Fatal landslides happen so often in Tajikistan, the world media rarely stops to cover them.
On December 7 it was a bit different, after the remote Pamir region in the former Soviet republic was struck by an earthquake of 7.2 on the Richter scale, whose epicentre was just 22 kilometres from a seismically vulnerable mountain lake.
Nevertheless, journalists soon lost interest once the damage had been done and the task of restoring hundreds of houses fell to authorities, organizations working in the area and local residents.
[…] Unlike the rest of the country where people adhere to the Sunni faith, the inhabitants of the Pamirs are mostly followers of Pamir Isma’ilism, a branch of Shiism associated with the famous spiritual leader the Aga Khan.
The Aga Khan Foundation has dedicated much effort to developing and educating Ismaili communities scattered around the world, including in Kenya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Madagascar.
[…] Some organizations related to the Pamir region have launched campaigns to collect funds to cover emergency food and warm clothes to people who lost everything in the latest disaster.
They include a page on gofundme and Bartang Has a Future.
Many of the contributions are being channeled through the local NGO ‘OUR’, created only a year ago by youth in the city of Khorog to provide a safe passage for aid in a country where the government is often accused of stealing development money.
Other than emergency situations, the NGO is creating a network of volunteer teachers and trainers. Staff work on a completely voluntary basis.
“All our activities are transparent, and you can track up to the last cent of all aid received through our Facebook page (OO “OUR”),” writes one of the group’s leaders Daler Nazarshoev.
Read at the source: Global Voices
Ismailimail 