Pakistani Army Operation in Swat Valley.

Propaganda

Read this article.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13740191

It’s amazing how Pakistan has changed its image from a country that supports Taliban and other terrorist organization to a country that is a victim of terrorism. I have to admit that Pakistani leadership is very good at deception. The Pakistani military and officials have benefited from the so-called “borderland war” of Pakistan. As I mentioned, that Pakistan created the jihadist organization to maintain dominance in Afghanistan and insurgency in India. The new Taliban drama is just a way to wash off its hand from its involvement in current militant activity in Afghanistan and India, while gaining confidence of the West as a victim of terrorism.

In recent years, the army has lost significant support among in Pakistan overall. Especially in the western provinces the army is looked upon as mercenaries. When I was a child the army of Pakistan was seen as a defender of Islam and people took pride in it. Being a soldier or paramilitary force personnel was a great profession many people with little education because it was respectable and paid well. That support has been eroding over the last decade due to the actions its leadership has taken in its own soil.

In 2002, General Musharaf’s dictatorship staged election in the western provinces and gave power to religious parties. Now prior to that time, these parties never won more than 5 seats in democratic process for the national assembly because religious leaders had no respect in the eyes of commoners- at least in the north western province. Religious parties and the fundamental movement were created with the strong support of General Zia during his dictatorship in 1980s. He created religious parties and implemented Sharia law parts of Pakistan to legitimize his rule because not only it was great way for mujahedeen movement but also weakened ethno-nationalist parties and  Bhutto family’s People Party of Pakistan- the most popular party of that time. The 2002 provincial election was the repetition of another muhajir (Indian Muslim that came to Pakistan) general’s way to legitimize his rule and sneak peek into the events that will follow. The religious parties that controlled the northwest performed worse than people expectations. They did absolutely no development in the region and deprived people from that little entertainment they had and enforced outdated religious laws. Musharaf brought these religious parties in that specific region to make the Pashtun people look like extremists and fundamentalist. The Pakistani authorities made the situation seem like other people in Pakistan don’t share the same ideology as the people in the western provinces and the government has nothing to do with what these people are up to. In other words, the government is not responsible for any militant movement in that region.

However, when the United States and Afghanistan started to point fingers at Pakistan for helping the growing insurgency in Afghanistan, Pakistan sent over 80,000 soldiers and paramilitary force to Waziristan region in the North Western Pakistan. The people of that region didn’t welcome this move because it undermined the local tribal law and also it made Pakistan look like a puppet to the west. The locals resisted the army but Pakistani army reported it as if they were fighting ‘foreign militants’ in the region.

There are reports from Frontier Corps or FC (the paramilitary force of the region) and local tribal leaders that the army wasn’t fighting the militants but instead it was fighting the locals. I have personally asked an officer with FC that was stationed there in 2003-2005 and he said that he had witnessed injured militants from Afghanistan crossing border in to their Check Posts to get help and rest. He mentioned that any soldier or official that ‘talked too much’ about the situation either died in ‘battle’ or simply ‘disappeared.’ The military was trying to cover-up its own activity and for a while the army got rid of the “too vocal” people by providing misleading information to the U.S to bomb them which would in turn make the U.S seen as a villain and Pakistan as scapegoat. The most popular incident was of the journalist who helped expose the wrongdoing of Pakistani army and Nek Muhammad, the local tribal leader. Soon people outside of the ‘conflict’ zone becoming aware of the situation and led to public unrest in the western Provinces of Pakistan. Many would argue that the current situation in Swat and surrounding area is the result of mistakes by Pakistan but it’s exactly what they want.

The western media always discusses the fear of Pakistan falling in the hands of the Taliban. It’s unbelievable that these so-called experts can’t figure out the real cause of problem. First of all, most the area in western provinces has very little government influence because most of those areas were princely state up until late 70s and were never fully integrated into the country. So the presence of “Taliban” or anything for that matters, doesn’t affect Pakistan much. President Zardari has been quoted saying that ‘Taliban taking over some village in the mountains doesn’t mean Pakistan will fall.’ I can guarantee you that the Pakistani army is not going to capture or kill Fauzlullah because he is one of the many people who are associated with the Inter-Intelligence Agency of Pakistan. There is a pattern among most of these terrorists associated with ISI, they are all camera shy but their comrades aren’t. These ISI puppet Mullahs prey on desperate people of the region because there are no jobs and the living of standard is very low. Apparently the Mullahs offer people large sums of cash in return for their loyalty. Zardari was quoted in his interview with Al-Jazeera that ‘they pay about $60 a day.’ I am sure it’s not as high as he says because he isn’t exactly a genius yet another tool used by the Pakistani army. He is just happy about the cut he is going to get from the large sums of cash provided by the west. The western provinces are combined over 50% of Pakistan and host to about 20% of its population. The government is keen to get its natural resources but tends to forget about it when it comes to development and education. Some of the towns and cities are built by local warlords and drug lords.

