How many disaster does it take to make an efficient National Disaster Management System?

Airblue’s crash was one of the most tragic moments for Pakistanis but the uncontrolled stream of incorrect, misleading information over television channels made it worse, especially for the families of the victim. I am short of words for the utterly irresponsible and U turn taken by two minister's claiming recovery of injured bodies and black box and subsequently giving a contradictory statement. Sobbing relatives made their way to emergency rooms, catching hold of doctors, medical staff and gate keepers, desperate to find out how many had been brought in.


Pakistan has seen enough natural, terrorism-related disaster but no comprehensive disaster management system was in place. The head of NDMA claims that it is not responsibility of his authority to recover the body. So whose is it to coordinate? How many disasters does NDMA need to learn respond on time? If it is the army to rescue and respond in every disaster why waste millions of tax money on a defunct authority like NDMA?

Irresponsible reporting of various news channels Geo News, ARY, Express and Dunya, made desperate relatives rush to hospitals after learning from the channels that some passengers of the ill-fated Flight ED-202 had survived and were being brought to hospitals. Sobbing relatives made their way to emergency rooms, catching hold of doctors, medical staff and gate keepers, desperate to find out how many had been brought in.

The same had not yet ended when the news anchors in name of reporting barged in the houses of deceased, interviewing the grief stricken families trying to cash in the tears for more mingle jingle advertisements. Never have I seen such insensitivity and ruthlessness for country fellowmen. To add fury to people at home, the news channels started showing body bags which is not only morally unethical but must these channels must be taken off air for atleast 24 hours. Equally outrageous was the TV reporter on GEO boosting about being the first female reporter telling tales of her bravery to invade privacy in such sensitive moments.

It is indeed shameful state of affairs for the reigning ministers and the news channels for misleading vulnerable people already broken down by feeling of disbelief and anguish. Where there are laws for misleading financial statements/ documents, why not accountability for playing havoc with people in grief.

MANAGEMENT LESSON FROM PATHAN

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops – a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a Pathan got on. Six feet four, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the conductor and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.
Conductor didn't argue with Pathan, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened – Pathan got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next..
This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Pathan was taking advantage of the poor conductor. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.
By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So, on the next Monday, when Pathan once again got on the bus and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!"
The driver stood up, glared back at Pathan, and screamed, "And why not?"
With a surprised look on his face, Pathan replied, "Pathan has a bus pass."

Management Lesson: Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working
hard to solve one.

Unsung Heroes - Inspiring

The Unsung Heroes of Microfinance Blog NextBillion.net Development through Enterprise
by Chris Megargee,

Global Partnerships PartnerTrip Coordinator Justiniano Osco drove his dirt bike right into the meeting room where 11 women—members of a communal lending group, or village bank, sat awaiting him. The “room” was an open field in Achocalla, Bolivia. Justiniano is the loan officer who leads the twice-monthly meetings for this village bank, providing trainings, facilitating the loan process and supporting these women who are working to better their lives with the help of microfinance.
Justiniano visits 20 village bank meetings a week, often in remote areas.
I had the opportunity to meet Justiniano—a loan officer with Global Partnerships microfinance partner CRECER—last summer. I was immediately impressed by the respect that Justiniano showed the members of this village bank and the rapport he had with them. He started the meeting off with an icebreaker that involved jumping up and down in place—which led to lots of giggles as the women bounced in their broad skirts, derby hats perched on their heads and long braids flapping at their sides. He then led a participative training on good nutrition, complete with posters of the food pyramid.
Though he has every reason to be proud of his work, Justiniano is soft spoken and humble. An agronomist by training, he has served as a loan officer with CRECER for 11years. He loves his job, in large part because he knows he is helping his own people. Like many microfinance loan officers, Justiniano has a background that is very similar to the clients that he serves. He grew up in a poor, rural community: His parents were small farmers, working a tiny plot of land with a few animals.
“My childhood was very difficult. I didn’t know what shoes were,” he explained. He described how he and his clients “share the same culture, the same traditions, the same language.” (The entire bank meeting was conducted in Aymara, the indigenous language spoken in this region.)
Justiniano’s daily attire is a padded jumpsuit he wears for protection over his clothes as he rides his motorcycle. It’s a must, given that he visits four village bank meetings per day, traveling over rough dirt roads to get to each one.

Justiniano visits 20 meetings every week, with some requiring two-and-a-half-hour ride. His dedication to visiting communities in remote regions is typical of micofinance loan officers and reflects a key difference between microfinance institutions and traditional banks. While banks have an office in the city and require you to go to them for service, microfinance organizations are proactive in their outreach, traveling to where their clients live.

Justiniano is one of hundreds of loan officers with Global Partnerships microfinance partners who make these connections happen. If there are heroes in the world of microfinance, surely Justiniano and the many loan officers like him must be counted among them. The members of the 20 village banks Justiniano visits on his dirt bike each week would surely agree.

"I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man."

