Sorrows of Flood Victims in Sindh (Pakistan) Resonate at Capitol Hill

Advocacy by Sindhi Americans on Behalf of Sindhi Victims of Flood

By: Khalid Hashmani

Washington D.C. – Last week, the Americans of Sindhi descend and their supporters went all out to create awareness about the plight of flood victims in Sindh (Pakistan) in Washington DC circles. There were several events in Washington D.C. on Wednesday (September 22) and Thursday (September 23) that focused on the devastation and destruction caused by recent floods upon the people of Sindh. The primary goal and objectives of these activities were to appeal to American people for their generous donations to flood relief effort and to draw their attention to the attempts by Pakistani establishment to unfairly distribute international assistance among flood-affected provinces at the expense of Sindhi flood victims.

Dinner with Congressman Steve Kagen

On Wednesday, September 22, 2010, a large group of Sindhi Americans had a private dinner with Congressman Steve Kagen. M.D. at a local restaurant. Dr. Kagen represents 8th district in Wisconsin and is an influential member of the Committee on Agriculture and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Sindhi delegation included Dr. Ahmadani, Dr. A. W. Bhatti, Dr. Aftab Kazi, Mr. Munawar Laghari, Mr. Shafik Siddiki, Shankar Lakhavani, and others. The Sindhi delegation briefed Congressman on the present conditions of the flood affected areas in Sindh and other parts of Pakistan. They provided information on the specific towns and villages lost to floods. They talked about the conditions in the refugee camps and difficulties faced by the victims in receiving assistance particularly food, medicine, and drinking water. The importance of reconstruction assistance was also highlighted in the meeting.

Capitol Hill Briefing arranged by Congressman Brad Sherman

A large number of congressional staff of various Senators and Representatives attended a briefing on Pakistan Floods organized by Congressman Brad Sherman on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 4 PM, The briefing was held in one of the Congressional building (Rayburn) and featured two presenters. This was the first congressional briefing organized on what United Nations has called as one of the worst disasters in its 66-year history. Representatives from US Aid and a large group of Sindhi-Americans also attended the briefing.

Congressman Brad Sherman represents California’s San Fernando Valley and has been a member of Congress since 1997. Congressman Sherman is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

In his opening remarks, Congressman Sherman said that Pakistan is facing many challenges. The recent floods have complicated matters even further. The flood has impacted 21 million people; more than seven millions of them are in the province of Sindh. The destruction caused by flood has directly affected 20% of the population of Sindh province. Lack of adequate food distribution system and spread of water-borne diseases is the cause of much misery in all flood affected areas. He said that there are already reports of distribution bottlenecks and corruption. This has made the task of getting assistance to the people directly has become more difficult. He added that the under-privileged people of Sindh need special attention to ensure that they receive equal attention and receive timely assistance.

Ms. Molly Kinder leads the “U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan” initiative for Center for Global Development and is Center’s Senior Policy Analyst – She pleaded for more American aid to Pakistan in the aftermath of floods. She said that more people have been affected by Pakistan floods than those that were affected by the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, the 2004 Asian Tsunami, and last year’s earthquake in Haiti combined. She urged a large-scale response. She quoted Pakistan’s Prime Minister as saying that flood damages now exceed 45 billion dollars. She said that the real work of rebuilding starts now as housing for millions must be built and alternative means for employment must be found for millions. She urged U.S. government to do more to alleviate poverty-stricken flood victims. She warned that floods are eroding public confidence in Pakistan’s civilian government, providing opportunity for extremists to exploit the situation. She urged Pakistan government to increase its tax base as the current tax base 9% of population was lowest in the world. She added that under the present conditions to re-purpose some of the aid committed under the Kerry-Lugar act to provide timely aid to flood victims. She also urged the U.S. government to facilitate better access for Pakistani goods (cotton, textile, etc.) and encourage import from specially created “free trade” zones. In her answer to a question from an attendee, she agreed that her organization (Center for Global Development) and other U.S. Government tend to view Pakistan as one homogenous country instead of viewing it as a homeland of four distinct nations. She expressed thanks to Sindh-Americans, who had educated her more about the diverse cultures and languages of various provinces and promised to study this aspect further.

Dr. Aftab Kazi, Senior Fellow, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) – Dr. Kazi thanked Congressman Sherman for his recent letter to Secretary Clinton about the U.S. flood assistance to Pakistan requesting her that the province of Sindh must benefit proportionately from aid distribution. On behalf of Sindhi-Americans, Dr. Kazi also expressed gratitude to the Government of United States and its Executive and Representative institutions for assistance to their assistance towards flood relief.

The presentation by Dr. Kazi consisted of detailed narrative with several supporting maps and tables. Sighting data from data published in the Sindhi language newspapers and local Sindhi NGOs. Dr. Kazi said that the disaster damage data provided by the Disaster Management agencies of Pakistan is not accurate because most of their bureaucracy is not scientifically trained in this field. He said that from out of the nearly 21,000,000 flood affected populace in three Pakistani provinces plus Gilgit Baltistan, approximately 10 million (local data of September 22) have been devastated in Sindh alone. In terms of persons and villages affected, and homes destroyed, Sindh has suffered severely. Compared to all others, the province of Sindh alone has more than (by now with new floods in Dadu, Larkana and Thatta and Badin districts) 7,251,550 people affected, 7,277 villages inundated, and 1,114,629 houses destroyed. The overall comparisons of flood losses suggest that Sindh alone has suffered more than any other provinces of Pakistan from the catastrophe of floods.

