I thank you all for taking out time to gather here today to pledge support for the victims of the flood disaster. I welcome you all. It is indeed an honour and privilege for me to address you. I’m sure you are all aware of the current situation faced by Pakistan. Everyday, every hour, raging floodwaters destroy our homeland, our Pakistan. Towns, villages and agricultural land have been washed away bringing death and destruction.
From KPK, to the agricultural heartlands of Punjab and now the Southern Sindh province, our fellow Pakistanis have been forced to leave their homes, they’ve livelihoods and all their belongings behind.
The scale of this tragedy is unimaginable and conservative estimates show that more than 15 billion dollars are now required to rebuild the affected areas. These catastrophic floods have washed away people, their children, their livelihoods and even entire towns. Everything has vanished. The severity of the situation is so extreme that the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, which pushed back a Trillion dollar US economy by several years, are nothing compared to the relative cost of crop, infrastructure and livelihood destruction during these floods.
This truly is the worst crisis in the history of Pakistan, 12 million people have been affected directly by flood and heavy rain, 1,600 people have already lost their lives and 650,000 have been left homeless and exposed to diseases. They depend on all of us to create hope. This disaster has not yet ended, and it is only getting worse as the monsoon rains continue.
Now, more than ever before, our country, our Pakistan, our brothers and sisters need our help. The magnitude of these floods will have long and far reaching challenges; bur right now one of the largest humanitarian crises is happening on our soil. Pakistan is drowning, we need to come together and help our people, the victims of the worst flood, in history.
Unfortunately, the poorest of the poor have been most affected. They have been left with virtually nothing, and they are living in makeshift shelters (Relief Camps).
The government of Pakistan in flood relief and rescue operations has so far rescued over 300,000 stranded people. Several hundred medical teams are operating in flood hit areas. 35 helicopters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Kashmir and in Punjab were constantly flying to rescue people stranded in flood water, as well as in distribution of provisions including (ready to eat) food, and medicines for the displaced people. The entire helicopter fleet of the Government of Pakistan is on stand-by position for any eventuality. The President of Pakistan has setup a special cell to monitor flood situations and the Prime Minister has established a relief fund for the victims.
The world has stood with Pakistan during our worst disaster. The World Food Program has issued a 30 million request to assist families. The World Bank has given substantial aid and has offered to set up a fund for the victims. United States has pledged 55 million to ad those affected. Britain has pledged 10 million of immediate relief for flood victims and another 10 million for bridge reconstruction programme. France has announced 5 million Euros to aid the displaced people with another 5 million coming from Turkey and 3 million from Japan. UAE and Qatar have offered unlimited support. The world has stood with Pakistani people as the tragic human toll mounts from flooding. But a lot more needs to be done.
I have also personally launched a campaign to raise funds as well, entitled ‘Help the Flood Victims’. The funds raised will be used to purchase utility bags each weighing around 35kg. These bags contain a variety edibles including 20kg of flour, 5kg of rice, 500 dates, Dahl etc.
Let’s be very clear – any government faced with a disaster on this scale would need, at the very least, all the expertise and support it can get within its own country. Now is the time for us to stand up and show them that they are not alone in their grief. Tomorrow is also the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. I therefore appeal to each and every one of you to help me, help them. Donate now, donate from your heart, and donate as much as you can.