Cash Donations for Kashmir

My friend Surech posted this on the Ryze Network:

12:05 pm EST Jan 26, 2006
(K2Climb.net) The French climbing community has heartedly committed to helping Kashmir and its people since the October 8 earthquake struck the region. A number of French climbers and Pakistani mountain guides immediately set up “Solidarit?Cachemire? a funding campaign set up through The French Federation of Alpine Clubs (FFCAM).

€ 85,000 collected and invested

Since Solidarit?Cachemire was launched, French mountaineers have donated a total of €85,000, of which €45, 000 have been already utilised for sgetting relief efforts up and running. The remaining 40,000 will be invested in keeping these efforts ongoing; but priority will be given to emergency situations.?

“This money has been funding three separate operations in three different villages, performed by three Pakistani teams. These teams told us of the desperate situation in the region,?reported Montagnes Magazine journalist François Carrel. “The latest relief efforts were conducted in the villages of Bail and Saryan –the latter only reachable on foot.?

“Despite all the efforts to help, the situation is still alarming. New shelters need to be built quickly. The next relief program will be headed up by Inayat Ali and his new team. They will go further to the west, to the area of Kohistan by the Indus River.

People under straw shelters ?water springs blinded

The Pakistani guides leading the French relief team send regular reports. In their laconic style, they give an idea of the dramatic situation the people in affected areas are enduring.

When the relief efforts started out in late November, early December 2005, the biggest problem was simply providing shelter for everyone. Tents were a luxury back then, since many villagers had nothing but a straw roof over their heads. The team spent the next few weeks trying to convince locals to build more durable shelters with plastic or tin sheets.

In addition to leveling buildings, the earthquake had also wiped out virtually all potable water sources. Springs went dry, leaving many large areas without water.

We want to do more

As winter in Southern Asia grows increasingly colder, its effect on the local population is becoming lethal. Campaign organizers have decided to launch a new appeal for solidarity among French climbers ?and anyone else willing to help.

“We are eager to do more: With the arrival of the winter, many victims of this disaster are in a critical situation,?stated the campaign managers.

“Hundreds of thousands of people chose not to leave their villages ?they refused to move down the valleys to rudimentary refugee camps arranged by authorities. In the Neelam valley alone, we have identified about thirty villages which have received very little or no assistance."

“In bad weather conditions helicopters are grounded and the big NGOs halt their operations, but our Pakistani partners, professionals at mountain logistics companies, are able to proceed with their relief work.?

“However, we need your support. Kashmiris are living one terrible, icy and fatal winter. A corrugated-metal sheet costs nearly €7 in Pakistan ?and it can mean a lot!?

How to help through “Solidarit?Cachemire?

Send your donations by cheque to FFCAM. On the back, write that the funds are for "Solidarit?Cachemire". Each donation will be provided with a receipt from FFCAM. Here's the address:

FFCAM - Opération Solidarit?Cachemire
24, avenue de Laumière - 75019 Paris, France.

Partners on “Operation Solidarit?Cachemire?are: Ishaq Ali ("North Pakistan Treks, Tours and Expeditions" boss), Wahab Ali (guide from Shimshal), Pierre Neyret (expert in Kashmir mountains), Jean Annequin (ENSA guide in Chamonix, 18 expeditions in Himalaya and 4 in Pakistan), François Carrel (journalist with Montagnes Magazine, Libération & Respect Magazine, with 4 expeditions in Pakistan & Afghanistan). Christian Trommsdorff (guide, 3 expeditions in Pakistan), Herv?Qualizza (Guide, 4 expéditions in Pakistan), and the FFCAM (French Federation of Mountain Clubs) organized by Bernard Mudry.