Statement of Support and Solidarity for our Pakistani Community
Dear SOGS Members and our Western Community:
We stand in solidarity with our Pakistani Community, who continue to be impacted by the devastating floods in Pakistan. From mid June this year, Pakistan has been ravaged by floods leaving a third of the country submerged under water, displacing more than seven million people from their homes. According to the top UN aid official in Pakistan, the country has recently entered a “second wave of death and destruction”: more than 20 million people are in need of humanitarian relief, five million people are facing a severe food crisis, and diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are running rampant. As of early October, the UN has increased its funding appeal by five times to scale up life-saving assistance and prevent many more deaths.
It is also important to highlight that the traumatic flooding in Pakistan has likely been exasperated by global climate change. Julien Harneis, the U.N. Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan said “They show what happens, what are the consequences when we do not stop global warming. The scale of it is beyond imagination. It is a climate change disaster that you can see from space.” As humanitarian crises like the one now unfolding in Pakistan become increasingly common under climate change, we must also consider how the impacts of severe weather and anthropogenic environmental changes are affecting the lands, waters and global biodiversity that humanity depends on to survive. Our support for Pakistan must be informed by our moral imperative to reduce emissions at home. The decisions we make here in Canada, now and in the coming years, have ripple effects across the world, and will determine the livability of our planet for future generations.
In solidarity,
- SOGS Executives
- SOGS Commissioners
- Brendon Samuels, SOGS Sustainability Coordinator
- Jake Collie, SOGS Sustainability Committee Member
- Unaizah (Zoya) Abbas, Graduate Student
How our Western Community Can Support
Donate Today and Spread the Message: You are welcome to donate to the UN Refugee Agency Canada or the Canadian Red Cross.
Support Resources for Graduate Students
We recognize the impact such a devastating humanitarian crisis has had on the Pakistani students and encourage anyone in need of support to consider the following resources:
ReachOut: Crisis support for those in the London/Middlesex area – 24/7. Phone or Text – (519) 433-2023, Online web chat is available HERE.
Good2Talk: 24/7 confidential helpline: 1-866-925-5454 or Text 686868.
EmpowerMe: Free remote health and wellness support 24/7 in Canada and the U.S. for Western University graduate students. Empower me is a multi-faith, multilingual service that pairs graduate students with trained professionals via telephone. Not happy with the counsellor you are matched with? Contact Empower Me to request a new counsellor based on individual preferences and needs. To access Empower Me, call 1-833-628-5589. Learn more HERE.