Dubai: The Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) on Friday urged its members and the Pakistani community at large to contribute to the Kerala Flood Relief through the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC).
A UAE-initiated relief effort is being spearheaded by the ERC to help the south Indian state of Kerala recover from the devastating floods brought about by monsoon rains earlier this month.
Dr Faisal Ikram, PAD President, on Friday called on fellow Pakistanis to contribute much-needed funds to the Emirates Red Crescent instead of relief goods.
Pakistanis rallied to the aid of flood victims as early as the weekend before the Eid break, gathering clothes, shoes and household items.
More than 2 tonnes of relief goods were collected at the PAD premises and were given directly to the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre, which is authorised to collect relief goods.
“As a community, we are concerned at the loss and damage which has been caused by this natural disaster. As a community in the UAE, we feel it’s our responsibility that we should contribute as much as we can to support our brothers and sisters in Kerala."
Humanitarian support
"This is a message that has also been given by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, who has offered to provide full humanitarian support towards the people in Kerala. We did these relief efforts even when there were floods in Pakistan and likewise we’ll be doing that for our brothers and sisters in Kerala,” Dr Ikram told Gulf News.
“From what we know, the relief goods are in excess and what they really need right now is money. The Community Development Authority [CDA] has directed us to support the Emirates Red Crescent’s drive to collect money and send it over to Kerala.”
Dr Ikram said PAD has pushed the message on all its social media pages and bulletins to inform all the members of the community.
Although many expatriates wanted to give more relief goods, donating money is more practical as it can be sent immediately to India.
Sending it through the proper channels, in this case, the Emirates Red Crescent, is also important, Dr Ikram said.
In this time of need, Dr Ikram said the entire community stands with their Indian brothers and sisters.
“As humans, we belong to the same tribe and when it comes to any natural disaster, I think there should be no distinction between colour, religion, race. It’s about humanity and I think we should all be one. Yes, we can have differences but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help each other in the time of need.”