Using a UN map, Dr. Kazi provided comparative figures on IDPs in Sindh, number of rescue camps, food, medical, and other miscellaneous assistance, which demonstrates comparative negligence in terms of proportionate losses suffered.

He made the following suggestions along with assistance to ensure accountability and transparency in the distribution of flood relief assistance:

1. A comprehensive strategy about spending the flood assistance identifying specific goals of rehabilitation and reconstruction should be in order in consultation with civil society leaders and their trusted NGOs.

2. It would help, if the House of Representatives decided to send a field observation mission under the leadership of Honorable Bred Sherman to visit Pakistan, particularly Sindh and Balochistan to assess the actual losses and recommend strategies to cope with various ongoing flood crises.

3. Rehabilitation and reconstruction is a tortuous task. We recommend and request U.S. assistance in advising Pakistan to resettle IDPs in urban areas (they have nothing left in their rural homes) and employ Sindh based IDPs in the Pakistan Army, Sindh Police, Pakistan Rangers and in the Benazir Bhutto Youth Development Program.

4. New skill training programs be initiated enabling many IDPs to restart life with their new arts to earn a living.

5. Women folks be assisted and trained in small shop ownership/businesses in both rural and urban areas, tailor shops and embroidery, beauty parlor management, and agro-based skills and training.

6. Under village and town reconstruction projects, new model towns with model schools and vocational schools for boys and girls are established.

7. The civil society in Pakistan, particularly Sindh is in infancy. We would appreciate the Government of United States to support the civil-society development initiatives.

8. The United States assisted Haiti during her recent major earthquake by resettling at least a portion of the displaced in United States. We request this House to do the same for Sindhis by issuing approximately 5000 work visas for them to come over the United States. Some Gulf States seem to have expressed inclination to issue work visas for many from Sindh. As such, this would be a nice gesture on the part of United States to win the hearts of Pakistanis and Sindhis.

9. It has been learned that the Armed Forces, while assisting the flood affected often charge them some amounts for assistance. Since they already receive handsome salaries from the Armed Forces institution, such practices are kept under strict observation.

Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC)* Anniversary Banquet Dinner – Sindh Flood Tribute Event

The reception area of historic Phoenix Park Hotel (two blocks from the US Capitol Building) was turned into a place of Sindhi friendship and hospitality. Several pictures of flood scenes and grief-stricken faces of Sindhi rural people served as a reminder to the great tragedy that had just played havoc in Sindh and other areas of Pakistan.

The first speaker of the evening was Republican Congressman Dan Burton representing Indiana. He is a former chairman of House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform (1997-2002) and currently member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Ranking member of Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Before he spoke, Dr. Maqbool Halepoto (Presdident of SAPAC) welcomed Congressman spoke about unique culture, heritage and language of Sindh and highlighted the plight of indegenous people of this province. He spoke at length about impact of floods in various districts of Sindh and urgency of helping flood victims. Congressman in his remarks expressed sympathy for the victims and promise to support delivery of urgent assistance to the flood victims. Congressman Burton said that he did not have a lot of information on Pakistan’s four distinct provionces and asked if SAPAC would send him more information on Sindh and other provinces of Pakistan. The Congressman also asked for suggestions on how to improvemrnt accountability and transparency in the funds that are provided to Pakistani government and NGOs.

A package distributed to the event participants had a message from Congressman Gary L. Ackerman. He represents New York’s fifth district and is the chairman of House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. A paragraph in his message says “At a time when Sindh is so badly in need of American support and assistance, I think it is incredibly fortunate that SAPAC has come into being and is having such an incredible on Washington. The devastating flooding combined with strong monsoon rains have injured and killed thousands, and devastated many thousands more with waterborne diseases. The raging waters have destroyed billions in property and have wiped out businesses, farms and millions of homes. Pakistan’s hour of need is our moment of action.”

As the guests took their chairs, Dr. Maqbool Halepoto once again thanked participants and in particular mentioned the Dr. A. W. Bhatti, Dr. Ahmadani, Dr. Aftab Kazi., and Shankar Lakhavani. He talked about the irony that before the floods recent, Sindh suffered from acute shortage of water. He blamed the large dams and actions by the previous governments that he called had “destroyed the ecological system of River Indus”. He condemned the recent government statements and conspiracies to try to revive the hated dreadful Kala Bagh and other mega dams in Pakistan will be strongly opposed by Sindhis and the proponents of such proposals will be defeated.

