Pakistani Earthquake Aftermath
Published by Haseeb October 16th, 2005 in Current News
The situation in post-earthquake Pakistan grows more grim by the hour as the death toll soars Saturday to 40,000 as Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf says the toll could be exceed 100,000 or more as bodies are being recovered from villages across the country. To make the situation worse,heavy rain fell the entire day Saturday in many ravaged towns and snow fell in the upper altitudes in the surrounding mountains, disrupting relief efforts to help an estimated 2+ million people still lacking shelter, with only 18,000 tents having been distributed so far to house those dislocated by the quake as well as the 62,000 injured. Temperatures are expected to drop into the low 40s on Sunday morning in the urban areas of Pakistan and in the low 30s and upper 20s in the mountains. President Musharraf estimates the damage to be over $5 billion. Subhanallah… and all this happened during the month of Ramadan, the most blessed month of the year. I would like to remind you all that Ramadan isnt just a month for fasting and extra prayer. It is a month of generosity! 
The Messenger of Allah
, was the most generous of people and he used to be most generous in Ramdan” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
So, Alhamdulillah, this gives us Muslims, the opportunity to express our generosity to those who need it the most.
“The most beloved of people to Allah
So having said that, lets all try to extend our generosity and contribute whatever it is that we can, from money, to clothing or blankets. You can donate money online through the following organizations:
Moreover, many local organizations including MSAs are collecting clothing, blankets, etc. as well. I know Stony Brook MSA is planning something soon, and other local MSAs, such as NYU Islamic Center currently have a clothing drive underway. Please contact them for further information.
Update: A good friend of mine, Misbah Akbar (misbah1@aol.com, screen name mysticgohan786), is currently collecting clothes (ie pants, shirts, blankets, jackets, gloves, etc) for earthquake relief efforts. Please contact him if u have any spare winter clothing u would like to contribute!!
Update: ICNA Relief has raised $1.5 M, and has collected $1.2 M worth of medical supplies. Our target is to raise $10 M inshallah
We’ve setup 3 tent villages in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot (via our sister NGOs). We’re providing 8,000 blankets and 100,000 food packages. We’ve ordered 1,000 tents (which fit 10 people each I believe). We’re financing a few ambulances which our field workers are in need of. We’ve sent 10 physicians and 10 more will be leaving with a week (If anyone knows doctors who want to go direct them to us). The doctors are being coordinated by PIMA (one of our partners there- who have already performed over 500 surgeries) .The only thing we are collecting is Medical Supplies.
http://www.reliefonline.org
http://www.icna.org