A Harringay donation for Pakistan flood victims?

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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on September 15, 2010 at 14:04

I think James and I are both reaching similar conclusions about the feasability of all this. We may have misinterpreted Al(ison)'s original post, thinking that she was about to get her shipment at her Hackney school under wraps and dispatched, and that she'd then lead on a Harringay effort through HOL. To which of course we were prepared to contribute substantially in cash and effort.

Not so apparently. James has been in touch with Al, so I'll let him post his own conclusions. (My apologies for thinking that Al was male, above.)

While I'd still be up for pitching in, I'm reaching the conclusion (as I've just put it to James) that there's not much point in reinventing the local aid wheel rather badly in an amateurish sort of way when the DEC comprises a fantastic convoy of well-wheeled "vehicles", both here and on the ground in Pakistan, which can do the job so much more professionally, faster and probably with less waste. Despite the free PIA transport, the emphasis is surely on feeding hungry communities faster over there than feeding our communal sense of doing some good rather slowly over here. But (unlike the Dragons' Den) I'm not saying "I'm out" yet.

Eddie

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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on October 16, 2010 at 14:28

I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton was right (the other day in Brussels) to criticise Pakistan's wealthy elite for doing little to help in the wake of the flood destruction, and also right to push the Pakistan government to tax them efficiently in the face of the country's reconstruction challenge.

Unfortunately, her own government's approach to helping Pakistan's flood victims through USAid seems to be as heavy handed and counterproductive as her Special Forces' approach to 'rescuing' aid workers in Afghanistan. USAid's insistence that food boxes distributed by any NGO even partly funded by Washington must be branded with red, white & blue logos, the US flag and 'From the American People' is not only using aid as propaganda but putting aid agency workers' lives in danger, especially in the tribal areas where people are more used to US drones overhead and Taliban have already killed at least half a dozen Pakistanis working for World Vision.

Let's hope the letter from eleven int'l aid agencies (including World Vision, Oxfam, Concern, Save the Children . . .) to Richard Holbrook's officials will help them see some sense. Holbrook, apparently, has been livid that few Pakistanis realise that America has contributed more than any other country - about $260million. I think if Holbrook looked at per capita donation he'd find that countries like the UK and Ireland have been bigger contributors without any big show of flags or logos.

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