VANCOUVER

Aid from B.C. a mere trickle to flood-ravaged Pakistan

ctvbc.ca Published Tuesday, August 17, 2010 5:22PM PDT

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The UN says that flooding in Pakistan amounts to the worst natural disaster the country has ever seen, but fundraisers in B.C. say that donations have been slow in coming.

The number of people left homeless by the floods is now 20 million, equal to more than half the population of Canada.

The World Bank is about to release $900 million for relief efforts, but the money is long overdue for the displaced people, who are facing the ravages of starvation and waterborne diseases like cholera.

Donations from Canadians have been less than robust, even within B.C.'s Pakistani-Canadian community. Less money has been raised than when an earthquake tore apart segments of the country five years ago.

The Islamic Trust of B.C., which has raised $100,000 for flood victims so far, says that its community has been slow to respond because many people fear government corruption will prevent their money from getting to where it is needed.

"Now there is big-time corruption," the charity's Sabir Pannun told CTV News. "We are even telling people when we are collecting money that we will not be giving this money, even one penny, to the government. We will be giving this money to reliable charitable organizations."

Donations from British Columbians outside of the Pakistani community have been a mere trickle compared to what is really needed.

There has been some concern that help from the West has been slow in coming because there is a perception that Pakistan is sympathetic to the Taliban. The Islamic Trust denies that.

Simon Fraser University disaster-management expert Ed Bukszar blames the lack of relief from North America on summer vacations, and the fact that Westerners have limited knowledge of Pakistan.

"In the U.S. media, it really is a back-page story, in spite of the fact that it's a very significant catastrophe," he said.

Bukszar added that the flood story has been a long, drawn-out affair, rather than a quick, galvanizing event like an earthquake or a tsunami.

"The slower-moving nature of this catastrophe means it is not front-page news as frequently, so you end up with a situation where it's not as high profile, during a period when people aren't really paying attention in North America," he said.

If you want to donate to Pakistan flood relief, you can contact the Islamic Trust through its website; by phone at 604-309-6036 or 604-543-2680; or by writing to: