After a series of unexpected floods devastated Pakistan this summer, the university’s Pakistani Students’ Association held a fundraiser last night to help relieve the nearly 20 million victims and plans on hosting several more throughout the year.
Members of PSA said every event this year will benefit flood relief in some way, whether through awareness or fundraising. The July floods, which left one-fifth of Pakistan’s land under water, killed nearly 2,000 people, destroyed thousands of homes and left millions of families still struggling without food, water or shelter. The United Nations described the floods as resulting in greater damages than the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined.
Despite its magnitude, PSA co-president Aisha Mumtaz said the floods have received little media attention and insufficient aid.
“I think it is so important that everyone be aware of the floods happening,” she said. “The tricky thing with floods is that people don’t just need one influx of donations … the reconstruction could last for another 10 years.”
Mumtaz and the PSA hosted a fundraising dinner last night at the newly-opened Krazi Kebob on Rt. 1, where a quarter of the restaurant’s earnings were donated to UNICEF flood relief. Owner Naumaan Hamid, who is of Pakistani descent and has become known to students as “Nomie,” agreed to host the fundraiser to help with the students’ cause.
“This is something that is happening in the world right now, and [PSA] is trying to do something to help it,” he said. “We get our source of income from students, so why not give back?”
Mumtaz estimated about 200 people attended the fundraiser throughout its six-hour span. The group has also planned a bake sale, a charity basketball tournament and a cultural show in the spring that will all raise additional funds for flood victims.
PSA co-president Najeff Waseem has family living in Pakistan and said many felt the repercussions of the disaster.
“The flood … just added to the hardship Pakistanis are facing,” he said, describing the social and political turmoil the country was experiencing prior to the incident. “I continue to feel sad and worried for all of the victims, as they are not just my brothers and sisters by heritage, but they are people stricken with a terrible circumstance.”
He said even though Pakistan still feels the aftermath of the floods today, the problem is “out of sight, out of mind” and there aren’t enough efforts in the United States to contribute to relief. He added PSA is currently working with other local universities to collaborate in hosting larger events for the cause.
PSA marketing and design chair Amnah Sultan pioneered another pro-Pakistani effort that, unlike the other events, will last more than one day: Inspired by Lance Armstrong’s “LIVESTRONG” campaign, Sultan and her friends created wristbands engraved with the words “embrace Pakistan” to sell across the campus.
“A bracelet is always with you,” she said. “With that, you’re constantly reminded of the cause.”
Sultan feels that making the wristbands — which are green, the color of the Pakistani flag — was a more interesting way to raise funds and awareness of the nation’s situation. She launched the promotion on Facebook two weeks ago and will sell the bracelets indefinitely.
Vice president of PSA Rabia Javed said she hopes her group’s efforts will educate other students, who she said are largely unaware of Pakistan’s reality.
“When we asked students at the University of Maryland about their feelings during the First Look Fair, many had no idea what we were talking about,” she said.
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