tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9326984.post112939704879746813..comments2023-04-04T11:31:01.006-04:00Comments on Irrelevant Opinions: The EarthquakeFrazzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02611431995183800220noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9326984.post-1129521300800419072005-10-16T23:55:00.000-04:002005-10-16T23:55:00.000-04:00Wa'alaykum assalam,I went to Dir in 2001, passing ...Wa'alaykum assalam,<BR/><BR/>I went to Dir in 2001, passing through a few cities along the way including Mardan and Chitral. For some reason, our driver tended to speed up at corners, and often there would be oncoming traffic that we could not quite see due to the curviness of the mountain. We would pass these trucks at high speeds, and each time my heart would skip a few beats. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful sight, and remains to this day as the most beautiful natural scenery I have come across.<BR/><BR/>Relief efforts have picked up in North America, where originally Canada was offering 300,000$ US in aid, while America was planning on giving 100,000$. Both those numbers have dramatically increased, with USA committing to 50,000,000$ and Canada committing to at least 20,000,000$, with the intention of matching the private donations of Canadian citizens for registered charities such as Red Cross.<BR/><BR/>I remember a few months ago, I heard one Red Cross volunteer saying that the exceeding generousity of the world community during the Tsunami crisis might hold back future relief efforts, since foreign governments tend to allocate only a certain amount of funds for disaster relief. They worried that the Tsunami crisis would have exhausted the allocated funds, and future disasters would feel the pinch. I worried about that when I heard about the initial 300,000$ Canada had committed to, but it's nice to see that number go up.Frazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02611431995183800220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9326984.post-1129493727403724132005-10-16T16:15:00.000-04:002005-10-16T16:15:00.000-04:00Salam Alaikum!Thanks for making the effort to link...Salam Alaikum!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for making the effort to link to my post. Jazak-Allah!<BR/><BR/>The roads in the N. Areas are indeed terrifying. We visited the Swat Valley in 2000 and the jeep-drivers there do really give you heart-attacks. The raging river below and the narrow roads... *shiver*.<BR/><BR/>It's sad that with everyone working to their limit, about 20% villages have still not been visited even once since the disaster. <BR/><BR/>But I wouldn't blame anyone! The Pakistanis have all ben working tirelessly around the clock. Even now, I can hear a mobile platform belonging to the TV One network parked across the road, near the shopping area. TV Celebrities are collecting donations... and not the less-famous ones! I can hear the bigger names appealing out there. And the time right now is 1:14 am.<BR/><BR/>I could go on and on. Wonderful post!<BR/><BR/>Salam alaikum!Ameerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14557760186035732708noreply@blogger.com