Swat was called “Switzerland of Asia” and like other areas in the region was a famous tourist spot. These so-called religious leaders have abused Islam as a tool to suppress cultural movement and motivate people to be part of this grand show organized by Pakistan to money launder from the U.S and other western countries. In past Pakistan would plea for financial and militarily aid but the west would ignore or provide too little. The current supply of aid is not only steady but its huge. Pakistani army has asked the locals to leave Swat valley and move to other parts of Pakistan because they want to save them from the ‘savages.’ The operation in Swat has made the western countries provide over half of billion dollar aid in emergency. This aid has done nothing but sponsor the non-stop foreign tours of  the delegation of President Zardari that number is in hundreds and fill the pockets of other politicians and army personnel’s who didn’t get hands on billions of dollars provided in past. There have been reports that the French government provided a village with three electric generators to help refugees cope with hot summer of Pakistan but the local politician and police officials are using it for personal use. The refugees are provided olive oil for cooking but the authorities won’t let them have it because it’s too ‘luxurious’ for the refugees so instead they are distributing it among friends and families.

A local politician was quoted saying that it was the best thing that had had happened to Pakistan after the earthquake in 2005. It is sad how the politicians and business elite see Pakistan as bank card that is only good for convenient cash. Now the governess has imposed curfew in city of Mardan and Peshawar to get rid of ‘Taliban.” Now many would argue that why is there a steady rise in violence in Lahore or Islamabad and the answer is that its a payback for its involvement in the recent militant activity in India.

The Taliban in Pakistan are shown as barbarians overrunning villages and terrorizing people, that probably is true but it all works in favor of Pakistan because it alarms the international community and shows the desperate need of Army. Pakistanis outside of that region are starting to support the army and government again. Not only is it helping raising support for the army but it also diverted attention from corruption done by current and past regime. No longer are the people asking for imprisonment of Musharaf for starting this mess or imprisonment of Shaukat Aziz for selling government owned properties and industries to friends and family for a fraction of its value. There is always another side to the story. Zardari is not interested in finding out the killer of his wife but conveniently blamed on another ‘evil’ Mullah Baitullah of Waziristan. Bhutto knew who her killers were going to be and she has discussed it many times on television.  Most leaders and Army generals in the history of Pakistan were corrupt but General Zia and Musharaf took it to a completely different level. Dictatorship of General Zia was the main source of many problems Pakistan, as well as Afghanistan and India are faced up until today.

Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban.

Taliban in Buner Dist. of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province

Anyone with a basic background in world politics is somewhat familiar with the situation in Pakistan. In the last few years alone, there have been suicide bombings almost every other day in Pakistan’s major cities as well as a steady rise in militancy in the North West province. Now, what has happened to cause this growth of extremism and Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan? Why can’t the world’s sixth largest military stop these relatively ill-equipped militants? There are many reasons as to why the ruling body of Pakistan, aka the Pakistani Military, will simply not do more to stop this radical movement. The most important reason lies in the fact that Pakistan has nothing to gain from stability in the region.

Taliban is the bastard child of the Pakistani Military. While we know that the Taliban is a creation of the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan; it has also been made clear to the world that the Taliban’s creation was a mistake. Pakistan has subsequently denied any involvement with this extremist movement. However, Pakistan still maintains a very close relationship with the Taliban movement. There is substantial evidence that Pakistan is in full support of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, and that the creation of the “Pakistani Taliban” is nothing but a cover and a tool in blackmailing the West for financial support.

Why wouldn’t Pakistan want a stable Afghanistan?

Hamid Karzai has always pointed towards Pakistan as a ’sanctuary’ for terrorists. Ironically, Karzai himself was a well-known supporter of the movement in the beginning. Considering the fact that Karzai himself has noted Pakistan as having been the source of the problem, it makes sense to look into the situation at the least.

