No issue bigger than Earthquake Issue
"We are endangered because of known dangers. There are also unknown dangers ahead so we are endangered and dangers we have controlled do not promise us endangering again"
An earthquake is a vibration of the Earth produced by a rapid release of energy. The main features include the focus, the location within the Earth where the earthquake rupture starts, and the epicenter, the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus. Earthquakes have a greater effect on society than most people think. These effects range from economical to structural to mental. An earthquake only occurs for a few brief moments; the aftershocks can continue for weeks; the damage can continue for years.
When dead were awakening, it must have seemed like an act of ultimate power. From miles above the earth, mountains groaned with inhuman voices. On the frail surface, homes made of wood, decaying cement and cinderblock were flattened. For a moment, silence. And then the human voices: whispers, whimpers, shouts and cries-- A massive earthquake of 7.6 magnitude that killed more than 30,000 people in northern Pakistan and governments around the globe deployed emergency rescue, pledged money and sent aid.
In the aftermath of earthquake, which devastated villages and towns across northern Pakistan, thousands of working class and poor residents reacted in anger over delays in government relief. They have ransack food stores and other locations and clashed with relief workers in a desperate search for food and water.
According to relief workers, virtually no basic emergency aid has reached the disaster areas, even three days after the earthquake. International relief agencies say food distribution systems have broken down and that insufficient supplies have been airlifted into the disaster zone.
Government of Pakistan under President Musharaf's Leadership is trying its level best to reach unreachable areas where relief is required and also admits the fact that survivors of earthquakes face both the danger of death or physical injury and the loss of their loved ones, homes, possessions, and communities. The effects of these traumas are immeasurable and long lasting. Survivors are at high risk for behavioral and emotional readjustment problems and problems like "nervous reactions" and "reactive depression".
The earthquake, which left as many as 30,000 dead, hit Pakistan with a tenuous hold on political stability. Crises, whether natural or man-made, tend to beget political instability. Will the political aftershocks of the earthquake be even stronger than the initial quake?
Imran Aziz
www.research-forum.info
Priorities, profits and perspective
The US has offerred 10 million dollars in aid to the victims of the Kashmir earthquake.
Sound like a lot of money?
Well, to put that in perspective, ExxonMobil just posted the greatest quarterly (3 month) profit of an US company ever over 100 billion dollars.
What is 10 million to Exxon Mobil?
13 minutes of profits.
That's right: ExxonMobil earned in 13 minutes the entire amount that the US donated to Pakistan for earthquake relief.
As for the US taxpayers, we, for example, spend about 7 billion dollars per month on the Iraq war. A modest amount of money compared to ExxonMobil's profits. But, again, the 10 million dollar total in earthquake relief amounts to about 1 hour of ongoing US operations in Iraq.
Let's get our priorities straight!! peace
bug bugjah
Pakistan's GDP Growth rate in 2005
In the Fiscal year ending June 2005, Pakistan's GDP Growth rate was 8.4% which is the second highest among the ten most populous countries in the world after china.Pakistan's export grew by as much as 17% and country also saw increasing foreign investments in the IT sector and telecom. Thanks to cheap labor, a low tax and a large pool of english speakers.Pakistan saw an increase in IT exports of 50% from 2003-4 to 2004-5, with total exports standing at $48.5 million. This year the government has set an export goal of $72 million. Exports account for 11% of the total revenues of the IT sector in Pakistan.Recent trends have lead economists to be optimistic about the IT industries future prospects in Pakistan.In telecom as of 2005 there were 6 cell phone companies operating in the country with nearly 10.5 million mobile phone users in the country.
Waseem
Your website has a long way to go to improve
I think your intent is genuine, unique and positive. There is a great need for news that depicts Pakistan in more rounded fashion, and to bring 'pride' to our nation. Having said that, I would like to say that your website has a long way to go to improve. Please stop cutting and pasting any news article that seem 'positive' about Pakistan, without considering the political affects of it. Most Indian newspaper, who highlight human interest stories on Pakistan, overall subvertly ridicule our society or see it in an India dominated narrow perspective.
Also, most news segment do not contain a positive Pakistan. Instead, countless number of editorials, travel logs, commentaries, that appear on international and Pakistani newspaper reflect an overall general scene of the country. These 'non-news' segment that you overlook, have bulk of the 'positive Pakistan' that is more genuinely reflectant of the Pakistani image, and it's society. (and most of it is in Pakistani newspapers.) For example Jang's online Instep, or some other segment should be highlighted as well.You can also give a special coverage to Pakistan's potential for softpower, containing editorial, views, perspectives, or news items. For the "Positive Pakistan" abroad, is the one that is packed with plenty of softpower.
Aisha Khanam
PakPositive: Thanks! Lately I've been receiving a lot of feedback (some ridiculously nasty, some simply unintelligible to publish) similar to what you have expressed, so I have decided to address it via your nicely articulated letter.
