bam - donations and distributions

<< source: ze8tun.com >>
<< January 1, 2004 >>

[...] many factory owners bring their own products to donate. for example, there was a truck full of tomato paste, another lots of fruit cans. one brought feminine sanitary items and dippers. some are kind of funny like one factory sent a truck load of watering cans (bargeboo: used by iranians to wash themselves after using the toilet along with the toilet paper ... ) which makes a lot of sense, they must need it there ... one truck dish washing liquid, bags and bags of rice, beans ... another brought tons of aluminium canes ...
[...] some of the gifts are really interesting, like one kid came with his mom with all his toys and a bag full of cheese puffs ... a man brought over 50 new ties all from famous manufacturers. when he left the boys were putting them on and were joking that the poor bamies, when did they ever wear a tie? but a gift is a gift and i think it should be sent anyway ... even if its from a well dressed woman who got off her expensive car and called all the guys over to get her donations ... then we saw she had brought tons of very expensive cocktail dresses with a lot of shoes, high heels, in the latest fashion, narrow heels and pointy fronts ... maybe as the time passes and the wounds heal a little a young woman of bam might enjoy a dress like this!
[...] there were a lot of half made outfits ... they should have brought them well made ... someone brought a big framed painting, some ornaments and silk flowers, another brought 2 carpets, one microwave, another a toaster ...
[...] one of the biggest problems has to do with all the shoes, slippers, socks and gloves. they should be a pair, actually matching. almost none of the pairs were connected to one another and in the mountain of things, it was impossible to find the correct pair ... they should have tied the shoes together, and sown the socks and gloves together so they won't be lost ...
[...] there is a shortage of sheets ... they say most of the blankets and sheets have been used to wrap the bodies in so they need more ... in some collection areas they are wrapping the beddings in sheets and then with markers they write the content on the sheet. probably by the time the package gets there it is pretty much destroyed.
[...] one of the boys who came back from bam this morning talked about lack of water, none to drink, none to splash on the people's faces who pass out, none to cook food with, to wash the bodies with ... its now raining there, they need plastic covers to cover the tents and the bottom of them so people can actually stay in them.
[...] came back home for lunch, saw one of my neighbours who asked me about the earthquake. i mentioned the water shortage ... half hour later he knocked on our door and said she had called her husband and he has bought a truck load full of water bottles and needs an address for delivering them.
[...] a woman came by our collection booth and asked what did she had to buy ... the supervisor mentioned shortage of cleaning supplies. less than half hour later she came back with 120 bars of soap and 50 boxes of detergent, along with tooth paste, and shampoo. she also gave us a really pretty child's winder jacket. i took it and noticed it was still warm inside ... ran after her and saw her little daughter standing in the cold shivering without a jacket ... told her your little girl will catch a cold but she said, we live close by. no matter what i did she would not take it back. with a lump in her throat she said: "my girl is not better than any of them, at least she still has us to care for her, they are orphans and then broke into crying ...
[...] some afghans brought lots of tuna cans and cookie boxes ... and still apologized many times for not being to afford more ...
[...] people seem to trust red crescent more than the emam khomeyni's aid committee. at least the red crescent is using ordinary citizens to help and separate donations and send items to bam and distribute ... but the air committee has not done that ...
[...] many have a lot of strong words to say ... they cry and swore at the same time ... most of the negative comments are directed towards those in charge of issuing building licences who by taking bribes, would not give it a second thought to approve of building that are far from earthquake safe. many are particularly "kind" towards the rafsanjani family and say that even with their legendary wealth they still have not offered any help.
[...] there was a lot of talk about the 1984 earthquake in north of iran where many of the donations like tents, jackets and water flasks were sold in tehran shops ...

bargeboo: here are some photos from the gathering of webloggers in tehran, collecting and organizing donations.

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bargeboo: the following is from a weblog specifically set-up to cover news related to the earthquake. i hope this is a long-term effort.  in the comments sections there seems to be a lot of discussion on rebuilding.

<< source: http://vrofcs2.persianblog.com/ >>
<< december 31, 2003 >>

something odd is happening in bam. in the morning the city is full of non-native people of bam but at night, when the dark falls the city is quite deserted with only a handful of those who have remained from the earthquake.

according to a report by IRNA, population of bam in the cold nights of the desert hardly reaches the 2000 mark. they are mostly in tents near the ruins of their homes or sometimes live without a tent. these are the "real" citizens of bam. they are so generous that you can hardly convince them to take the donations and the food sent for them. they are all lost in the pain of their loss and mourning keeps them from attending to themselves. 

those from bam say, almost all of their fellow citizens have either been killed or are injured and in hospitals around the country. few have migrated to villages and cities near by so they are not sure who the "morning" citizens are. those in charge say these are the opportunists from other cities and villages in the area who come into the city each morning and collect as much donations as they can and at night they go back to their homes. many run after trucks full of items so they can collect as much as they can and take it to their own cities.

one survivor of bam says: "we are all in mourning, in shock. those who run after the trucks, climb them and grab the donations and the tents are not from us." Another one says: "these actions has caused other to assume that this is how we are but you should know that although people of bam have everybody and everything, but we won't lose our dignity for a can, a blanket or some cookies. the law enforcement officers in the area are doing everything they can to prevent these opportunists from their actions that no only injures the good name of the city of bam but also prevents the most needy to actually get the help they need.

people of bam, while thanking the amazing generosity of the iran, also ask you to see the real people of bam at night and help THEM ... do not belittle them by primitive methods for distributing donations.