The July floods in Pakistan have left more than 2,000 people dead, one million homes in rumble, and 21 million people injured, starving or homeless. These numbers exceed the combined total number of individuals affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), the Kashmir earthquake (2005) and the Haiti earthquake (2010). The systemic impacts of this disaster, however, are incalculable. Considering the deterioration of governmental infrastructure in the state, President Barack Obama has made it clear that the United States has a vested national interest in helping the lives of these people. What exactly is wrong with this response? On one hand, it is obvious that foreign aid is necessary; on the other, the discourse surrounding this policy response is deeply rooted in self-interest.

There seems to be a striking divide between the global and the local actors in disaster response. Here at Northwestern, local response was spearheaded by the group NU Stands with Pakistan. Within days of this tragedy, the core members of this organization began to develop a successful fundraising strategy. This club does not locate Pakistanis through a political lens, but rather, they have approached this situation with a humanistic understanding.

Sahil Mehta, one of the founders of NU Stands with Pakistan, said he saw something “people we resonate with” and it will resonate with others to “go out there and react in a constructive manner.”

Not only did this group establish a dynamic fundraising and a grassroots strategy on campus, but it also affected institutional actors. With support from the Kellogg School of Management, A&O Productions – which donated $1 from every ticket sold at their Fall 2010 Blowout – and even a personal video message from Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, this organization was able to raise more than $17,000.

Mehta said they were able to do this by “leveraging personal relationships” and that the largest contributor was, in fact, the student body.

NU Stands with Pakistan chose Oxfam, the international aid agency, as its beneficiary. Oxfam officials said it takes only $1 to feed a family of four in Pakistan.

While this disaster enters the media’s periphery, the aftermath continues to breed grander implications. In October, Oxfam asked the International Monetary Fund to cancel the debt Pakistan owes from developmental politics costs. Pakistan spends twice as much paying off debt as it receives in flood aid. The Pakistan floods have helped expose the disproportionate power this country holds in international politics. Oxfam has publicly stated: “Any rational person will see this as madness and maddening. It is a moral and economic absurdity that while poverty-struck people in Pakistan are struggling to put their lives back together, much richer countries … are receiving vast sums of money in debt payments.”

It is becoming increasingly obvious that these institutionalized social injustices are a product of absolutist self-interest at the international level. When the President of the United States justifies humanitarian relief primarily in the name of counter-terrorism, we have a problem. Political actors (individuals, organizations, and even states) can easily pass responsibility to one another, but only when a country is directly affected do they begin to talk about morality and ethics. Thankfully, we have a few amazing, committed, and genuine grassroots organizations that still have their priorities in order, but how do we reconcile these seemingly opposing motives at the global and local level?

There will always be barriers to progress, but this should not hinder action. It is true and debt is crippling Pakistan, there are others who will choose not to act, but this in no way justifies nihilism. We have a major collective action problem in terms of disaster relief, but the existential threat posed by natural disasters to everyone on the planet calls for the humanitarian ethic that has come to define NU Stands with Pakistan.

Though they are not actively fundraising, visit nustandswithpakistan.wordpress.com for more information.

This article was created by an affiliate of The Daily Northwestern. The Daily is not responsible for the article’s content. For more information, please contact The Daily’s editor in chief at [email protected].