THIS week as I sat down to write this column, I thought of getting back to issues related to hockey, which has been the basic thread in the columns since I started the process some six years ago. My editor at the Dawn Magazine also wanted me to get back to the hockey track, and I had agreed because hockey has been, and continues to be, my basic identity. Had it not been for hockey, no one would have asked me, for instance, to do a weekly column.
So all I had in mind when I picked up the pen were a few hockey-related issues. But, believe me, I just could not write a sentence; the mind being so preoccupied with the human tragedy that has gripped such a large part of our Northern Areas. The mind, even after a fortnight, remains numbed by the catastrophe. It is more so because along with my colleagues in the sporting community, I have been busy collecting funds for the President of Pakistan’s Earthquake Relief Fund.
With such a state of mind, it was just not possible for me to concentrate on hockey and forget the colossal calamity. I am sure the readers would bear with me, for after all, it has been a national tragedy and everyone I have met in the last two weeks or so — and I have met a very large number of people in connection with our collective fund-raising campaign — has been emotionally and psychologically hit by the earthquake.
I talked about the fund-raising activity in the column last week, and had told you that we were in the process of counting out the donations before depositing them in the Fund. However, by the looks of it, the process might take a little longer. The delay, I may assure you and all the donors who came out on our request, has nothing to do with the process of counting.
The fact is that after I made my cell phone number public so that people could find it easier to get in touch with me in case they wanted to contribute something to the Fund, I have been overwhelmed with the response. For the first couple of days, the phone never stopped ringing. I take this opportunity to thank all those who called in, and a special note of thanks for everyone for not having misused the number which I had made public for a human cause. The problem now is that over the phone all I could do was to take down commitments. Actual funds in cash have yet to be received. They are trickling in for sure. Had it not been so, we would have deposited the collection by now, but the core group — Javed Miandad, Jahangir Khan, Slahuddin, Moin Khan and myself — has decided to delay the process till about Eid time to facilitate late arrivals. As I promised you all last week, I will keep you posted on behalf of the core group which is coordinating the entire effort.
When we first announced the campaign we had conceived it as a three-day activity, but it has sustained itself for so long only because of the response shown by the people. While I salute the spirit of the people, it will not be out of place to mention that donor-fatigue is silently creeping in. This is a huge problem because the whole process involving not just relief, but also reconstruction and rehabilitation, is going to take a few years, not months. It is vital to keep the momentum going for all those years.
Through this column space, I also appeal to the international donors not to forget the victims once they have come forward to save their lives. Saving lives, indeed, is only the first step; we have to put them all back on their feet. Only then will our task come to an end.
THIS week as I sat down to write this column, I thought of getting back to issues related to hockey, which has been the basic thread in the columns since I started the process some six years ago. My editor at the Dawn Magazine also wanted me to get back to the hockey track, and I had agreed because hockey has been, and continues to be, my basic identity. Had it not been for hockey, no one would have asked me, for instance, to do a weekly column.
With such a state of mind, it was just not possible for me to concentrate on hockey and forget the colossal calamity. I am sure the readers would bear with me, for after all, it has been a national tragedy and everyone I have met in the last two weeks or so — and I have met a very large number of people in connection with our collective fund-raising campaign — has been emotionally and psychologically hit by the earthquake.
