[Q:] Why Doesn't the World Care About Pakistanis? [A:] Because they live in Pakistan.

Why can't the super rich arab oil nations do more to help?

They are already over there, they have the $$$, why not do more?

DD

 

If Earl does major damage to the East Coast, Pakistan will move back to page 6 in the US.

At some point, the purpose of a nation or a religion or a people is to take care of their own. And that doesn't always mean by armed defense. Pakistan has an inordinately large military, maybe it's time they stand down from their India paranoia and mobilize to help their people. Maybe it's time that the hugely rich Muslim countries of the world give the monies needed to help Pakistan. Maybe it's time the countries they historically have aligned with (China and the Soviet Union) come to their aid.

The US military will be there though since they are already a major presence in the region providing logistical support to the troops in Afghanistan. And, the PR they can achieve will go a lot further to aid the fight against extremist than any drone campaign. But, no matter how much effort they can supply it will be too little for the scope of the disaster and they will be accused of 'failing'. Because in every humanitarian endeavor there is never enough to please everyone.

 

I have a different opinion, and it's one that no one has yet posited: most Americans can't tell the difference between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Americans in general are not the best at keeping up with global affairs, and when 11% of our own students can't find the U.S. on a map, how can we begin to expect our citizens to differentiate between the political underpinnings of Pakistan and Afghanistan? Not to mention the fact that the two are mentioned together quite frequently in the news. I would wager that in the minds of many, if not most, Americans, the countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan have merged into Terroristan. It's sad that the Pakistani people are having to pay for American ignorance, though admittedly, the policies of their own country definitely don't help matters.

I mean, just look at who we're putting on TV...

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj3iNxZ8Dww?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj3iNxZ8Dww?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

Quite frankly, is that perception so wrong? The Pakistani secret service has been supporting the Taliban for many years and there are close links. I am not talking badly about the ordinary people in Pakistan and also Afghanistan, but your "Terroristan" seems not too far off.

 

Has Pakistan ever invested in flood control? The Indus River has flooded every monsoon since the glaciers receded but people still live in it's flood zone. This event was not unpredictable.

(As the next hurricane flooding of New Orleans or rainy season flooding of Tennessee and Iowa are also predictable)

 

The organization is relatively small and it's been proven that those regions always get left in the dust in terms of help. They've been there helping for a very long time now so they got the network and credentials in that region to get stuff done efficiently.

 

U.S. Saudi Sale Is Said to Approach $30 Billion Including 84 F-15 Fighters

 

Ya the AKDN, which FOCUS is under, has worked with him.

 

Its simple...many people equate Pakistan with harboring terrorirsts/terrorism etc. Right or wrong, thats why

 

Not at all. According to wiki "It is inhabited principally by Balti Shia Ithna Ashri, of Tibetan descent who converted from Tibetan Buddhism prior to the 16th century. There is a small minority of Bahais in Baltistan."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltistan

 

I don't remember an outpouring for the floods in Bangladesh either. We are just too far away from Pakistan, geographically and culturally.

The Tsunami was different because there were a lot of westerners that were effected and many westerners have been to that part of the world.

 

Given such accounts, it's easy to see why Zunaira, Bibi and many other Pakistanis attribute their nation's worst-ever natural disaster to God's wrath. The government attributes the disaster to global warming, but there's more to the story. A ClimateWire investigation into the origins of the flood disaster uncovered evidence that points to a calamity caused by man, the cumulative effect of erratic weather forecast by climate change models, massive deforestation, and lax attention to infrastructure maintenance and engineering standards.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-caused-the-massive-flooding-in-pakistan

 

I think it has to do with media coverage personally. The media has not been covering this tragedy like they covered the tsunami. With the tsunami, we had all types of videos and the like everywhere so we could see the devastation. While the media and others may have published imagery of the devastation in Pakistan, I haven't seen it. I can easily recall the tsunami and Haiti earthquake devastation in my mind because it was covered ad nauseum for a while after it happened. I can't say the same for the Pakistan coverage. My opinion is the media I watch failed in tugging at the heart strings of Americans is one major cause. If you just start reciting numbers and statistics with no on the ground reporting, then that hurts the cause. I'm sure there was some coverage in the very beginning...but it wasn't enough to get through on my television like the other events were covered.

But, I also readily admit that when I think of Pakistan...I think of an exporter of terrorism. The image in my mind that the media has created is one of total negativity because everything they cover on Pakistan is always bad...whether it is their godfather of nukes spreading the secrets to rogue states like Iran and North Korea, constant media coverage of terrorists in the tribal areas, American flag burning seminars, car bombings, assasinations, internal religious conflicts between opposing religious groups, government insiders in bed with the Taliban, not doing enough to combat extremism, endless killings, Daniel Pearl butcher, etc. etc. etc. . If there are positive stories coming out of Pakistan, then I must be blind because I never see them. I got a gift of bed sheets not too long ago and it said "Made in Pakistan" on them. I almost wanted to throw them out rather than use them. That's how negatively skewed my opinion of Pakistan is right now.

It's an unforturnate fact-of-life right now that many in Pakistan hate America (from polls conducted there) regardless of how we help them (although some cite polls of them reversing their thinking on that when we help them in disasters, like the past earthquake). On the flip side, many Americans hate Pakistan because it represents the heart of a worldwide conflict and source of terrorism.

I will also submit that this natural disaster comes at a very bad time given all the recent disasters. I do think there is a fatigue associated with all these disasters. They seem to be coming one right after another. With the economy the way it is, people are starting to take more of a me-first approach with their money because they are concerned what the future holds for them...such as possible job loss.

That said...I will find an organization I am comfortable with and make a donation. I do want to help the ordinary Pakistani who is not involved in supporting terrorism...even though they may hate me or where I'm from. But, as I'm sure most want, I want to make sure my money is going where it needs to go to help. I know our government feels like they have to go the extra mile to help Pakistan in this time of need...because they know some of these people can and will turn to extremism when they are all out of hope and options. Unfortunately, that message to Americans is why should we donate our money when our government is going the extra mile using our taxpayer money already?

In the end, I just think most normal people see the situation in more black-and-white than a grey area. They know Pakistan very little and mostly all bad. That is obviously going to impact donations coming from Americans given this trying time.

The above is just my opinion regardless of whether you agree or not.

 

Probably for the same reasons Western countries in general care more about the Holocaust than other genocides. The feeling that we could have prevented it: partly due to geographic proximity, and a subconscious feeling that we were indirectly culpable.