From the world to Bam
December 28-30, 2003
The Iranian
Page one
* Help:
Earthquake relief fund
* There is hope
How ironic that only two days before the catastrophe in Bam, this
article and photo appeared on the front page of the daily Ettala'at,
December 24, 2003.
Bam's old quarters had stood for almost two millennium. In 10
seconds, it was gone forever. People's lives shattered to pieces;
so many have lost their loved ones.
Iran has had its share of hardships; people have seen enough death
and destruction in the last twenty-five years. Maybe and just maybe,
this earthquake is the very last sign of the dark cloud over this
nation. And maybe in 2004, we will see a better fate for Iranians.
On the ruins of Bam, a more beautiful and modern town can be built
with hope for its remaining inhabitants. There is life in the face
of the little baby who was saved through the rubbles in the arms
of her deceased mother. There is hope.
Fariba Amini
December 30, 2003
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* United for Bam
Manchester United helps bam earthquake victims >>> See
Ali Nahid
December 30, 2003
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* AIA & Relief International
AIA is
teaming up with Relief International to coordinate Bam Earthquake
Aid. It is not convenient to send materials, such as blankets,
clothes, etc. Money donations are the most effective aid available.
For direct donation page, please go >>> here Relief International personnel are currently in
Iran to provide aid directly to the earthquake victims. The team
has been
in Iran working on reconstruction efforts in northern Iran‚s
Qazvin province, which was hit by an earthquake in June 2002. They
were also involved in providing assistance to the victims of the
flood in Golestan in 2001.
AIA Chapters, please contact Babak Sotoodeh or Shawn Mokhtari
directly to coordinate setting up local fundraising for the Relief
Fund.
December 29, 2003
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* AmeriCares sending relief workers
to Iran
Stamford, Conn., December 28, 2003 -- AmeriCares, one of the
nation's largest International humanitarian relief organizations
is dispatching today an emergency response team to southeastern
Iran, where a quake measuring at least 6.3 on the Richter scale
has killed an estimated 20,000 and injured 50,000. The quake struck near the ancient fort city of Bam on Friday,
December 26 at approximately 5:30 AM local time. Bam is located
roughly
600 miles southeast of Tehran. More than 90 percent of the Old
City of Bam (dating back 2,000 years) was destroyed. Officials
estimate 70 percent of the homes in the surrounding region have
been flattened along with local hospitals.
In response to the disaster, AmeriCares is sending relief workers
to Iran and making preparations to fill a cargo jet with medicines,
bandages, tents, water purification systems and other trauma
equipment for a tentative departure date of Tuesday evening
of the 29th.
Bam is home to 90,000 people with another 200,000 residing
in neighboring villages. The quake destroyed much of the city's
historic
landmark -- a giant 2,000-year-old citadel made of mud-brick,
overlooking the Old City. Until the quake, it was the largest mud
structure
in the world.
In June 1990, AmeriCares airlifted volunteer doctors
and relief supplies to Iran, when nearly 40,000 were killed in
a massive
earthquake measuring 7.7 that struck 175 miles northwest of
Tehran. It was
the first flight to originate from the United States and land
on Iranian soil following the Iranian hostage crisis, which
ended in 1981. To help AmeriCares with this crisis you can donate online at:
americares.org or call:
800.486.HELP.
About AmeriCares: Since its founding,
AmeriCares has provided more than $3.4 billion of aid to more
than 137 countries. AmeriCares assembles product
donations from the private sector, determines the most urgent
needs and solicits the funding to send the aid via airlift or ocean
cargo
to health and welfare professionals in the indigent locations.
Seventy percent AmeriCares' work is applied to long-term
relief and sustained health care. When Americans are faced with
hardship as a result of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes or terrorist
attacks, AmeriCares is there too with life-saving relief supplies
and continues its support for as long as there is a need. All
gifts to AmeriCares are tax deductible. For every $100 donated,
over
$2,800 of aid is created through partnerships and in-kind contributions.