Pakistan , or  the “land of clean”, was created as a way to unite different ethnic groups of South Asia under the foundation of Islam.  The government has used propaganda in order to convince its population that India is evil, and that the military of Pakistan is the “guardian of Islam”. The military has enjoyed great support among Pakistanis from all ethnic and religious backgrounds because they are viewed as the “defenders of Islam”. However, this support also solicited too much power to the very few generals in charge. The creation of a proxy organization started out with the aid of U.S. support during the Afghan War in the 1980s.  Prior to the 1980s, Afghanistan never fully recognized Pakistan as a nation, and instead maintained diplomatic relations with Pakistan’s mortal enemy -India. In addition, Afghanistan had a claim of over 50 percent of Pakistani territory. For Pakistan, a powerful Afghanistan meant the possibility of losing half of its territory and enemis to both sides. After the Soviets, or ‘the red infidels’, took over Afghanistan, Pakistan recruited many of the refugees from Afghanistan to instigate and fight in a ‘holy war’ against the ‘red infidels.’

The beginning of the Afghan War was extremely strategic for Pakistan. It gave Pakistan military access to the most sophisticated weapons and to incredulous monetary sources. For instance:

§  It was an ideal solution for many of Pakistan’s problems, because not only was it the best way for Pakistan to sabotage Afghanistan as well as fully crush its own Pashtun (Afghan) separatist movement in the western Provinces, but also it was made possible by the availability of oil money from Saudi Arabia and weapons from the United States.

§  It also gave a greater access to both money and power for the high ranking army officials of Pakistan. It was a war that  was approved by general population  and it simultaneously filled the pockets of army generals.

§  In addition, it helped Pakistan create proxy militant organizations to fight India in Kashmir. These militant organizations eliminated the need for direct confrontation with India, and these operations were also financed using aid from foreign nations.

The U.S. stopped its financial and militarily aid to Pakistan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This wasn’t a big issue for Pakistan because the oil money was still pouring in and it helped shift its focus to India – primarily Kashmir. The early 1990s fueled a mini cold war between India and Pakistan. They both plotted bombings in major cities and the militancy was on the rise in Kashmir. It was also time for the Pakistan Army’s child organization – the Taliban – to finally showcase their skills in Afghanistan, and it fully succeeded in 1996. Afghanistan became a Taliban state and that inhibited it from becoming allied with India. Meanwhile, the generals are still getting paid through the skimming of ‘jihad’ funds from the Gulf states.

After September 11, 2001, Pakistan switched its allegiance from the Taliban officially and joined the War on Terror. The United States once again partnered up with Pakistan and conveniently enough, there was a military dictator in power again (Musharaf). The United State believed that Pakistan had no other choice but to support the global war on terrorism. I believe that the U.S. didn’t realize that terrorism is what fuels Pakistan and helps in maintaining power in the Pakistani Military. Musharaf, then president of Pakistan, pledged full support to the United State with its War on Terror. In the meantime, Afghanistan was at peace for the first few years after it was liberated by the United States and it was progressing relatively fast. However, the government of Afghanistan was getting improving ties with India and this became apparent after India opened missions in most major cities of Afghanistan. An Indian friendly nation was the last thing Pakistan wanted in Afghanistan.

“Governments and the military purport to protect the public from enemies, and if there were no enemies they would have to invent some, for the simple purpose of rationalizing their existence ….“

This quotation is certainly true in regards to Pakistan. In order to sabotage the progress in Afghanistan, Pakistan unleashed the Taliban once again. Over the past few years they have made the lives of Afghan officials miserable and compelled these officials to ask the United States for assistance in order to stop Pakistan from aiding the Taliban. Pakistan has denied this claim and in turn started its own conflict in other tribal regions to cover  its activities in Afghanistan. In addition, it has been seen as a way to blackmail the United States and other western nations for military and financial aid. There have been many reports that many of the Taliban’s top leaders are either trained or part of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force of Pakistan. No one has actually seen the faces of Baitullah Mehsud (the Taliban leader of Waziristan) or Fazllulah of Swat. There are several reports that suggest that they work for the ISI. Now the question is where do they get recruits? The reality of the situation is that they find these recruits in the same places that they have for the past few decades, refugee camps consisting of unemployed people from underdeveloped western provinces that share ethnic and cultural ties with Afghanistan.