Unfortunately, you seemed to have missed the point - or perhaps have taken the "Pak Positive" name too literally. I am not on any crusade to "bring pride to our nation". This is neither a "news coverage" site, nor a "softpower" generator. This is my blog where I post news and opinion about Pakistan that I like, and some people find it interesting to read it (there is no compulsion to visit it). There is also no intentional effort to "genuinely reflect Pakistan's image", etc. As a matter of fact, I blog out of my own frustrations with what's generally happening in Pakistan and how it is covered in the world press, not how Pakistan should be covered. Best regards.
Did Jinnah have Asperger's syndrome?
Like Michelangelo, Newton, Ludwig, John Nash, Micheal Ventris, Simone Weil, Michael Farady and other genuis people of the history, MA Jinnah had Asperger's syndrome. We proved in this article which was published in Irish Psychiatrist: an official journal of Irish Psychaitrist association journal.
It is worth reading reference which includes Pakistani history as well.
Dr M Arshad
Prof M Fitzgerald
http://www.eireannpublications.ie/
Pakistan in the third largest beauty pageant- Miss Earth
Pakistan has broken those barriers that were never dreamed of, In just one year, Pakistani delegates were sent to Miss Tourism International, where Pakistan won Best Talent and Miss Disco for the dancing portion and finally Miss Earth was a big step towards changing attitudes in Pakistani culture. The most controvertial part of the pageant was that the Pakistani delegate took part in a bikini competition.
Alias
www.misspakistan.coms.ph
Pakistan Earthquake 2005
Earthquake Victims Information System
The students of International Islamic University volunteered and collected data from various hospitals. Most of this data was in raw form and handwritten. Some of the hospitals simply denied providing the data. The students converted whatever was made available to them through their private efforts into a searchable archive. The technical expertise & Hardware is provided by NESCOM foundation and the hosting is provided by Future Connect Pvt. Limited Together we have managed to put all this data on this web page in a searchable archive. The sole purpose of all this effort is to locate the victims for their loved ones.
Waqar Uz Zaman
www.earthquake.org.pk
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WikiPakistan and the Quake of 2005
According to [[Wikipedia:2005 Kashmir earthquakethe Wikipedia]], the earthquake hit at 08:53 hours, Pakistan Standard Time on Saturday, October 8th, 2005. It was Friday night here in California and before I turned in to sleep, I saw a Yahoo news story about a quake in Pakistan. It seemed like a pretty major natural disaster--though, at the time, we had no idea quite how bad it would turn out to be. Since I have been working on ''WikiPakistan'' for a while, and this kind of national event was exactly what this Wiki was envisioned to address, I created a page to gather information about the quake and about relief efforts and so on. Then I sent an e-mail to several mailing lists I am on and to some friends (okay, a lot of friends) and went to sleep. (The text of the e-mail is part of this entry on my blog: ifaqeer.blogspot.com/-on-earthquake.html
It was 2:08 am Eastern Standard Time, and about 2 pm in Pakistan, when I made my last edit that night ([pakistan.wikicities.com/_10-05& here's how it looked then]); it had been about five hours since the earthquake hit...
iFaqeer
ifaqeer.blogspot.com
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Balakot
Below is a letter I received from Brig.(Retd) Abdus Salam Akhtar (principal College of Digital Sciences (CDS) Karachi-Rawalpindi) who is actively conducting the relief & rehabilitation operations in Balakot & Muzaffarabad region and needs generous contributions for relief efforts.
The donation may be sent in the name of Al-Khawarizmi Society in cash or cheque in the Account Number 20311-714 -107770, Habib Bank AG Zurich, and 9, Haider Road, Rawalpindi
Tabraiz
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Surveillance video
Surveillance video capturing Earthquake in Pakistan:
pakistan earthquake video
Or in Flash Video format at:
www.youtube.com/?v=mjWGWATunVM
Haydur
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School Emergency Evacuation Plans
Congradulation Pakistan for showing such courage and unity in these trouble times, but the real test has just begun.
One small point on Rehab.
Schools in our country currently do not have any emergency evacution plans implemented, we need schools and colleges to determine emergency exit routes, atleast now in the aftermath of the Saturday quake. We need to introduce the pratice of conducting fire drills in schools as well.
Our students and faculty are usually not familier with the pre and post earth quake dos and don'ts.
Zeeshan Shah
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Dedicated Earthquake Blog
A dedicated earthquake blog has been set up at www.bitsonline.net/earthquake ... Stories, relief efforts, info, etc... You could add a link to it as well as pick the banner up and place it on your site.
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Need for a National Disaster Management Agency
The catastrophe caused by the tragic earthquake on Saturday is enormous; thousands have lost their lives and a large number of people have been injured. The nation grieves over this loss of lives. We should not forget the injured either. This upheaval has caused a great loss of housing, property and business, which is worrying. It will take decades and money to rehabilitate the displaced.
While the government has moved to help the people affected by the disaster, private sector assistance is also needed. The international community too has come forward and extended help.
The police, CDA and fire brigade departments immediately started rescue operations at the site of the collapsed Margalla Towers in Islamabad. We only lack the skill to handle such a calamity. In my opinion, a permanent institution called the National Disaster Management Agency should be established with skilled manpower, requisite funds and tools required for dealing with such calamities.
