KASHIF AMJAD INTERVIEW, 2GB, Luke Bona, Weekend Wireless Program,
Sunday, 16 October 2005, Regarding Pakistan quake appeal
Kashif Amjad with John Laws
LB: “… sitting around like stunned mullets, not knowing what to make of it. But as inevitably happens with enormous catastrophes there are always good people willing to jump in and lend a hand. And I’ll give you an example: young Sydney businessman Kashif Amjad is a member of the Pakistan-Australia Association and they have hooked up with World Vision and Red Cross to raise money to help survivors of the earthquake. Now Kashif is a spokesman for this initiative, he has spoken to lots of people in the effected areas, and he is now asking the Australian business community to dig deep. He is now on the line – Kashif, good morning.”
KA: “Good morning, Luke, how are you?”
LB: “I’m good, congratulations on this. It’s hard to expect Australians
to keep giving and keep giving. We gave to the tsunami, didn’t we; we gave to
Red Cross and World Vision for New Orleans. It’s been a dreadful year for
disasters and natural tragedies, hasn’t it.”
KA: “Yes, look, I fully empathise with people at the moment. The tsunami appeal, I know Australians gave very very generously to that, as well as Hurricane Katrina. And with petrol prices the way they are at the moment, I can fully empathise with where people are coming from. But we just ask that people dig deep at this time of need. It is the Holy Month of Ramadan in Pakistan where people are fasting and a lot of these people are going to have a very very sour equivalent of Christmas at the end of Ramadan, which is probably the first or second of November.”
LB: “Now I believe you need lots of money for blankets and warm clothing. It’s coming into winter – just how bleak is a Pakistani winter?”
KA: “Well, a winter isn’t too bad in Pakistan but the problem is that this is in the Himalayas in Kashmir. That is the equivalent of the Snowy Mountains of Australia, so it’s very very cold. So these people need blankets and candles and matches and the big shortage, having spoken to some of the Prime Minister’s and President’s aids in Pakistan is tents, and really high quality tents because Pakistan is not a camping ground as it is so there is a limited number of tents in the country to start off with. And all of a sudden they are dealing with 4 million homeless people – 2% of the population - which is the equivalent of the whole of Sydney being without a house. So that’s where the real problem is. In some respects, that even makes this disaster worse than the tsunami in terms of the amount of homeless people there are after this great tragedy.
LB: “All right, you have done well, this is a great initiative. How can people take part?”
KA: “I just ask them to visit our website, www.pakistan.com.au, and that will guide you to the World Vision account we have set up for this appeal. It doesn’t have to be money, it can be blankets, warm clothes, tents. Yesterday we loaded a whole 20-foot container out in Rooty Hill in a Mosque and that was all done on a volunteer basis. The response was overwhelming, Luke, we must have received at least enough material to fill up four containers. It wasn’t just from the Pakistani community, we had people from as far as Palm Beach and Hurstville delivering truckloads of stuff, brand new shoes, brand new blankets.”
LB: “As you said, it is tough to ask people to keep giving when it has been such a horrendous year, but we must. I thank you for your time this morning, let me know how you get on.”
KA: “Thank-you, Luke, bye.”
