Dartmouth's Asia Relief organization held its first informational meeting Tuesday night in the Collis Center. The group, formed last Thursday to respond to the devastating earthquake that recently hit Pakistan, presented a compelling case for students to become involved in the relief efforts.
Speakers at the event included Asia Relief chair Sonia Faruqi '07, geography professor Jennifer Fluri, KatrinaHelp chair Nick Taranto '06 and the group's three committee chairs.
The earthquake that struck Pakistan last week claimed the lives of over 40,000 people and injured thousands more. The body count is still rising, and damages have been estimated at around $5 billion.
According to Faruqui, no Dartmouth student lost family in the earthquake.
Faruqi focused her comments on the tremendous loss of life resulting from the earthquake as she tried to convey the magnitude of the disaster to Dartmouth students who were removed from the event.
"The numbers that died in the earthquake are hard to understand. It's difficult to imagine 40,000 people dying. If you think about it, Dartmouth has about 4,000 students. That's 10 times the student body," Faruqi said.
The most immediate needs the group addressed include providing shelter, food, blankets and medicine for the earthquake's victims.
The fact that most Pakistanis, especially from the hardest-hit regions, possess no insurance makes the earthquake even more devastating than Hurricane Katrina, Fluri said, and Pakistan's status as a developing country also complicates rescue and aid efforts.
"Communications are still quite difficult," Fluri said. "Seemingly minor issues create huge delays."
Faruqi began setting up the Asia Relief group almost immediately after the earthquake hit Pakistan last week.
"I started blitzing people the day it happened, and the committee was set up Thursday," Faruqi said.
The Asia Relief organization will function as a subsidiary of Dartmouth's Emergency Response Committee, but concerns remain about whether the Dartmouth campus can accommodate several relief efforts and whether the resources and interest exist to sustain both the Asia Relief and KatrinaHelp organizations.
"Other organizations are clearly going to be taking away from the amount of support for this one," participant Hannah Simon '09 said. "I think there is sort of a Dartmouth bubble, and people aren't aware of how big a crisis this is."
The meeting hoped to find workers for the group's fundraising, education and communications committees, which aim to collectively organize the campus for relief efforts by raising money and awareness.
Attendees were given the opportunity sign up and get involved in these committees after the meeting ended.
The event's relatively low turnout of approximately 20 students did not dampen the spirits of the event's organizers and sponsors.
"The lower turnout was designed that way," Tucker Foundation Dean Stuart Lord said. "This wasn't designed as a rally. We wanted people to come here that would be willing to work."
Taranto also expressed confidence in the nascent group and welcomed the future contributions of those attending Tuesday's meeting.
"There are maybe 20 people here. That's fine," Taranto said. "You don't need 400 people who are just going to sit on the side and read blitzes."