Raziq Hussain
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Some options for donations
- Please drop a check of Rs 150/- crossed to "Edhi Welfare Trust" to any TCS counter or any Edhi centre counter. This amount will be used to provide KAFAN (coffin) to victims of quake.
- Contribute Rs 10 + Tax to the Mobilink Earthquake Relief Fund by sending a blank SMS to 180
- President's Relief Fund for Earthquake Victims - 2005: jang.com.pk/important_.../president/index.html
- Donate for Earthquake victims - through Mir Khalil ur Rehman Foundation (MKRF): jang.com.pk/important_.../mkrf/index.html
- Donate via any Credit Cards / Debit Cards or UBL Net Banking: www.ubl.com.pk/services/eq_donation.asp
- Donate Rs. 3/= per SMS towards MKRF Relief Fund SMS the word DONATE to 436. Each SMS cost Rs 3 + tax Send as many SMS as you can. This is a joint effort by GEO, Mobilink and Ufone
- Donate used warm clothes, medicines, dry food items, cash or donate whatever you can to any trusted Relief Camp near your premises.
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Blood Donations in Karachi
There are two blood drives for the earthquake relief effort taking place in Karachi today i.e. Wednesday, Oct 12, 2005.
1. The Forum - Parking Lot: 7pm onwards. (organized by HOPE)
2. 22/2, 17th Street, Khyaban-e-Tauheed, Phase V, DHA: 4:30 pm onwards. (organized by Fatimid)
Please make an effort to drive out to whichever is more convenient and donate. Children under 16 are not allowed to give blood.
H
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Pakistanis in Chicago
If anyone living in the Chicago area would like to share their stories of their relatives dealing with adversity following the earthquake disaster, feel free to give me a call (847) 797-5109. My name is Patrick Corcoran and I am a reporter with Pioneer Press newspapers in suburban Chicago. We cover 48 towns and I would love to share your stories with others in the hopes that it may attract contributions for disaster relief. Thank you...
Patrick Corcoran
www.pioneerlocal.com
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Collection of resources for helping the people of Pakistan affected by the unfortunate earthquake strike. Each penny is worth a thousand dollars at this crucial time. Please ask your relatives and others (here & abroad) to contribute generously. May Allah help all those suffering overcome the problems and may the souls of all not among us now, rest in peace (amen)
Tabraiz
http://www.tabraizfeham.blogspot.com/
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Could some one please give us the true picture of how is Pakistan and Pakistanis coping after the earthquake? We (Pakistanis in Australia) are very worried as we get news of Government failure to respond and manage relief efforts. All the news we get here is that after so many days help has not been able to arrive in many parts of the disaster stricken areas and.
spock
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I want to congratulate my nation.i.e., Pakistanis for showing such a great gesture of humanity for their brothers. Before this we categorize each other as Punjabis, Puthans, Sindhis etc. But now together we rise as a one strong nation that is PAKISTANIS. Im proud to be a Pakistani..
Sana Shehzad
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Earthquake Links
The earthquake that has hit our country is the worst disaster we have witnessed. In times like these, we need to stick together and do as much as we can for our fellow Pakistanis. The Karachi Metroblog (http://karachi.metblogs.com/) and Lahore Metroblog (http://lahore.metblogs.com/) have detailed information on how to donate - please contribute with an open heart. Regards,
Huma
http://karachi.metblogs.com
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Donations
AMAL is trying to link up with two NGOs, Islamic Relief and Sungi working in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Abbottabad. The drop-off point for donations is the AMAL office located at #7, St. 62, G-6/4, Islamabad. In case of questions you can contact Nighat Rizvi on (+92) 0300 5003175, Imran Rizvi on (+92) 0300 8551208 and Mehrunnisa Yusuf on (+92) 0300 5002657.
Please donate the following items
- Clothes, shoes
- Dry food items such as lentils, sugar, [powdered] milk etc
- Basic medicines and medical supplies·
- Blankets and pillows
- Tents
Bina Shah
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Law & Order
Why all the rules/laws are for ordinary citizens? MNA, MPA, businessmen used the vehicles with black paper windows, which actually prohibited on any type of vehicle. If an ordinary man did it, the police constable challaned him. Who will challan Ministers, businessmen etc?
M. Yasir Hafeez
Kudos
this is the first time i have visited your website and i must say i'm very impressed by the content here. i truely believe ppl like u represent the majority of ppl in our country. You know every community has their upsides and downsides including us, life will always bring many challenges ahead of us, the one thing each one of us can share is our knowledge of humanity, wherever that may come from, your website is great way to that ultimate destination. We have to keep smiling because that's wot life's about, is'nt it??Allah hafiz and stay in Peace.
Sarfraz
i came across this website quite by accident but it comes across as a breath of fresh air. your reporting is interesting and informative. Being abroad in the US, I really enjoy checking out ur articles and the gorgeous photos.
Adnan Arif, MD
Pakistani Music Site
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Adeela Mustaq
Blogger Team Offical Team Member
