By Ariba Khan, MD MPH.
Living the dream 2010, Brian Block made a second attempt on Karakorum 2 (K2): the second highest mountain in the world located in the northern areas of Pakistan. Brian Block is a professional mountaineer and the president of Ames Adventure Outfitters-a leading rep group in the outdoor industry. I met him just before his trip to Pakistan and his plans were concerning. Firstly, the big risk to climb the most challenging mountain in the world. Secondly, a white guy in the remote, rugged areas of Pakistan? He may run into Taliban or even Osama Bin laden.
“Are you afraid for your safety” I asked him.
“Not at all. I have wonderful friends in Pakistan. If you listen to the media you would think there are Taliban everywhere, but I have never seen a Taliban to my knowledge and even if I had I have never felt threatened.” He replied.
The post-9/11 Pakistan faces enormous challenges. According to the long war journal in October 2010 52 “militants” and 8 Germans were killed by US drone attacks and 18 civilians died in suicide bombings in Pakistan. The negative international coverage has affected Pakistan as businesses slump, tourism falls and institutions fail. The government is corrupt. Some of us are not comfortable saying the word Pakistan as if referring to a dead person. During my last visit I witnessed a bomb attack while simply trying to eat dinner at a nice restaurant. Nevertheless, Lahore, the city of 10 million moves on after each and every bomb blast. Life is as normal as possible.
Brian plans his return from two challenging peaks K2 and Broad Peak. He cannot wait to fly back to USA to see his family and friends. The unusually heavy monsoon rain starts in mid-July. One city records rainfall of 10 inches in 24 hours. This pattern continues overwhelming the Indus River. Brian is in the small remote village of Machulo when the floodwaters threaten them. In a few minutes the water reaches the rooftops of the neighbor village of Talis.
“We had nothing and could do nothing. My friends jumped in to help the victims with their bare hands. We saw 22 people die in that village. I do not know of anything worse” he continues “I gave them everything I had to give. We made a desperate foray onto the road back to Skardu as the only other option was for an army helicopter to evacuate us. We were not sure if we could make it out of there. Water was over the hood of the jeep and in many cases we had to wade through the chest deep water to feel for the ground below to make sure it was not completely washed out. The Pakistani people remained helpful and courteous to me even in the face of an unbelievable disaster. They lost everything. It is beyond frustrating that so many Americans are unaware of the extent of the devastation due to lack of media coverage. Something needs to be done to raise awareness and create support for these people!”
UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon “Pakistan floods are the worst disaster I have ever seen”. At one time one-fifth of the country was under water (size of UK). Flooding caused loss of $460 million, claimed 760,000 houses, displaced 20 million, 2000 died, affected 6 million kids and 50,000 pregnant women. The number of people affected by this disaster is worse than the combined affect of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2010 Haiti Earthquake and 2005 Kashmir earthquake. It will take a number of years to reverse the affects. Pakistan is a poor country and the flooding affected the poorest of the poor.
“I believe the damage to be much worse than estimated,” says Brian who continues to help his friends in Pakistan. “People may not know where or feel comfortable sending money due to corruption issues that run rampant in the country or for fear that they are contributing to some anti-American Taliban settlement. Fortunately there are a number of organizations that are working hard at the ground level making every penny count. The Pakistanis I know are regular people like me and probably most anyone reading this, just trying to live a normal life. Sometimes, I feel they are better people than me and many of my American counterparts as they are completely selfless in good times and beyond accommodating and helpful in the worst of them. If anyone has ever deserved support in a time of need it would most definitely be the people of the Northern Areas of Pakistan.”
Brian has graciously agreed to advocate for my effort to build a high school in Pakistan. All the funds raised will be donated to “Concerned Citizens of Pakistan” www.ccp.org.pk. My mother and cousins volunteer for this organization and there is no overhead cost. I can trust the money will go to the right people. Rebuilding a school helps build a stronger nation. The cost is $40,000 and I have raised $4000. Hopefully the bravest nation in the world can successfully conquer this disaster. Please support my event at the Pettit Ice Center on 12/5/10 during family skate time. Pettit will donate proceeds to the Pakistani floods from tickets bought at my booth.
