BBC News reports that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani says 20 million people have been affected by the country’s floods, a much higher estimate than the UN’s 14 million.
Pakistan floods
War in Context
… with attention to the unseen
Really, since when does the concern of the people affect policy? Pakistan’s gov’t can’t control the rain, they have plausible deniability. Meanwhile, why would those who profit from the war halt their operations? There’s money to be made in throwing lead around. There’s even more money to be made off the suffering of people from natural disasters. once all that donated money rolls in. The more suffering the more aid rolls in.
As far as the number of people affected, I imagine that less than a quarter of those directly affected are materially “affected.” Again, one is affected if a quarter of his city gets washed out, even if he still has his job and his home is unharmed. So, quibbling over the figures is a far more academic exercise than we might imagine.
Unless one is actually in Country, it’s impossible to say what is or what does take place there. The pictures shown of the aid being given out in the cities, appears to be P.R. more than helping those in need. Those towns/cities don’t seem to be showing effects of the damage wrought by the rains/floods. As with all natural disasters that take place, it’s the victims who suffer. The Women & Children are usually the hardest hit, as are the men if they survive. One need only look at the Gulf Coast to see the effects of B.P.’s rush to completion ending in the worse oil spill in the World. Or Katrina, the suffering and aftermath. It’s too easy to criticize what’s taking place while sitting in front of a screen, in the comfort of ones home 1,000’s of miles away.