The Bottom Line

We can fuss about the mismanaged relief and rescue operation. We can criticize the army and the government for failing to act sooner and for not having a crises management plan in place. But do we for once ask ourselves, what have we done for the relief of the quake-affected people. Is giving away one day’s salary enough? Is sending away a truckload to the disaster-hit area all that we can do? Was the initial 2-week ‘jazba’ [fervor] all that we had?
The bottom line is that people are suffering; they are suffering on a daily basis. Will our criticizing the army help the cause in any way? I have been to the forward bases myself. The forward bases that have been setup by the army. I have met several volunteers like me, people who left their houses so that they could make a difference, so that they could help the one’s in need. In contrast to the so-called men of opinion, we [the volunteers] have no complaints against the saviors of Kashmir and Garri Habibullah. What we need are more doctors, paramedics, interpreters, teachers, trekkers, and volunteers to help the relief activity. Trust me, we can play the blame game later.