AmeriCares Foundation: 88 Hamilton Avenue | Stamford, CT 06902
| (800) 486-HELP
December 29, 2003
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* Let's talk about us
All day I walked around pained and oppressed as I heard
the rising tallies of those injured and buried under rubble in
Bam where people are dying on the streets of their wounds and
exposure. Then I heard that EU had come up with about a million
dollars to help. How nice! But at least their words of comfort
appeared in time and unforced. Our own compassionately conservative
president waited the whole day to say he was sorry , bla bla...
Despite the massive presence of Americans on both Eastern and
Western borders of Iran and the need for immediate help for the
desperate survivors and those who are still buried alive, there
were no offers of help and no pledge of money to match Europeís
microscopic generosity. Cash is tight these days of course.
But why am I complaining about the dearth of the kindness from
strangers? Let's talk about us, one of the most prosperous minorities
in the most prosperous country in the world. If we had our act
together, if we were not politically infantile and socially retarded
we would have had at least one philanthropic organization to
help the helpless regardless of nationality, religion and political
affiliation.
If we were the least bit normal we would have had
(after 25 years of collective success in this country) at least
one blessed organization to which we could give to help the
people of Bam without fear of corruption and political hay made
out
of it and last but not least, being accused of helping terrorists.
So, friends, I write to tell you how I feel about myself today:
disgusted. Ahmad Sadri
Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Lake Forest College, Illinois
December 28, 2003
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* There is His hope
It is my expressed
hope that this latest tragedy will bring together diverse people
to work together to alleviate the pain and suffering
of the citizens of Bam.
This is indeed a great human tragedy that
I hope will bring people together to work for good. It is this
shared humanity that should override
all differences.
I am greatly pleased that many international
agencies and countries, including Canada, have come to the
aid and rescue of Bam. I
pray for the injured, survivors, and the victims of the latest
earthquake.
I would like to share the following:
A reminder that in a world of sadness, there is God's LASTING
JOY. In a world of despair, there is His MARVELOUS HOPE.
In a world filled with war, there is His ABIDING PEACE. In
a world
filled with hate, there is His EVERLASTING LOVE.
May God's
HOPE, JOY, LOVE and PEACE be with the Iranian people at this
time.
Sincerely, Derek Stratton
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
December 28, 2003
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* Put our resources together
Dear friends of Bay Area,
You all know by now about the great disaster that has struck
Iran and the people of Bam. Probably by now
many people are wondering what can we do to help.
My limited experience with the Manjil/Rudbar earthquake (1990)
is that we can not do much in the short run.
Over fifty countries are sending aid to Iran
and the government has mobilized much recourses to help. But we
can do much in the long run. Bam is 80% damaged and perhaps
as much as half its population of 80,000
killed.
We, as Northern California Iranian-American community,
can be of much help in the rebuilding process. Please
join others and bring ideas as how to go about doing this. Come
to the following meeting on Monday, December 29 at 8 pm and
let's put our resources together to help our fellow
country men and women.
Saffron Caffe
2813 Seventh Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510 644-0355
Please distribute this email to all interested
parties. Cheers,
Maziar Behrooz
December 28, 2003
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* Something to think about
By ILSA rules transferring money to Iran
requires special permit from the Office of Foreign Assets at Commerce Department. For this reason
it is
recommended to use US NGOs such as Merci Corps which has local
presence
and has been working on the ground since Saturday morning. Please
contact
them at mercycorps.org they
have on-line donation available and also strongly request monetary
support although they do accept
kind
donation as well.
Over the years there have always been suspicion about how monetary
donations to Iranian Red Crescent is being used and some people
have
reservations in donating to government affiliated organizations
in Iran.
This year in addition to usual NGO groups more trusted by people
such as
Writers Guild that took lead in Zanjan earthquake, there is an
account
set-up by Ms. Shirin Ebadi and donation to that account will
be spent
under her supervision.
You can deposit from outside US to that
account at
Bank Melli Eskaan branch in Teheran, account # 4277 in the
name of the
Children Rights Defence Society (Also see "Alternative")
Maziar Behrooz
December 28, 2003
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* Fundraising dinner, Berkeley Persian Center will be collecting NEW Medicine& Medical Supplies (only), to send to Iran immediately.
