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25 October 2005

Pakistani Americans Remember Their Homeland in Time of Need

New immigrants, descendants donate money, goods to earthquake victims

By Steve Holgate
Washington File Special Correspondent

Portland, Oregon -- The United States has been compared to a great melting pot that smelts all the ores of its great diversity into a single strong alloy.  It also has been compared to a stew, with each ingredient adding its own savor to the dish.

However, neither melting pots nor stew have memories.  People do.  Even while forging new communities, Americans honor their families' homelands by pride in their heritage and an abiding interest in what occurs in the country from which their parents, or they themselves, emigrated.

At the moment, Pakistani Americans are taking action to deal with a disaster of enormous proportions.  Whether they are new immigrants or second- or third-generation Americans, the news of the devastating earthquakes that hit Pakistan and neighboring countries in October has galvanized them – and thousands of other Americans – to action, collecting funds and material for earthquake victims.  One thing distinguishes almost all who undertake this work: they will do it without pay, as volunteers.

This tradition of volunteerism not only is consistent with Islamic tradition, but is one of the central strengths of the American character.  Throughout the history of the United States, neither individuals nor communities have waited for the government to address pressing needs, especially in times of disaster.  In common with Pakistan, the United States grew up with a strong religious commitment that emphasized charitable works and the donation of time and money to those less fortunate. 

Thousands of Americans – many of Pakistani origin, many not – are devoting uncounted volunteer hours and millions of dollars to alleviate Pakistan's suffering.  Though the United States government generally ranks first as the largest governmental contributor to international disaster relief efforts, private donations from individual Americans and nonprofit agencies exceed the U.S. government's contributions.

REACHING OUT TO PAKISTAN FROM ACROSS AMERICA

Scores of Pakistani-American voluntary service groups have departed from their usual activities to address the needs of Pakistanis injured or made homeless by the earthquake:

• In the state of Washington, the Pakistani Association of Greater Seattle, a group that normally organizes cultural and arts activities, has been collecting sleeping bags, tents and clothing for shipment to the homeless.  According to Kamran Salahuddin, one the group's founders, and Aziz Junejo, an American-born volunteer, the group also has been hard at work gaining corporate donations for its efforts.  Junejo says, "Everyone is pitching in, looking at what resources they can send."  Both men have taken time from career demands to volunteer their efforts.

• In Long Beach, California, Dr. Mansoor Shah, a member of an association of Pakistani-American physicians, has been arranging fund-raising dinners to aid earthquake victims.  This is in addition to his group's usual activities of funding hospitals and schools in Pakistan.

• The Council of Pakistan-American Affairs (COPAA) of Southern California, normally a nonpartisan, politically oriented networking group, has set itself a goal of raising a million dollars to help relief efforts in Pakistan.  They are already more than a quarter of the way there.

• The Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN), with chapters in Boston, New York, Washington and Silicon Valley in northern California, has organized a fund-raising dinner in Washington and already collected more than double its goal of $50,000.

These efforts and scores of others, many of them small in themselves, have raised millions of dollars in cash and goods, in addition to the large contributions made by the U.S. government.

CHARITABLE GIVING NOT LIMITED TO PAKISTAN

For many Pakistani Americans, the raising of funds and goods for victims of the earthquake is their third such effort in the past year.  Many Pakistani-American organizations also raised funds for victims of the December 2004 tsunami and recently wrapped up efforts in support of the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the American Gulf Coast.

Even though they feel strong ties to Pakistan, these groups also have been achieving the goal of many other ethnic groups in the United States – making themselves a part of the greater community.  In the words of Hamid Malik, president of COPAA, "We are working to get out of our shell, and into the American mainstream."

In the meantime, the mainstream is coming to them.  Reflecting the broad sense of community that has spurred Pakistani-American groups to contribute their time and money to projects far from Pakistan, thousands of Americans who have no ties to Pakistan are aiding in current relief efforts.  For example, the Pakistani Association of Greater Seattle has scheduled an interfaith fund-raising dinner in November.  Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis and Islamic religious leaders all have promised to attend and contribute.

Kamran Salahuddin of the Seattle association typifies many of those involved in Pakistani-American voluntary and service organizations.  Born in Islamabad, Pakistan, he came to the United States to study in 1983 and chose to stay.  But he feels keenly his ties to his native country.  He speaks movingly of the fact that many Pakistani Americans have lost family members in the earthquake.  At the same time he is working to bring non-Pakistanis into his Pakistani-American organization.  "We want to work hand-in-hand with our neighbors and friends and co-workers, so that we can work as a community," he says, adding, "We are building bridges." 

Perhaps nothing better describes the progress that he and others already have made than the story he tells of a recent visit from a life-long friend from Pakistan, which coincided with Salahuddin's first efforts to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake.  His friend accompanied him to a meeting with prospective donors – non-Pakistanis – who clearly were concerned with the plight of the victims in Pakistan and proved generous in committing themselves to relief efforts.  Afterwards, Salahuddin's friend said to him in surprise, "I never knew that Americans could be so passionate about Pakistan." 

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)