Pakistani Americans
to Hold Quake Awareness Events on Eid
Seventeen major Pakistani-American and
American Muslim organizations have jointly called on Pakistani
and Muslim communities in the United States to hold Quake
Awareness events on the day of Eid, the Muslim day of celebration
following 30 days of fasting.
Ranging from prayers and memorials to peaceful rallies,
marches, and vigils, these events will be held immediately
after the Eid prayer and each community will decide its
own preferred format. The organizers hope that such events
will be held in all major cities across the United States.
These events will be of focused on three main goals: keeping
the issue alive in the public consciousness , informing
fellow Americans about the need for long-term US involvement,
and cementing Pakistani American and Muslim American commitment
to reconstruction of the quake devastated areas of Pakistan.
This press release has been jointly issued by the following
organizations: American Muslim Alliance (AMA); American
Muslim Society of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware
(AMSPND); Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent
of North America (APPNA); Coalition of Pakistani Organizations
of Chicago (COPC); Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater
Chicago (CIOGC); Human Development Foundation (HDF); Pakistan
American Democratic Forum (PADF); Pakistan Association of
Greater Washington (PAGW); Pakistan Association of Long
Island (PALI); Pakistan Association of New York Capital
District (PANCD); Pakistan Association of Riverside (PARS);
Pakistan Association of San Francisco Bay Area (PASBA);
Pakistan Community Association of New Orleans (PCANO); Pakistan
Cultural Association of Staten Island, Inc. (PCASII); Pakistan
League of America (PLA); Pakistani American Council of Texas
(PACT); Pakistan-US Freedom Forum (PUFF); and Strategic
Research Forum (SRF).
Both the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO) now
acknowledge that the earthquake which struck South Asia
on October 8, 2005, with its epicenter in northern Pakistan,
is a greater catastrophe than last year’s tsunami
in terms of the number of people made homeless and the extent
of destruction to infrastructure.
UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan has warned the international community that any
delay in relief efforts would mean “a second, massive
wave of death”. Mr. Annan has also noted that “there
is a growing sense of desperation among the people waiting
for assistance” because “in the most affected
areas hospitals, schools, water systems and roads had all
been destroyed.”
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