CAIRO, December 29 (IslamOnline.net &
News Agencies) â Muslims in the four corners of the universe joined the
rest of humanity in the worldâs biggest ever relief campaign to help the
survivors of Asiaâs worst earthquake in decades and the resulting tsunami
amid warnings that epidemics could multiply the final death toll to over
100,000.
Leading US and UK Muslim organizations
have launched online donations and appeals to people worldwide to
immediately send contributions.
The Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the UK-based Islamic Relief took the
initiative, asking âall people of conscienceâ to offer humanitarian
assistance to the survivors and pray for the victims.
âWe extend our sincerest condolences to
the families of those killed and pray for the speedy recovery of those
injured as a result of the earthquake,â CAIR Chairman Omar Ahmad said in a
press release, a copy of which was sent to IslamOnline.net Tuesday,
December 28.
Chief among US online donators are
Maryland-based Asia Relief and the Islamic Circle of North America
(ICNA).
More than 68,000 people have been
confirmed killed and thousands displaced in walls of tidal waves triggered
by a 9.0 magnitude underwater earthquake â the worldâs biggest earthquake
in 40 years â which struck deep in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of
Indonesiaâs Sumatra Island, according to a Reuters count.
Many coastal villages and resorts, now
nothing more than mud-covered rubble blanketed with the stench of rotting
corpses, remained inaccessible to heavy earth moving equipment needed to
clear debris and dispose of bodies.
Areas effectively cut off included
eastern Sri Lanka, India's remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
Indonesia's northern Aceh province, near the epicenter of the killer
quake.
British Donations
British Islamic Relief has launched an
appeal to raise â1,000,000 for the affected population, according to a
press release e-mailed to IOL Tuesday.
An initial â200,000 has been allocated
for relief intervention in the region and to help rehabilitate victims of
the disaster.
A further â20,000 of emergency aid will
be sent to affected people in worst-hit Sri Lanka.
IR representatives in Sri Lanka are
performing needs assessments, and IR staff will fly out within the next 48
hours to form an Emergency Response Team, the missive added.
IR staff from Indonesia will further
leave for Aceh to assess the situation, and IRâs partners in India are on
their way to Chennai.
The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB)
has further called on British Muslims and non-Muslims alike to help with
the massive relief effort needed.
âWe are profoundly distressed by the
massive loss of life and our prayers are with all those who have been
afflicted. It would require an unprecedented international effort to
coordinate and fund relief efforts to those who need it most and we appeal
to the British public to donate generously in this regard,â MABâs
President Ahmad Sheikh said in a press release e-mailed to IOL
Tuesday.
Canadian Assistance
![]() |
|
Indian people
cross by boat after a bridge was destroyed by tidal waves.
(AFP) |
Canadian Muslim and non-Muslim charities
also found their phones ringing off the hook over the last few days as
people call to make donations of money and supplies.
âWe have been fielding calls all day at
our office from concerned Canadians, particularly those with roots and
family and loved ones in the affected countries,â Raza Khan, Vice Chairman
of the Canadian Relief Foundation (CRF), told IOL.
âMany are requesting personal financial
assistance for their families and businesses which have literally been
washed away. They are fearful and saddened by the calamitous events, which
have occurred out of a bright blue sky, out of nowhere, and without
warning,â he added.
In Toronto, which has the largest Sri
Lankan community outside of Sri Lanka, cultural associations are sending
hundreds of youth canvassers door to door, and a Tamil-language radio
station has launched a telethon to take in donations from its
listeners.
The CRF is coordinating its efforts with
the Sri Lankan community leaders.
âWeâve connected with local Sri Lankan
community leaders and are coordinating efforts to fundraise together and
work out logistics to get relief reliably to the people who need it most.â
Khan said.
âWe are planning to hold a major fund
raising event in Hamilton. It will be a multi-faith effort with several
Muslim, Christian and Hindu groups working together,â he said.
Other Canadian charities and NGOs
included International Development and Relief Foundation, UNICEF Canada
and the Canadian Red Cross.
Arab Contributions
Several Arab countries were also quick to
dispatch relief materials to the Asian countries, which took the brunt of
the killer quake.
The United Arab Emirates Red Crescent
dispatched relief materials and transferred money to Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
India and Bangladesh plus a team of 25 trained officers and four police
dogs for rescue missions to Indonesia, Reuters said.
Qatar has further offered immediate
humanitarian assistance to the displaced in Indonesia, Qatarâs
English-language The Peninsula newspaper reported.
âThe Qatar government asked Indonesia to
send a list of the material that was required to provide relief to
survivors of the tragedy. We conveyed this gesture to Jakarta, which in
turn, has forwarded a list of items that are urgently required in the
disaster zone,â Gulfam Afero, labor attachà at the Indonesian embassy in
Doha, told the daily.
Qatar Airways has also joined forces by
ferrying stranded passengers affected by the devastating tidal waves that
have swept across South and Southeast Asia Sunday, December 26.
A special Qatar Airways charter aircraft
flew to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean Tuesday morning to pick up 130
stranded guests in the Maldives before returning to Doha in the
evening.
Kuwait has also said it was sending one
million dollars in aid to the governments of the affected
countries.
Aid
