The People of Pakistan Urgently Need Our Support.

by Dee Newman

The people of Pakistan urgently need our support. Weeks after massive downpours began battering northern Pakistan, submerging tens of thousands of square miles, killing thousands of people and leaving millions homeless, the floodwaters are now sweeping downriver through southern Pakistan, adding yet another layer of misery to the despair.

The scale of the destruction from the floods in Pakistan is overwhelming. The level of devastation is beyond words to describe. Fourteen million men, women and children are critically in need of food and shelter. One-fifth of the country is now underwater. Large numbers of children have no access to food.

The number of people who were forced from their homes is staggering. They have lost most if not all of their assets. Temporary camps are full of women and children separated from their husbands and fathers. Most of the men have remained at home to protect what little remains. Other families were split up when they were escaping the floods.

The following is from NPR:

The United Nations says it has yet to raise half its $460 million target. The World Health Organization has received commitments for just 25 percent of the $56 million it has asked for. One aid group has called donations from European countries "feeble."

Relief agencies say they are puzzled by the lack of generosity, while analysts cite a mix of factors: the disaster's low death toll, its timing during the northern hemisphere's summer holidays — and fears that aid money will be squandered through corruption or make its way into the hands of the Taliban.

"We are perplexed as to why the international community has not responded as generously and as quickly as it can do," said Ian Bray, a spokesman for Britain-based aid agency Oxfam.

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