Hotel ewins acclaim after handing in $50,000 cash
Mr Khan has been invited to Lahore to receive an award for his good deed
A Pakistani hotel employee has won acclaim after handing in over $50,000 (£33,000) in cash that had been left behind by a guest.
Essa Khan, 51, discovered the money in $100 notes left in the room of a Japanese worker at the Serena Hotel in Gilgit. Mr Khan, who earns about 21,000 rupees ($235; £153) a month, says he never considered keeping the money.
He has been invited to receive an award from a state governor for his honesty.
"My duty with the hotel and my family upbringing teaches me nothing else," he said.
"Times are hard for everyone, but that doesn't mean we should start stealing and taking things which do not belong to us."
The father-of-five says he hopes the incident will help portray his country in a good light.
The Pakistani government has been riddled with accusations of corruption. "I want people around the world to know that there are many good people in Pakistan - everybody is not a terrorist here."
Hotel manager Rajid Uddin told the BBC there had been similar instances where lost items had been returned, but none "on this magnitude". He said the guest had been relieved when the cash was found. "He was naturally very worried as he wasn't able to figure out where he had lost the money," he said. Mr Khan said he had already received an award from the hotel, and that Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, had congratulated him and invited him to Lahore for a ceremony.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10603417

I can only wish the current leadership of hunza might learn lesson of selfless honesty, good practices and dedication to responsibilites from Mr. Khan.

'Thankyou Raisani'- Sharing an article par excellence.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-degree-fake-real-raisani-qs-08

Reaction to statement of Raisani in The News: Thank you, Raisani

Thank you, Raisani

It happened one bright sunny morning in the Land of the Pure that one fine gentleman, Mr Raisani of Balochistan, announced to the whole world that cared enough to listen: a degree is a degree, genuine or fake, it doesn’t matter. Armed with this information, my gardener, who is quite apt at the art of digging things, decided to go for a mid-career transition, and opened a dentist’s shop. I say shop because the word clinic is not in his lexical range. He is very happy, this gardener. He digs at people’s molars and slashes pieces of their tongues, and beams at a newly acquired piece of framed paper that adorns half of his clinic’s… errr... shop’s wall. It’s a fake degree, ladies and gentlemen, bought at the local meat shop. But what does it matter, a degree is a degree even if it is acquired from a butcher, we don’t care. Talking about this honourable Mr Butcher, he, as a side business, has opened up a fake-degree issuance bureau under the direct patronage of 144 or more members of parliament. Since he is very good at cutting guts and cleaning them inside out, he is thinking of getting a surgeon’s degree for himself. Would the respected Mr Raisani, who thinks a degree is a degree even if it is fake, allow this newly inducted member of the medical community to perform a surgery on his esteemed being? It needn’t be a gut surgery, a simple realigning of the reality-check hormones would do.I must say I am a bit resentful of Mr R who has taken so long to establish the worth of genuine degrees. I mean, why didn’t he say so when I was wasting the most precious years of my life writing assignments and reading obscure philosophies to get my genuine degrees? Why didn’t I just buy some fake ones? But it is never too late. Next time I go for a job and my employer tells me that I need a PhD in order to get a permanent job, I will simply invest in a fake degree. Can Dr Awan please guide me in this particular field? I would also request the HEC to please allocate a special fund for buying fake degrees so that the poor members of the academia, like me, could put decent food on their tables.All in all I am quite looking forward to the impact these golden words of wisdom might have on my students. As soon as the summer holidays are over and these students are back, I plan to spread this new mantra of prosperity among them. “Haven’t you heard?” I’d say, “A degree is a degree and it doesn’t have to be earned.” Imagine the relief; no designing courses, no sleepless nights reading books, no marking of papers, no keeping of records. In fact, no universities! Oh, here’s an idea: why don’t we just close these places of indulgence and turn them into gambling dens?I recommend a career change to all the people who work at universities. As far as I am concerned, I’ve already decided what I am going to do with my life. I am going to join the Defend-Zardari movement. It’s new, it’s happening, it doesn’t require an unblemished past, and above all you get great coverage on the media. The only thing I will have to do is change my name so that it begins with an F, and learn the art of bullheadedness in the face of intelligence. The perks are amazing. I will get free grooming, free face-lift, free wardrobe for Capital Talk, and yesss, a 10 per cent from the latest ‘Buy-the-lawyers fund’ every time I say the words democracy, danger, sacrifice and revenge… not to mention non-state actors, whatever the hell they are.

Khar-e-Isa agar ba Makka rawad.....in words of Sadii

All I can say about the above incomprehensive and absurd statements is:

Khar-e-Isa agar ba Makka rawad

Chun bi aayad hunuz khar bashad

Shaikh Saadi (RA)

Translation: 'Even if Hazrat Isa’s donkey went to Makka many times, on its return it would still be the same donkey.'

The situation in Hunza is worsening and I dont see much hope for any improvement with this representation.

“I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of life of individuals.” Stalin

"Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system."

These days politicians i.e the Government and opposition is probably are at their lowest in terms of modesty, integrity, intentions, morality and senseless diversions. The more you loathe them, the less.
Since devastation of Attabad , the people of Hunza are living in despair. The protocol savvy government ministers particularly the gilgit Baltistan elected representative have more important things on thier mind which includes distributing funds (Millions of Rs.) to self acclaimed righteous Lawyers and boycotting Shandur festival. I was at loss of words to hear and read about the 'Boat Mafia' operating in the devastated area of Hunza. Insensitivity is the lowest level of humanity and we are aspiring nation of Stalin not Quaid-e-Azam.



So where are we heading as a nation as an individual. 'Silence', at work, at home in our rooms. We take pride in being diplomatic (or hypocrites?) and staying silent by keeping away of issues. I recently read a quote that there is no remedy for a nation where funeral is the only event that masses choose to raise their voice and come out of their homes.

Why I chose to write, here's the answer:

"I don't want to tell your story because you're a insensitive, self-centered moron. I've told a lot of stories about young people, and I always feel there's hope."
Joel Schumacher