Items can be delivered to 2029 Durant Avenue in
Berkeley in the coming week as follows:
Monday, December 29th from 5-8 pm
Wednesday, December 31th from 3-6 pm
Thursday, January 1st from 5-8 pm
OR
Sunday, January 4th
at the Santa Fe Bistro
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! If you can volunteer your time,
please contact us at 510-848-0264 to help with our
Medicine Drive in the next two weeks. Thank you.
Cyrus Travel is sponsoring the relief efforts and has
volunteered to send ALL medicine collected to Iran. Additionally, they will sponsor travel costs for any
doctor who is willing to travel to Iran. Please
contact Mr. Mansour Hariri at 415-398-6111 for more
info.
Persian Center
December 28, 2003
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this page * Fundraising dinner, Berkeley
Persian Center [in Berkeley, California] is hosting a fundraising
dinner to raise money for earthquake relief efforts. The event
will be on Sunday, January 4th, 2004 at the Santa Fe
Bistro, 2142 Center Street, Berkeley, from 5-8 p.m.
The evening will include sharing of experiences,
stories and images of Bam, where many humanitarians
from the City of Berkeley visited in April 2003, to
distribute wheelchairs in conjunction with the
Wheelchair Foundation.
A MINIMUM donation of $100 is requested, written to
the American Red Cross, IRANIAN EARTHQUAKE. Checks
will be collected at the door.
[Note: ALL proceeds for the evening will go directly
to the Iranian Earthquake Relief Efforts as the event
is co-sponsored by Mr. Soheyl Modarressi, who will
underwrite all the cost for food, in honor of his late
father, Mr. Seyed Hossein Modarressi, as well as Mr.
Ahmad Behjati, proprietor of Santa Fe Bistro, who will
be donating the venue and drinks for the evening.]
Due to limited space, your RSVP is kindly requested.
For more information or to reserve a seat, please call
510-848-0264.
Persian Center
December 28, 2003
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* So close so far away
He's a musician in the San Francisco's Bay Area. I don't think
he's ever been to Bam. He called about organizing a benefit concert
for the earthquake victims. "I cried all day yesterday," he
said.
Jahanshah Javid
Albany, California
December 28, 2003
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* Down but not out
Dear Friends,
The title "Still
standing" would not
be appropriate anymore due to the
latest earthquake that leveled the 2,000-year-old structure.
On the bright side, Italy has announced its will to reconstruct
Arg-e Bam, but I doubt if it would ever be the same. :-( Mehran Azhar
USA
December 28, 2003
your message for this page * Solidarity
Dear Friends,
I am very sorry for the earthquake and deaths.. I share the sorrow. Our
government sent some help. Please accept our deepest
solidarity feelings.
Sincerely.
Prof. Mehmet Bayhan
Istanbul, Turkey
December 27, 2003
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* Alternative fund
[To help the earthquake victims] we can also send the money
to Shirin Ebadi's 'anjomane hemayat az hoghoghe kodakan.' This
is a very reliable source as it's not related to the government.
I read somewhere that Ebadi and her other volunteers will be handing
out the money and other items in person to the poeple and especially
children who have lost their parents. But they don't have 'hesabe
arzi,' so you would have to send the money to your family
and relatives in iran and ask them to deposit the money into their
account. (See Something to think about)
Mina Ghoreishi
USA
December 27, 2003
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* Islamic perspective
Dear Friends,
Following the earthquake in Izmit, Turkey (1999), which killed
17,000 people Dr. Tim Winter (aka Abdul Hakim Murad), a
professor of theology at Cambridge University, wrote an article
[When
the Generous appears with the name Avenger] analysing the
earthquake from an Islamic perspective. Like Turkey, Iran is a
predominantly Muslim country and I feel it may be beneficial
if you reproduced this article in its entirety on your site.
Please note I read this article a few years ago and managed to
locate it on the internet. This is not my work and I may or may
not endorse the views expressed in this article and am passing
it on to your readers who may be interested in understanding
the Turkish experience from an Islamic perspective.
Shakoor
Turkey
December 28, 2003
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