How Pakistanis Can Help Haiti - and Why

January 14th, 2010

A joint statement from Todd Shea and Ethan Casey:

Dear Pakistani-American friends,

The aftermath of the October 8, 2005 earthquake was Pakistan's finest moment. The nation's citizens, government, military, and expatriates stepped up together and contributed money, material, time, professional skills and other resources to alleviate the suffering of the survivors of the devastating quake that killed more than 80,000 people.

You know both of us as staunch friends of Pakistan. After doing urgently needed relief work in Manhattan after 9/11, in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Todd Shea responded to the humanitarian emergency in Azad Kashmir and was so affected by his experiences and friendships there that he has stayed, founding CDRS Pakistan to address the longer-term needs of people in Azad Kashmir. He also responded in the spring and summer of 2009 when nearly three million people were displaced by the fighting in Swat.

Ethan Casey has written two books about his longstanding friendship with Pakistan and travels around the U.S. and Canada, emphasizing the humanity of Pakistanis and trying to help foster a more sympathetic and thoughtful conversation between Americans and Pakistanis.

The 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 has devastated that small, desperately poor country at least as much as the 2005 earthquake devastated Pakistan. Pakistan has resources that Haiti simply lacks - beginning with a competent, patriotic army and an affluent expatriate community.

Some of you know that, in addition to being a friend of Pakistan, Ethan has a personal connection with Haiti dating back to 1982, when he first went there as a teenager with his father, who later founded the Colorado Haiti Project. Ethan has visited Haiti many times, most recently in 2004.

Todd has put his current U.S. fundraising tour for CDRS Pakistan on hold to provide logistical support to those doing urgent relief work in Haiti, and we both invite your support through him and other channels. We personally vouch for Dr. Paul Farmer's organization, Partners in Health, and the Colorado Haiti Project. We'll also be letting you know as soon as we can how you can directly support Todd's work in Haiti.

Todd is flying from Washington, DC to Miami on January 14 and from there to the Dominican Republic the same evening or the next morning. From there he plans to travel overland into Haiti. Ethan will be staying in touch with Todd through contacts in Florida.

You, as Pakistanis who are also Americans, and as affluent and highly skilled professionals, can help. Please do help. Many of you are physicians, and your skills could save lives. Those of you who responded after the earthquake in Pakistan have experience that could be invaluable in Haiti. If you want to help, beyond donating money - which is also needed - you can email Ethan or Laila Karamally for specific advice.

Thank you. Let's make this another finest moment for the Pakistani-American community. As a Haitian woman memorably told the young Paul Farmer, "Tout moun se moun" - all people are people. We're all human beings, fellow children of God, and we need each other. Right now, millions of suffering Haitians need us.

You can begin learning more about Haiti by reading the New York Times op-ed by Tracy Kidder, author of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.

Bahut shukriya,

Todd Shea

Ethan Casey

January 13, 2010

Ethan Casey adds this postscript, at 7:00 a.m. PST on Thursday, January 14:

I'm taking the liberty of publishing this note I just received from my father in Colorado Springs. Holy Trinity Cathedral is the Episcopal cathedral in Port-au-Prince, and is - was - the site of a wonderful tryptich that was one of the supreme examples of Haitian painting. I'm finding it strangely hard to find images of the tryptich online, but here's one.

Thanks, Ethan.  And thanks on behalf of Haiti for your efforts to get help from Pakistani Americans.  A fine article.   I have heard that Holy Trinity Cathedral, the school and convent, and College St. Pierre were all destroyed, as was the Roman cathedral, Hopital St. Croix in Leogane, and of course all the other places I don't know about.   Ironically, perhaps, apart from the loss of loved ones shared by all, the ones who will suffer least are the poorest, who had nothing before Tuesday, especially those in rural areas where there are few tall buildings to collapse.  What can one say about Haiti, except, as you said long ago, "One loves Haiti the way one loves a dying friend."

Love, Dad