As time passes Pakistan has signed many peace accords as a sign of acceptance and truce, but after it receives promise from the west for more financial or militarily aid, the governments takes the first step to then break these peace accords. The people who die are always low ranking soldiers, policemen, militants, and civilians. The top leaders of the Taliban and Army are safe and living large. Pakistan has successfully deceived the west as well as the rest of the word by victimizing itself in the name of terrorism. Pakistan cleverly realized the fact that the United States can’t afford instability in the region and is willing to provide any help it can. The United States and the west have shown their sympathy by providing financial and military aid to help Pakistan fight terrorism. In the mid 2000s, the U.S. decided to fight terrorism in the instable regions of Pakistan by founding Free Trade Zones, but the project is being delayed for years because Pakistan, in actuality, is not interested in bringing stability to that region. Essentially, Pakistan needs terrorism in order to maintain the dominance of the Pakistan Military.

A Must Watch for EVERY Pakistani.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan901/video_index.html

Let’s buy some more f-16 and do more ‘successful’ missile test …all that cost billions and billions…but we must keep our people uneducated so we can feed them stupid propaganda of how infidel and indians are going to attack them.

Déjà Vu in the Rockies

Garden with the Peak in background

Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

When I was a kid I saw a wallpaper of the garden of the gods on a computer, and I said to myself that I hope to see it before I die. Then just a few days ago, I flew into Colorado Springs and I saw the tourism advertisement of the garden of the gods and Pikes Peak.  It was right before sunset and I was outside of the airport I through  a chewing gums wrapper on the floor and this redneck came up to me and said that the most intelligent thing I could ever expect-“Pick up this trash”.  For a split second I thought to myself that the guy was such a d*@khead but then suddenly I picked it up because I realized that even he cared about his city and that he had the guts to go up to someone to ask  for such a positive thing. Some may think that I probably picked that piece of wrapper out of fear and it might have been true considering the person was wearing a red sleeveless shirt with jeans short and John Deere hat but I did and I think it was a positive thing. I am happy about it and I ignored that unwelcoming feeling of a resident and went to my hotel. I decided that my quest is to discover the beauty of Colorado Springs by visiting the garden of the gods and Pike’s Peak.

The next morning I cruised around the city of Colorado Springs, watching the firefighter’s marching bagpipe parade. Colorado Springs reminded me of what Peshawar or any of the city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa could have been, surrounded by mountains with cold nights and sunny days.  Having that thought in mind I went to see the garden of the gods. It was not far nor was it a complex route but just outside of the city in the foothills of the Rockies. There it was the garden of the Gods- a strange formation of rocks in vertical and other weird formation. Regardless, it is truly spectacular to see and appreciate nature’s beauty. I was loving every step and I was just happy to explore it while I was young and in good health. Between these weird formations of rocks, Pike’s Peak was very visible and for a minute, I thought I wanted to go back; I changed my mind and decided to visit Pike’s Peak.

Takhbai

The drive to Pike’s Peak was amazing, the swirly roads and the giant pine trees. I got on Pike’s Peak highway and it was just getting better. The higher I got the more I thought it was a déjà vu. It all looks familiar. The trees were becoming more scattered and the route was looking more familiar. I felt like it was a drive from Mardan to Malakand division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa especially when I saw Manitou Dwelling, an ancient housing of Anasazi Native Americans, because it is common to see ancient ruins all over Pakistan.

Further up the road, there was a lake between the mountains, much like the one between the border of Dir District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan. The only thing that was missing was little boys in their ‘halka o parthog’ (traditional clothes) with herd of sheep and men with Kalashnikov on their back or old men with their white caps. It reminded of a time when it was fun to visit those so-called militant infested places, it reminded me of my childhood and more specifically time when the idea of active militancy in the area was unthinkable. It reminded of a time not too long ago. When people-especially native to the region did not have to think about an issue called security, when it was all right to drink a cup of tea between strangers in the loari Pass of Dir in the freezing cold in JULY.

Anyways,  I drove till I reached the summit of Pike’s Peak and the first thing I did in that cold wind was kissing the ground and praying to see the high summits in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa without fear of being used as a hostage to release some other militants, or being bombarded by Pakistani jets. I prayed God that the people of that region get an opportunity to learn how to appreciate their land and make other appreciate it by allowing them freely to discover the beauty of God. I prayed God that those people live long enough to enjoy God’s creations. I prayed God that the current situation becomes merely a distant nightmare for the people of that region and that they take pride in their heritage and culture instead of destroying it because they don’t realize the importance of it because we live today learning from past to make our future better.

