Ethan Casey with Todd Shea, Dr. Farzana Naqvi (front row, second from left), Dr. Salman Naqvi (back row, next to Todd), and other members of a Pakistani-led group that provided medical relief after the earthquake in Haiti, at a reunion in Irvine, California, February 28, 2010.

If I haven’t posted a blog entry in more than two weeks, it’s because - as usual - I’ve been busy with other things. I spent a successful week in Colorado in early February, speaking at two churches and three colleges, including the Air Force Academy. And I just returned from a busy weekend in Orange County, California, whose main event was a fundraiser for Todd Shea’s organization SHINE Humanity (see its excellent new website). The short speech I was able to give there was very gratifying, because I’m very proud of and grateful to Todd as well as Pakistani friends for responding so promptly, intelligently and compassionately to the earthquake in Haiti. Haiti is a very old friend of mine, so my gratitude is personal. Here’s a short excerpt:

Todd is not the only American in this room who has worked in Haiti since the earthquake. I want to single out two others: Dr. Farzana Naqvi and Dr. Salman Naqvi. The story of how Farzana, Salman and others have stepped up as physicians, as Muslims, as Pakistanis who know the devastation an earthquake can cause, and not least as Americans, is a powerful message that the American public needs to hear.

I’ve published the full speech on this website under the “Speaking” tab, along with some photos that I showed that evening.

My new book Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip is at the printer and will (inshallah) be published later this month. I’m looking forward to introducing it at events in Chicago on March 27 and Tampa on March 28. More on those, and other travel and promotion, as the publication date nears. If you haven’t yet purchased your copy, now is a great time to ensure that your copy comes signed and with a personal letter from me by pre-ordering it from this website. I’ll be sitting down in early April to send out all pre-ordered copies.

More soon!

Dr. Shahnaz Khan (center), a family practice physician in Zephyrhills, Florida and co-chair of the Human Development Foundation, with Ethan Casey at an HDF location at Kharol War outside Lahore, April 2009

Dr. Shahnaz Khan, co-chair of the Human Development Foundation, has sent me this message:

Pakistanis all over the world were mobilized into action. I decided that sitting in front of the TV and watching the disaster and crying was not the way I wanted to contribute.

Two nations, two earthquakes, one humanity

I have been thinking about the earthquake in Haiti. It reminded me of October 8, 2005, when a similar disaster hit Pakistan. I watched the images on the television of the crumbling buildings, people trying to dig out their loved ones from under the rubble with their bare hands, children buried under school buildings and crying for help, people in shock and disbelief. The disaster unfolded slowly, and the number of dead, injured, maimed and homeless kept creeping up slowly.

I kept thinking: How will this poor nation cope with it? How will life be ever normal again? But then I also saw the images of the rest of the nation jumping into action. Peeple all over the country collecting food, clothing, blankets, tents and money. Trucks filled with supplies lining the roads and almost chocking the entry and exit points. True, it was chaotic and disorganized, but it was also how the nation found a way to heal itself. People coming together; victims feeling they were not alone. If nature had been cruel, human beings were kind and generous.

Pakistanis all over the world were mobilized into action. I decided that sitting in front of the TV and watching the disaster and crying was not the way I wanted to contribute. So, as the co-chair of the Human Development Foundation, I called an emergency conference call. Everyone pretty much had the same feeling. There were some initial reservations. HDF is not a relief organization; its charter is sustainable development. But then I said, “When the house is on fire, you put out the fire first before you decorate it.” So HDF officially became a part of the community of organizations and individuals who were trying to help the victims.

My heart goes out to the people of Haiti. But I take comfort in the fact that the rest of the world is not going to stand by and leave them feeling alone. And yes, there is chaos and disorganization as is almost expected in a third world country, but still people are better off with it than without it. I also hope that people of Pakistani origin are feeling the pain and doing their best to help out.

I think back to the Pakistan earthquake and know that life is not and perhaps never will be normal again for some of the victims. But what frustrates me is that the same people who get all energized during the acute stage of a natural disaster are mostly indifferent to what happens to these people in the longer run. Children who lost their parents, families who lost their breadwinners - what is happening to them? Perhaps there are neighbors and some charitable people who are still supporting them, but no one really knows. There is no systematic follow-up or data available. Pakistan does not have an organized welfare system.

I am afraid the same will happen to Haitians. Hundreds of NGOs who are there, and without whose help Haiti will have a difficult time getting over the acute stage of this disaster, will move on in a few months, because people stop donating after a while and the resources dry out.