Pakistan Flooding (Courtesy United States Marine Corps Official Page)

When a catastrophe happens, many people come together to aid those in need of assistance. We’ve seen this with Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the massive earthquake in Haiti earlier this year. However, the same cannot be said for the response to the recent floods in Pakistan, which have killed more than 1,700 people.

The consequences have been devastating to the country. Flood waters are finally beginning to recede, but that doesn’t mean the danger is over just yet. At least a million people are believed to be sick because of contaminated water, and millions more have been displaced.

“It is probably the biggest emergency on the planet today,” said Unicef’s Regional Director for South Asia, Daniel Toole.

The U.S. has donated at least $200 million so far, according to an Associated Press report. In comparison, America donated $100 million to Haiti immediately after a catastrophic earthquake devastated the country. Yet, some are questioning whether America’s motives are without other interests.

The ongoing War on Terror the U.S. is fighting in neighboring Afghanistan has put the Pakistanis in the middle of the bloodshed. Time Magazine recently described an incident in Pakistan that may show the civilians’ sentiment toward the U.S. An American helicopter was sent there to distribute food to people in need. However, when the civilians received the food, they were silent—evidently because they do not trust the American government.

A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center supports this view, showing that 60 percent of civilians in that country see the U.S. as an enemy, while just 11 percent view Americans as an ally there.

It appears the only thing the country has inherited from the chaos is vulnerability. The floods have left many in Pakistan without their farms, homes, and jobs. These conditions make it particularly easy for them to get caught between the competing agendas and interests of the Taliban and the U.S. It’s as if they have not already been through enough. Is it fair to make the Pakistanis choose in order to survive?

The people of Pakistan must either accept help from the U.S., becoming easily dependent on a foreign government that can leave the country at any moment to fend for itself. Or, they could seek help from the Taliban, thereby entering into a violent atmosphere that could potentially jeopardize their lives and those of their families.

The Taliban have reportedly already taken advantage of civilians in the flooding aftermath. New reports claim the Taliban are trying to recruit 50,000 Pakistanis in exchange for food and medicine.

“Desperation gives birth to terrorism,” the Minister of Interior Rehman Malik told Sify.com.

The U.S. does have good-willed interests. Yet, they also have an agenda to follow, which is to fight off terrorism in vulnerable countries where terrorist groups can dictate over the majority—like Pakistan.

The Pakistani government has weakened to the point that it cannot even help its own people. The only alternative left for this underdeveloped nation is to resolve its problems mostly through loans. The World Bank has granted $1 billion to help Pakistan in its recovery efforts. Still, it might take up to five years for the country to get back on its feet.

This is the only alternative left for this devastated nation. The contribution made by many governments is not enough to repair the damage left by the floods. The people of Pakistan need the help of the general public; it’s part of the responsibility of the media to bring more attention to this devastating situation, the way it did after the earthquake in Haiti.

I think when people look at the news coverage of the flooding in Pakistan they don’t quite see the bigger picture. It’s not an economical, political, or social perception we should be looking at: it’s an issue of allowing opportunities for all people. It doesn’t matter what their ethnicity or religion is, because they are human beings. The people of New Orleans were given outlets to reconstruct their city. Why not Pakistan?

Instead, the bleak picture painted by lack of overall help from the general international community appears to be a future that includes even more poverty and vulnerability.

Reach Reporter Esmeralda Del Rio here.