The children prayed that all will unite to deal with the catastrophe and that the international community will not forget the victims.
Lahore (AsiaNews) The children's section of the Catholic non-governmental organisation MILAP, held an iftar party for their Muslim friends on 15 October.
Margaret Piara, MILP director, said the twofold objective of the meeting was to create social harmony, understanding and respect among children of different faiths so that a tolerant attitude will be fostered among future generations, and on the other hand, to pray for quake victims and to be close to their relatives and friends.
Jahangir Salim, a young Muslim boy, prayed for the government, for NGOs and for civil society, so they may help all those affected by the quake to overcome this difficult time, to treat the wounded and to help survivors re-establish their working life. Another child, Shamim Yunas Masih, said a prayer for the world community, so it will not be indifferent to the calamity. She prayed that all the political parties may work in harmony forgetting their differences and concentrating only on helping those in need.
Some testimonies followed, like the story of Aqsa and Ferry, two children whose father went personally to Azad Kashmir to bury his sister and other relatives who were victims of the quake. The man was wounded by sharp stones when he tried to extract their remains from the debris.
Meanwhile, Yasmine Muhamamd Salim, a woman present at the ceremony, condemned looters stealing things from trucks carrying essential aid like blankets and good to quake-stricken areas. She said it was sad that people's generosity should be discouraged by such acts and the government should deal with looters in a decisive manner. Another sad occurrence highlighted by the women was the fact that some transporters were taking advantage of the emergency and increasing fares to ferry essential supplies to quake victims.