The next speaker of the evening was Dr. Paul Pillar. He has served on the National Intelligence Council and is currently teaches at Georgetown’s Center for Peace and Security Studies. He said that the current narrative of U.S. policy has severely limited the visibility of Sindhi issues globally. He added that increasing violence in Karachi has major implications for Sindhis, Pakistanis, and for the world community. The recent flood in Sindh forcing tens of thousands of Sindhis to move to Karachi and an adverse reaction by an immigrant group is causing further hardships for the victims of flood. The things that are happening in Sindh have already started impacting other countries and have possible impact for US security and interests. He concluded by saying that Sindhis have a good cause and they should go for their rights.

Ms. Malou Innocent, a foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute had the interesting commentary on the current affairs of Sindh and Pakistan. Ms. Innocent is a member of International Institute for Strategic Studies and her primary research interests include Middle East and Persian Gulf security issues. She said the need to continue analysis of the US policies in Pakistan cannot be understated. She cautioned that the current US policy makers must not limit their focus to only the Punjab-dominated military, Islamic groups and other Islamabad power brokers. The policy need to take into account the feelings of ethnic minorities. The current rules and the current narrative in Pakistan allows very little room for smaller nations such as Sindhis to pursue their rights. In the context of cultural and economic terms, the ethnic minorities like Sindhis are having miserable lives. The minorities have very little representation in Pakistan’s civilian and military bureaucracy and policies made by them often have no regard for the needs of ethnic minorities. The pertinent question for the U. S. policy makers is to ask how ethnic minorities feel about US policies. She asked “Is American prepared to change policy to look at the plight of Sindhis and other such groups?” How do the US policy makers feel about the long over due demand of Sindh and other small provinces for maximum provincial autonomy?

Dr. Asoka Bandarage is currently a professor in Public Policy and Gender Studies at Georgetown University. Her research interests include the global political-economy, ethnicity, gender population and ecology. Dr. Bandarage said that until very recently, she only knew about Sindhis through her readings on “Mone-jo-Daro” and Harapa and that the name of India “Hind” came from ancient “Sindh”. Since then she had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Sindhis by and large follow Sufi tradition and have profound respect for all religions and belief systems. She has also learnt that Sindh is a rich province having large amounts of oil and gas. Her other discovery that in spite of having rich natural resources that are largely controlled by non-Sindhi interests, Sindhis live a life of poverty and the living standard of people in rural areas of Sindh is same as in sub-Sahara region. However, she concluded that she is hopeful for Sindhis as they articulate their message and create awareness about their rights and problems.

Mr. Amit Pandya, an international lawyer and has served in various senior positions in US Departments of Defense, State and at the US Agency of International Development (USAID). He has written extensively about Muslims in India and Pakistan. .Dr. Pandya remarked that he was not a Sindhi but was a Gujarati and then quickly added that there were some common characteristics about them – each had a territory only in one country (Sindhis in Pakistan and Gujratis in India) but there are significant population of people in both in India and Pakistan. There is also much similarity between Sindhi and Gujarati culture and language with large groups of immigrant populations. He said that he is sympathetic to the idea of Pakistan and like India likes the cultural diversity in Pakistan. He is also aware of the fact that Sindhis greatly feel threatened by a large mix of linguistic and cultural presence in their large cities. This is opportunity for the ethnic minorities that have been welcomed by Sindhis, to be generous and help their long-time hosts who have been badly impacted by the recent floods.

The key note speaker of the evening was Congressman Brad Sherman, who has been a supporter of Sindhi-American community for a long time. He started his address noting that he and his family has old ties with Sindh as back in1946, his grandfather spent some time in Karachi as an official of International Labor Organization (ILO). He said that there was no conflict between his support for Pakistan and Sindh as these two focuses complement each other. The future of Pakistan is very much tied to relationships between various provinces within Pakistan and its relationship with the neighboring countries. It would workout best for Pakistan if all of its people were committed to a set of common and shared goals. It would be folly on the part of Pakistan’s military to think that they have a final say in everything. It is imperative that provinces and people of Pakistan be taken into confidence to fight the difficult challenges faced by Pakistan and its people.

During the follow-up Question-Answer session, a member of audience recalled that a year ago he had asked the Congressman in order to understand the sorrows of Sindhis in Pakistan; he should inquire from Pakistani Ambassador about how many indigenous Sindhis (who are about 18-20% of Pakistan’s population) are employed at the Pakistan Embassy. Congressman Sherman not only remembered the exchange but added that the person had cautioned congressman not to let the Pakistan Embassy mislead him by citing number of those who happen to hold a domicile certificate from Sindh. Congressman continued that he had persistently asked this question from Pakistan Embassy and other Pakistani leaders but has not received a satisfactory answer.

In the end Mr. Munawar Laghari, Executive Director of SAPAC) thanked all attendees for their participation and mentioned the generosity and support that SAPAC had received from them for this conference and other SAPAC activities. He then proudly announced that SPAC has been able to raise close to $ 10,000 in donations for the flood relief efforts in Sindh.

* SAPAC Web site: http://www.sindhpac.org

* Photographs of events at http://picasaweb.google.com/becca.landwehr/SAPACAnniversaryDinner#.

About Reporter: Khalid Hashmani is a Washington DC-based human rights activist. He is the founding President of Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) and Chief coordinator of Sindhi Excellence Team (SET) that participates in advocacy activities on behalf of rural Sindhis.

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