Pakistan, 2010 (Adrees Latif for Reuters)
In a year in which catastrophic earthquakes have rocked Haiti and Chile, flooding in Pakistan seems to be getting a glazed eye. One can however, listen to the words of Ban Kim-Moon, UN Sceretary-General or Daniel Toole, UNICEF's director for South Asia. Neither have ever seen anything of the scope of the flooding in Pakistan. Kim-Moon has even gone on the record saying that it's the worst disaster he's ever seen, and I'm sure he's seen a few since December 2006 when he took the helm of the United Nations.
The number of homeless and displaced people is now estimated to be 20 million over 160,000 square miles, with an estimated one fifth of the entire country's land area affected. The scope of the disaster is simply inconceivable. You can read more here.
Pakistan has been our ally. But beyond that, their people need the aid. It's been mentioned that some people don't feel comfortable with Pakistan because they're largely Muslim there and that fact is affecting donations.
Personally, I haven't ever noticed that being water-logged, hungry and ill had anything much to do with religion.
If you can spare even $5-10, they surely need it.
Suggested relief organizations:
Médecins Sans Frontières (Intl Site for Doctors Without Borders, select your country)
A. Majeed, AFP/Getty Images
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