People donate their Eid gifts to struggling flood victims
7 September 2010: Many people in Pakistan are fore-going their traditional Eid gifts this year and donating to needy flood victims instead, Plan has learned.
Weeks after fleeing the worst flooding in living memory millions of people will be forced to mark the end of Ramadan ‘celebrations’ homeless and hungry – many in makeshift camps and by roadsides far from home.
Plan is to distribute 20,000 special Eid food packages to families and children in a bid to give some respite from the grim conditions during what is the largest most important annual holiday in the calendar for Pakistani muslims.
The flooding has killed more than 1,700 and affected more than 18,000,000 people across a third of the country. But those not affected have been giving what they can to others, said Director of Plan in Pakistan, Haider Yaqub.
“The flooding has had a devastating impact on many areas– but there are others which have not been impacted. Many Pakistani people feel great solidarity and concern for the flood survivors and are saying they will not spend much money on Eid this year, but will donate that money.
“There are many SMS and email campaigns going around right now for people to donate their Eid money. So, even if many people celebrate, as it is a religious festival and a religious duty, they will donate much of what they would usually spend to flood relief.”
A time for children
Eid-ul-Fitr is usually a time when families come together and if living in a different city, they travel and congregate. Normally special Eid meals are prepared to mark the end of fasting and it is a special time for children. Girls receive new clothes, buy and wear new glass bangles and put mehndi (henna) on their hands; the boys get new shalwar kameez (traditional clothing). Like Christmas, children get “Eidee” from ones elders, it is usually a nominal sum of money that all the elders give the younger ones.
Tufail Ahmed with the Plan aid response response in Sindh said: “Everybody that I talk to, doesn’t want anything for themselves (the adults), all they want is something for their children like clothes or food, as most will be unable to provide even the basic necessities. Everybody wants to go home, as Eid is always celebrated at home with special prayers for the dead.”
Plan Programme Support Manager Farrah Naz in Thatta said: “For many poor children and families, Eid-ul-Fitr is the only time that they get new clothes. And many of the children in the camps only have the clothes on their backs. So this year’s Eid will be especially hard. It’s heartbreaking.”
Depressed
Uzma Shafi, Plan Coordinator for the Disaster Relief, said the mood in Southern Punjab is depressed.
“Most people say ‘What Eid?!’ with tears in their eyes. Some are planning to go back as the water recedes. However, they are going back to total devastation and absolutely nothing. It was already difficult to celebrate Eid and provide for their families, now, it is next to impossible.”
Ten-year-old Zaafira is with her two younger brothers, father and grandmother in a Plan-supported camp in Makli, Thatta district, Sindh.
She said she does not expect to receive any gifts this year. “I do not know what we will do this year; I hope we can go home for it. But I don’t know.”
Her Mother Jannat said: “We have nothing for Eid celebrations. How could we? Look where we are living. Usually the children get new clothes and bangles – but how can I give them any of that this year, when we are struggling just to eat?”
Editor notes
A special Eid dish is siwaiyaan, which is made from vermicelli (fine noodles), milk and sugar, with cardamoms, almonds, raisins and pistachios. The Plan gift pack includes a packet of vermicelli, 1 kg sugar and 1 litre of cooking oil.
To date, Plan has distributed aid to more than 248,000 people in 6 districts, including: providing around 500,000 cooked meals, 48,000 family food parcels, tents for families and medical units, 62 water pumps, 3,000 tarpaulins, more than 7,000 cooking pots, installed 175 latrines with 500 on the way, distributed over 2,000 hygiene kits with 9,000 ready for distribution.
Preparations for Eid-ul-Fitr, starts during the months of Ramadan, around nearly 2-3 weeks before, as Eid is when the new moon is sighted. Everybody makes new clothes and shoes for the family and tries to get them ready well before Eid. The clothes are usually embroidered and festive.
Children receive a little purse or wallet and then collect their Eidee, small amounts of money from the elders of the family and friends. The adults try to get new notes from the bank so they are crisp, clean and given to the children. Children usually use this money to buy sweets and other little treats for themselves.
