult economic environment at this time, I think makes it more difficult for people to give to Pakistan as a result,” says Michael Delaney, the director of humanitarian response for Oxfam America.

Lessons From The Past, Religious Contributions

But the experience of past disasters suggests that donors are sometimes capable of repeated, generous giving. After a large earthquake struck Pakistan in October 2005, Americans donated $150 million for relief efforts there, according to data from Indiana University.

Those donations came a little over a month after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, prompting nearly $2 billion worth of donations. Americans also gave about $900 million for relief efforts after the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck in late December 2004.

Only one charity contacted by NPR reported no difficulties raising money for Pakistan.

Islamic Relief USA doubled its fundraising goal to $10 million after a surge of donations, says spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed.

“The majority of our donors are Muslim and this happened right before the month of Ramadan, [which is] the time for Muslims to be generous and to give money to the people that are in need,” Ahmed says.

Religious and cultural affinity also very likely played a role in the strong fundraising efforts by charities in the United Kingdom, which has large Pakistani and Muslim communities. The Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group of 13 British charities, reported on Aug. 27 that its flood relief appeal had raised about $61 million.

But there are also concerns religion may have played a role in another way. The campaign to halt a planned Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan and anti-Muslim remarks by politicians may have made some Americans wary of giving money to Muslim Pakistan.

Una Osili, director of research for Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, says religion “is a factor.” But she emphasizes that it’s difficult to measure its impact on fundraising. Americans’ perceptions of Pakistan probably also played a role in the relatively low level of giving, she adds.

“There is a strong association with Pakistan and terrorism right now and that may also explain the differential response that we have observed,” Osili says.

Dwindling Relief

With donations running low, charities operating in Pakistan say they may not be able to continue supporting their programs there. World Vision has raised $1 million in private donations but has a $20 million relief effort under way. The charity hopes to raise an additional $11 million and fund the difference from its reserves. But unless donations pick up soon, it may have to scale back its operations in Pakistan, says Strash, the group’s strategy director.

He says the low level of giving is discouraging, but adds: “At the same time, giving is voluntary. You can’t force people to give; you have to present the case as strongly as you can.”

United Nations officials warned this week that millions of weakened flood survivors could face disease and hunger. Strash hopes Americans will see the gravity of the situation and find a way to reach a little deeper in their pockets.

Antimony, the Pakistanis still love the chinese more than the US in spite of the chinese contribution being puny. chinese dont give any aid but are very merrily investing for their own geo-political gains. That is suiting the ruling elite in pak just fine and also the chinese as they encircle India and also find a short route to the arabian sea.
Yes we would like to help those in distress, but then if they dont want it then why should we run behind them? What have they given us in return? Terrorism.
If the people of Pakistan had any sympathy for India, they should rise against the tyranny of their ruling elite who have compromised them.