-[[ Edhi Foundation ]]-

My documentary will be focusing mainly on aid and donations provided towards the earthquake. The main charity which will be discussed in my film will be The Edhi Foundation. I choose this organisation as it is a non profit charity set up by Dr Abdul Sattar Edhi one of the most active philanthropists not only in Pakistan but in the world. I will discuss several aid providers (countries and organisations) but focusing on the Edhi Trust. The Foundation and Edhi himself have won many international & national awards including a Lenin Peace Prize, Balzan Prize for Humanity,Peace and Brotherhood, Lifetime Acheivement Award by the WMO. This year he is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Here is a man who has dedicated his whole life to serving the most marginalized and the most wretched in society. The destitutes, the mentally ill, corpses left by the roadside, children abandoned at his doorsteps, women kicked out by their families. When there is no one to go to, there is always Edhi Sahib to go to."


Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, or reputation to a charitable cause. The term may apply to any volunteer or to anyone who makes a donation, but the label is most often applied to those who donate large sums of money or who make a major impact through their volunteering, such as a trustee who manages a philanthropic organization.

-[[ M.u.z.a.f.f.a.r.a.b.a.d ]]-[[ 04.01.07 ]]-

For the filming I revisited Kashmir, mainly Muzaffarabad. Most of the rubble had been cleared away by then but the damage was still obvious with large cracks in the road, broken homes & buildings but Muazaffarabad seemed like it had moved on and was pretty much back to normal with its lively atmosphere. We visited most of the camps donated from many countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Tunisia. We came across a new camp which had been opened up by "Azad Kashmir Radio Station" were a lot of rebuilding was going on, with new homes being built so we decided to go in. We came across this man who was a radio producer at "Azad Radio" who lived there and was kind enough to invite us into his home he told us about the whole disaster and how his wife & 4 year old son were stuck underneath all the rubble of their home for 4 days. Luckily no one in his immediate family was killed but in his whole family & his wife's just under 100 were killed instantly, not including all those that were left injured. He then took us up to the epicentre of the earthquake were new mountains have been formed due to the great strength of the earthquake. Finally, he took us up to the "Azad Kashmir Radio & T.V Station" which was completely flattened except for the guard's office at the front and the Mosque. One of the TV Producers there, Shazia Malik, showed us around and told us stories of all those killed there including her assistant and the guard who had just gotten home from his night shift just to have his roof fall down on him and kill him. She showed us around buildings which "PTV" a Pakistani Television channel had donated as well as a new studio which was built from Japenese donations. The people weren't even scared that the snow was coming, which is a big fear after the earthquake as the snow can fall upto 8 ft and kills many of the homeless or poorer people in Kashmir, they also weren't scared of the landsliding which again is a major issue there due to the mountainous area. The day that we left Kashmir a huge landsliding incident occured which caused several cars and a coach of people to fall of the mountain, killing over 60 people, which we managed to escape by a few hours. Overall the whole experience was amazing and it really made me realise how strong these people are. From looking at footage and the news several months after the whole disaster, one year ago I didn't really see their strength as it was still fresh and no one was quite sure what to do..be thankful to GOD that their still alive..or be upset that everyone they loved was now dead. But a year on, with time to be thankful and grow they show their strength, that despite all that's happened to them they still have faith in GOD, faith within themselves and most of all unity. It seems that this whole earthquake brought not only Kashmir together again but the whole of Pakistan, who worked night and day to rebuild lives.

.x. Bia .x.

-[[ The Plan ]]-

For my media production I will be making a documentary on the Kashmiri Earthquake of 2005. The documentary will cover the progress of the last year using interviews and facts. I'll be looking more deeply into the reasons for why the earthquake was so devasting, aid provided and how life's changed in Kashmir one year on. I've already done all the filming during the Christmas holidays when I visited Kashmir so now I'm just waiting on the editing equipment and finalising my plans & dialogue for the voice over.

x...Bia...x

Kashmir : When The Mountains Moved

Kashmir : The Basics

Kashmir is the NorthWestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Kashmir refers to a large area that includes the regions of Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh. Kashmir State also incorporates the Pakistani occupied parts of Poonch, Rawalakot, Muzafarabad, Jammu, Gilgit and Baltistan regions and also incorporates the China occupied part of Aksai Chin. The main "Vale of Kashmir" is a low-lying fertile region surrounded by magnificent mountains and fed by many rivers. It is renowned for its natural beauty and quaint lifestyle.
The region is divided among three countries in a bitter territorial dispute. Pakistan controls the northwest portion and Azad Kashmir, India controls the central and southern portion, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and the People's Republic of China controls the northeastern portion, Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.

Kashmir : The Aftermath

The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake whose epicenter was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 GMT) on October 8, 2005. It registered a minimum magnitude of 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. As of 8 November, the Pakistani government's official death toll was 79,297, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan. The UN reported that more than 4 million people were directly affected, prior to the commencement of winter snowfall in the Himalayan region. It is estimated that damages incurred are well over US$ 5 billion (30 billion Pakistani rupees) Five crossing points were opened on the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan to facilitate the flow of humanitarian and medical aid to the affected region.
Kashmir lies in the area of collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. The geological activity born out of this collision, also responsible for the birth of the Himalayan mountain range, is the cause of unstable seismicity in the region. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured its magnitude as a minimum of 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale.

Most of the casualties resulting from the earthquake were in Pakistan where the official confirmed death toll is 86,276, putting it higher than the massive scale of destruction of the Quetta earthquake of May 31 , 1935.
As Saturday is a normal school day in the region, most students were at schools when the earthquake struck. Many were buried under collapsed school buildings. Many people were also trapped in their homes and, because it was the month of Ramadan, most people were taking a nap after their pre-dawn meal and did not have time to escape during the earthquake. Reports indicate that entire towns and villages were completely wiped out in Northern Pakistan with other surrounding areas also suffering severe damage.

"...a second, massive wave of death will happen if we do not step up our efforts now", Kofi Annan said on 20 October with reference to the thousand remote villages in which people are in need of medical attention, food, clean water and shelter and the 120,000 survivors that have not yet been reached.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "made the appeal to survivors" on 26 October to come down to valleys and cities for relief, because bad weather, mountainous terrain, landslides and blocked roads are making it difficult for relief workers to reach each house and the winter snows are imminent.