When it comes to natural beauty, Colorado or any of other the states along the Rockies isn’t much different from northern and western provinces of Pakistan but the difference is infrastructure and security. I remember seeing westerners as tourist rather than potential spies in that region. I hope I live long enough to see that day again.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

“Outsourcing Jihad” by Shashi Shekhar.

THIS IS NOT MY ARTICLE! I FOUND THIS ARTICLE ONLINE BUT I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SHARE AS IT HAS VERY GOOD INFORMATION.

(http://www.dailypioneer.com/240502/Outsourcing-jihad.html)

It is clear that David Coleman Headley and his associate Tahawwur Rana represent a new breed of jihadi freelancers willing to offer their services to multiple sponsors of Islamist terror, while Lashkar-e-Tayyeba is playing the role of a ‘global jihadfacilitator’

Terror struck India once again on February 26, this time in Kabul with the targeting of Indian citizens and Indian interests. The Kabul attack came as India not just resumed talks with Pakistan but also looked to Saudi Arabia to exert pressure on it to act on terror. While the jury is out on the likely effectiveness of this diplomatic option, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’h’s Hafiz Saeed made no bones of the patronage his group receives from Saudi Arabia. Hafiz Saeed openly exhorted jihad in fresh speeches made days before the resumption of talks with Pakistan apart from giving a lengthy interview to a Pakistan-based media outlet. The ease with which Hafiz Saeed and his outfit continue to operate in Pakistan is yet another pointer to an emerging narrative of state-sponsored terror in Pakistan that goes far beyond the contours of the ‘Karachi Project’.

In an upcoming book titled Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mr Stephen Tankel, who is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, describes how the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba has evolved since 2001 and more specifically 2006. Speaking at a seminar organised by the New America Foundation recently, Mr Tankel outlined the magnitude of the threat posed by Lashkar. He reiterated that the Lashkar’s primary focus continues to be India while describing an evolution of in its strategy of blending attacks to simultaneously target Indian and Western interests. But the more significant insight from Mr Tankel comes from what he describes as the Lashkar’s ideal suitability for playing the role of a ‘global jihadist facilitator’.

If one were to draw a Silicon Valley analogy, Mr Tankel’s picture of the Lashkar is that of ‘jihadi venture capitalist and incubator’. With its robust finances, he says, the Lashkar is able to sponsor attacks either by the group itself or by nodes within its network in collaboration with other groups. What makes the Lashkar unique is its ability to go beyond the financing by providing additional logistical support to facilitate attacks. One way the Lashkar is able to provide such logistical support is by offering its training facilities to other groups, exploiting the relatively less stringent scrutiny its training camps receive.

According to Mr Tankel, support from Lashkar to other groups is evident from Jalozai Refugee Camp in Peshawar where allegedly training was provided to Al Qaeda suicide bombers headed for Afghanistan. Mr Tankel also draws attention to two other attacks in Afghanistan in 2008 directed against a United States combat outpost in Wanat and the Indian Embassy in Kabul where Lashkar is said to have collaborated with other groups. Mr Tankel’s narrative of Lashkar’s collaboration with other groups takes a curious turn when he talks of jihadi freelancing.

As observed by this columnist in the past on the ‘Karachi Project’ as well as from the body of evidence made public in the Chicago conspiracy case it is clear that David Headley and his associated Tahawwur Rana represented a new breed of jihadi free agents willing to offer their services to multiple sponsors of jihadi terror. According to Mr Tankel, the freelancing started at the mid-level and lower levels around 2006 with logistical and manpower support to anti-establishment groups within Pakistan like the TTP. Mr Tankel says this support has been in the areas of movement of people and material, safe houses, surveillance, false identities amongst other things.

Mr Tankel also highlights how the Lashkar continues expand its operations in the NWFP/FATA regions of Pakistan despite the official ban. According to him, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’h operates a large number of mosques and Madaris in NWFP. Specific interest to India ought to be Liasion and Recruitment offices in Lower Dir and Swat districts, as well as a base camp near Darra Adam Khel.

Mr Tankel also throws light on the trust deficit between the TTP, Al Qaeda and the Lashkar on account of its proximity to the ISI with specific instances of inter-jihadi rivalry. But he feels these fault lines were getting reconciled starting 2006 with the advent of freelancing and collaboration as has been evident from the Chicago conspiracy case which saw freelancers like David Headley collaborating simultaneously with the Lashkar and with the Ilyas Kashmiri lead 313 Brigade.

