bam - still hurting

bargeboo: i came to write and am not sure how to let go of bam. this is haunting me so this being MY weblog i shall write some more on the subject:

a) if have still have tears left in you, read this weblog, written by one of bam's survivors. my apologies, its in farsi, don't have it in me to translate any of it.

b) more photos, lots from the injured, survivors getting on, donation distribution, burials and so on. so sad...

c) i have been translating a lof of the news items for coordination committee by the women n.g.o.’s website. they offer a different perspective on the non-government related activities in relation to bam and other emergency situations. ms. shirin ebadi is a member of this committee.

d) Speaking of shirin ebadi, the account that was set up in her name has gathered close to 24 million tomans (around $30'000 USD). Its great to see she is using the power of her name and her energy to do something so good. I think she so far has not given us any reason to distrust her. If you would like to donate here is the information:
You can still wire funds directly to her (even small amounts are important and welcomed) from any bank in your country by using the following transfer information: Name: Shirin Ebadi , Account No. 8080, Name of financial institution: Saderat Bank of Iran, Branch: Yousef-abad Ave, Kalantary square Branch, Location: Tehran, Iran (from eyeranian.net)
some of the readers of bbc.co.uk asked ms. ebadi some questions about her plans for the money. she answered them all in details. you can read a couple of them translated to english. (translated by yours truly!)

e) bellow are some quick facts by one of the red crescent workers in iran who was involved in the rescue and recovery efforts in bam, titled, let us take the red cresent seriously:

- about 90000 six person tents was sent to bam from the storage of red crescent but these were not able to reach the city due to traffic and closure of roads. This means they would have provided temporary homes for 540 thousand people.
- two trucks full of these tents were robbed on the way. each tent is worth around 180 dollars and is sold in the city by the thieves for around 30 dollars and in areas near the border for around 70 dollars.
- during the first 3 days of the disaster, the city has completely been taken over by the "Sepah Pasdaran" (the hardliners' main military arm) which would forbid the professionals of the red crescent to enter the city. They would also not allow medicine trucks to enter the city.
- in the first days, while the trained rescue teams were forbidden to get any closer the 160 km to the city, several young teams and unprofessional "basij" (people's army, protectors of islamic virtue) were those who were doing the rescue. because of lack of experience of these groups many of those buried under the rubbles lost their lives.
- all of red crescent storage facilities are now filled with the donations from the people and they would be able to serve bam for several months provided other organizations do not hinder these efforts.
- much of the donations have not been accepted due to lack of storage space, therefore trucks have been filled and sent directly to bam. there because of disorganization and also road closures many of these items never reached the survivors' hands.

f) if you feel like you have done all you can and would still like to do something ... anything, light a candle.

I will write more.
bargeboo