Living the dream 2010, Brian Block made a second attempt on Karakorum 2 (K2): the second highest mountain in the world located in the northern areas of Pakistan. Brian Block is a professional mountaineer and the president of Ames Adventure Outfitters-a leading rep group in the outdoor industry. I met him just before his trip to Pakistan and his plans were concerning. Firstly, the big risk to climb the most challenging mountain in the world. Secondly, a white guy in the remote, rugged areas of Pakistan? He may run into Taliban or even Osama Bin laden.
“Are you afraid for your safety” I asked him.
“Not at all. I have wonderful friends in Pakistan. If you listen to the media you would think there are Taliban everywhere, but I have never seen a Taliban to my knowledge and even if I had I have never felt threatened.” He replied.
The post-9/11 Pakistan faces enormous challenges. According to the long war journal in October 2010 52 “militants” and 8 Germans were killed by US drone attacks and 18 civilians died in suicide bombings in Pakistan. The negative international coverage has affected Pakistan as businesses slump, tourism falls and institutions fail. The government is corrupt. Some of us are not comfortable saying the word Pakistan as if referring to a dead person. During my last visit I witnessed a bomb attack while simply trying to eat dinner at a nice restaurant. Nevertheless, Lahore, the city of 10 million moves on after each and every bomb blast. Life is as normal as possible.
Brian plans his return from two challenging peaks K2 and Broad Peak. He cannot wait to fly back to USA to see his family and friends. The unusually heavy monsoon rain starts in mid-July. One city records rainfall of 10 inches in 24 hours. This pattern continues overwhelming the Indus River. Brian is in the small remote village of Machulo when the floodwaters threaten them. In a few minutes the water reaches the rooftops of the neighbor village of Talis.
“We had nothing and could do nothing. My friends jumped in to help the victims with their bare hands. We saw 22 people die in that village. I do not know of anything worse” he continues “I gave them everything I had to give. We made a desperate foray onto the road back to Skardu as the only other option was for an army helicopter to evacuate us. We were not sure if we could make it out of there. Water was over the hood of the jeep and in many cases we had to wade through the chest deep water to feel for the ground below to make sure it was not completely washed out. The Pakistani people remained helpful and courteous to me even in the face of an unbelievable disaster. They lost everything. It is beyond frustrating that so many Americans are unaware of the extent of the devastation due to lack of media coverage. Something needs to be done to raise awareness and create support for these people!”
UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon “Pakistan floods are the worst disaster I have ever seen”. At one time one-fifth of the country was under water (size of UK). Flooding caused loss of $460 million, claimed 760,000 houses, displaced 20 million, 2000 died, affected 6 million kids and 50,000 pregnant women. The number of people affected by this disaster is worse than the combined affect of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2010 Haiti Earthquake and 2005 Kashmir earthquake. It will take a number of years to reverse the affects. Pakistan is a poor country and the flooding affected the poorest of the poor.
“I believe the damage to be much worse than estimated,” says Brian who continues to help his friends in Pakistan. “People may not know where or feel comfortable sending money due to corruption issues that run rampant in the country or for fear that they are contributing to some anti-American Taliban settlement. Fortunately there are a number of organizations that are working hard at the ground level making every penny count. The Pakistanis I know are regular people like me and probably most anyone reading this, just trying to live a normal life. Sometimes, I feel they are better people than me and many of my American counterparts as they are completely selfless in good times and beyond accommodating and helpful in the worst of them. If anyone has ever deserved support in a time of need it would most definitely be the people of the Northern Areas of Pakistan.”
Brian has graciously agreed to advocate for my effort to build a high school in Pakistan. All the funds raised will be donated to “Concerned Citizens of Pakistan” www.ccp.org.pk. My mother and cousins volunteer for this organization and there is no overhead cost. I can trust the money will go to the right people. Rebuilding a school helps build a stronger nation. The cost is $40,000 and I have raised $4000. Hopefully the bravest nation in the world can successfully conquer this disaster. Please support my event at the Pettit Ice Center on 12/5/10 during family skate time. Pettit will donate proceeds to the Pakistani floods from tickets bought at my booth.
