BJ BODNAR
Opinions Writer

Dry & Toothy is a weekly critical commentary column from BJ Bodnar, who has been the recipient of the National Environmental Achievement Award, has been named to the Top 20 Under 20 in Canada and represented Canada at the World Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

In the last decade, Canadians have witnessed and responded to a number of large scale natural disasters around the world. We have become known internationally as a nation with the will and capacity to give generously and help in whatever manner we can. It seems as though natural disasters have a way of awakening us from the self-indulged slumber that is our daily life, and compelling us to do something that actually benefits those in need.

In 2005, when the Indian Ocean Tsunami hit areas of India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, Canadians reacted by organizing one of the largest aid campaigns in our nation’s history. Nearly $750 million was donated through various forms of aid, as well as countless volunteer hours. Similarly, when an earthquake hit Haiti this past winter and caused almost incomprehensible damage and suffering, Canadians were once again willing to rise to the challenge. On a per capita basis, we donated more to the Haiti recovery effort than any other country in the world — excluding Norway. Damn Norwegians.

So in July and August of this year, when major flooding began in Pakistan and created what many aid groups labelled as the largest humanitarian disaster in decades, it was obvious that Canadians would once again step up in a big way and do whatever we could to help. Right? I mean, people are in need here — children are starving, people are dying of preventable illness, millions are living without even the basic necessities. We have to do something, right? Well, apparently not.

To date, the public reaction to the Pakistan flood has been underwhelming, with nearly every aid organization from UNICEF to the Red Cross claiming massive shortages in donations. Considering that the floods in Pakistan have injured or displaced an estimated 21 million people — more than that of the Haiti earthquake and the 2005 Tsunami combined — one is left wondering why exactly we feel so uncompelled to give.

I have always thought of disaster response as being a time of galvanizing unity, when people come together to help based solely on the fact that others are in need. It is one of the few times when we can put aside political, cultural, religious and ideological differences for the sake of doing something we know is right.

Unfortunately, our response to the Pakistan floods may serve to contradict this view. It is no secret Pakistan has some factions that are somewhat opposed to the Western way of life, and it is also no secret that parts of the country have been somewhat of a breeding ground for extremism and terrorism in the past. Even aid and medical groups have been a target of terrorists, and relief workers have been openly threatened by militants.

Although nobody wants to suggest or admit it, it seems as though Canada and many other Western nations who have done little to help Pakistan may be penalizing those affected by the flood because of their assumed involvement in extremist activities. The association Pakistan has had with the Taliban insurgency and the fact that there are over 40 known terrorist groups headquartered within the country has created an unfavourable media atmosphere for the nation in the past decade. We are much less likely to donate to a place and people that have been consistently demonized by the media exposure they have received in the past.

The other theory regarding our sluggish donations has to do with our involvement in the Haiti earthquake. Perhaps we feel that because we donated so generously to the Haitian population, our karmic debt for this year has been paid and we can return to a state of ambivalent, self-induced ignorance regarding the plight of those less fortunate in the world. Some call this “dynamic donor fatigue.” I call it bullshit.

In any event, I don’t feel that either of these excuses provides suitable justification for our lacklustre response. The bottom line is that millions of people — not terrorists and extremists but children, infants, and struggling parents — are desperately in need of help.

The crisis in Pakistan is an opportunity for us to show compassion and kindness that transcends discrimination and political disagreement. It is a chance for governments and individuals in the Western world to take leadership and begin to repair our relationship with a nation and people that we have become accustomed to fearing instead of understanding.

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image: Flickr