Still much remains unknown of the freelancing terror syndicate that the Lashkar-ISI complex has evolved into.

Mr Tankel sheds no light on how high up the freelancing and collaboration runs nor does he shed light on the degree to which the ISI and serving or retired Pakistani military officers are complicit. Neither does he shed light on who controls the “robust finances” of this terror syndicate and how they are managed. Lastly, we continue to remain in the dark on the command and control structure of this Lashkar-ISI Terror Syndicate beyond the jihadi demagogues and Islamist charity front outfits.

While Mr Tankel’s primary focus was on the threat to the West from Lashkar’s connections and collaboration, it is clear from his analysis that the direct and primary threat from Lashkar is to India. The jihadi freelancing and opportunistic collaboration described him makes it clear that India is no longer dealing with monolithic jihadi outfits with firm loyalties to either the state or to a cause. It would be myopic of India to narrowly focus its energies on a diplomatic process punctuated by periodic exchange of dossiers. What we now have in Pakistan instead, is a terror syndicate of freelancing state and non-state actors with commercial interests in the business of jihad. These interests go far beyond the AfPak theatre and will likely outlast American presence in this theatre. Its time our strategic calculus factored this chilling reality.

Shashi Shekhar-The writer, an expert on security affairs, tracks terrorism in South Asia.

Why Do We Wait For The World To Shake To Pay Attention to Poor Countries?

Rubble

Earthquake in Haiti has made the country a centre of attention for past week or so. It was a sad occasion that left many dead and affected many lives. The international community has responded so by providing humanitarian and financial aid. All kinds of media have helped by dedicating sometime of their programming to the situation in Haiti. Also, the public has shown great interest in helping the situation in Haiti on social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter, and YouTube.

I am glad that people are showing that they have some heart because I didn’t think that was the case at all. I am absolutely certain that most people didn’t even know about Haiti’s existence or its place on the map until earthquake killed over hundred thousand people. A deadly earthquake had to make the world aware of existences of Haiti. Haiti needed international community’s help not only today but throughout its two hundred years old history. It’s the only country where the slaves had successful rebellion and the second country to gain independence in the western hemisphere. However, the world was not ready for a country with such a remarkable history greater than any other nation because Haitian revolution truly showed the power of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Instead of helping the western power did all they could to cripple this country and as a result brought this country to 1^st on the list of poorest nations in the western hemisphere.

I understand that nothing in this world could stop the earthquake and its aftermath but this shouldn’t been the occasion when the international community started to pay attention to this island nation which was known in its colonial days as a “The Pearl of Antilles” because it was one of the most highest grossing island in the Caribbean. The Island of Hispaniola was more profitable than all the original thirteen American colonies together.

I believe this situation has presented the United States and the European countries  an opportunity to redeem them for its despicable history with Republic of Haiti. Most of these countries have promised to help and build infrastructure that will make Haiti much like its neighboring Island. Many Haitians welcome any help they receive as they are in desperate position not only because of the earthquake but also because of economic and political situation of the country. The people are eager to help create awareness and send aid to organization that are currently helping the people in need but is it going to last? Or is it just another blur in our memory like the earthquake in Pakistan or the tsunami in Indian Ocean? Lets be optimistic and believe that this momentum of helping the needy is going to last longer but unfortunately in western societies the death of famous celebrity or some scandal on Wall Street is worth more attention than people dying daily in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, or any other developing country for that matter.

If the media didn’t dedicate too much time to the situation in Haiti, then I highly doubt it would be seen as a huge deal to people who were not affected (The U.S and the rest of developed world.) The reason I am saying is that if there was a major election in the U.S. or Elton John died then none of the media would pay any attention to Haiti and it would be left to the misery of USAid, UN, or some other dysfunctional non-governmental organization. For instance, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan was given coverage in the U.S. media for a couple of weeks and after that it faded out. It’s sad that we have to rely on media to tell us whats important and whats not?  but it’s a harsh reality. I hope that the media gives the same attention to countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other developing countries to encourage people to support development in the region as it would help eradicate extremism and other criminal activities.  I hope that people starts helping poor people by creating awareness or providing an aid BEFORE they all die at the same time in some disaster.