Crisis Appeals

“On my present salary, even in 50 years I cannot rebuild my house.”

Joseph Bashir, 26 August 2010.

“Even in 50 years I cannot rebuild my house” Joseph Bashir

Joseph Bashir had to flee his lifelong home near the Kabul river in the city of Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, when the floodwaters began pouring in on 29 July. He carried his six children, aged between one and eight, and paralysed father to the road wondering where to turn for help. The Bashirs, who are the only Christian family in the area, found shelter in a relief camp set up by Barnabas Aid partners from the Diocese of Peshawar.

Fears that Islamist groups are winning hearts and minds through relief efforts among Pakistan’s flood victims are growing within the Christian community.

Extremists with terrorist links have stepped in to fill the aid gap as international support has been slow, while the Pakistani government has been critizised for its ineffective response to the crisis – which has now affected as many as 20 million people.

Update 08/16/2010

Two senior members of Barnabas Aid's projects team will be interviewed about the flood crisis in Pakistan on live television on Tuesday evening (August 17).

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Original Article

Over 100 stranded Christian families who were rescued from a remote village are among the thousands of Pakistani flood victims receiving aid from Barnabas Aid.
The army helped to transport the villagers from Rangpur Khare, Muzaffargarh, in Punjab Province, on Tuesday (August 10) night to a place of safety where they are now being cared for by Barnabas Aid partners.

*UPDATE 10/08/2010* Up to 200,000 Christians are being affected by the floods.

An estimated 150,000-200,000 Christians may be affected by the floods in Pakistan as the victim count rises daily and the situation is rated as the worst humanitarian crisis in recent history.