Confession time: I am a huge sports fan. Ever since I can remember, I have been a fan of Penn State teams. (No, I really don't want to talk about yesterday's game.)
One tradition -- a tradition a lot of other schools have copied -- is that one side of Beaver Stadium yells in unison "We Are" and the other side of the stadium replies "Penn State." Even my grandparents thought that the tradition had been going on forever.
The other day I came across the history of the chant.
I promise this will tie into helping Pakistan recover from the flooding.
You can watch a video to get the whole story here.
After World War II, the University of Miami offered a scholarship to fullback Wally Triplett without meeting him. Miami rescinded the scholarship when they found out he was African American. So Triplett went to Penn State and was one of two black players on the team. The other was Dennie Hoggard.
It turned out that one of the first team Triplett would have faced as a Nittany Lion would have been Miami. Of course, the South still clung to Jim Crow at any cost. The tradition at the time was that Northern teams would leave their black players home when they played in the South. Well, Penn State was not about to leave their best player at home just to shield Miami and their delicate sensibilities from witnessing a (gasp) black player on their field. Sources vary on which school actually canceled the game, but the game was canceled.
The 1947 Penn State team was one of the best in the school's history and received an invitation to the 1948 Cotton Bowl in Dallas to play Southern Methodist University (SMU). Officials from SMU and the Cotton Bowl wanted "a meeting" with Penn State to discuss how to handle black football players in segregated Dallas (site of the Cotton Bowl).
The Penn State players discussed the issue among themselves. Steve Suhey, a white player who had descendants play at Penn State, Said quite simply, "We're Penn State. There will be no meetings." It was a defiant show of unity and almost unheard of in that era.
In the end, the Penn State team traveled to Dallas together. The white players could have stayed in segregated hotels and black players with local families. The white players could have spent the New Year's season having fun in warm Dallas. Instead, the whole team stayed at a Naval Air Station 14 miles from the stadium, even though Truman did not officially desegregate the military for another eight months.
Triplett was the (unofficial) player of the game and scored the touchdown that preserved a 13-13 tie -- a respectable outcome considering Penn State was playing a tough Texas team in Dallas with less than adequate facilities to practice.
So why tell this story in diary about Pakistan? Just like that 1947 football team, as humans we are all on the same team so to speak, regardless of race or religion. Those white players could have just left their teammates home and had a good time in Dallas while Triplett and Hoggard spent a miserable holiday week in the backwoods Pennsylvania winter. But they didn't. They made sacrifices in the midst of bigotry. They came out with a respectable post season result. And they gave generations of fans one of the greatest cheers in college sports.
That's what I think this community is doing for Pakistan. We are making sacrifices to help fellow humans even as hear the media and right wing scream about burning Korans and terrorists and which religion hold all of the answers.
So, corny as it may sound: We Are Pakistan.
Help Pakistan is a group dedicated to getting needed humanitarian support to flood ravaged Pakistan, and disseminating information pertaining to the floods to the dailykos community at large. Our goal is getting donations to those people who need it most.
If you have a negative comment pertaining to Pakistan, its people, its culture, or its relationship with the United States, please refrain from making it here. If you would like to be a part of our group, please click the picture at the very bottom of this diary. We would love more volunteers to help us with the burden of getting a diary up every day.
Here's the latest news from Pakistan:
Pregnant women in danger.
Pregnant women at high risk after floods
MUZAFFARGARH: Sughra Ramzan knew something was wrong when strange pains began ripping through her stomach for the second time. The pregnant mother feared her baby was in trouble — but there was nothing she could do.
It was dark, and she was stranded with no way to reach a doctor from her village, still floating in thigh-high murky water from last month's massive floods. She desperately needed a boat to ferry her through even deeper water to reach the road, but nothing was available until morning.
The Canadian government is matching individual donations.
(Canadian) Government extends donation-matching for Pakistan aid
The Canadian government will continue to match individual donations from Canadians for flood victims in Pakistan.
The Harper government pledge to give dollar-for-dollar aid to help Pakistan was announced in late August, following criticisms that the government had been slow to respond to the disaster was to end today. It will now be extended until Oct. 3.
"Millions of people in Pakistan are in dire need of assistance," said John Baird, Conservative government house leader, making the announcement Sunday. "We need to keep contributing to the relief effort. We call upon Canadian’s legendary generosity to ensure help reaches those who are truly in need."
Holiday celebrations in a disaster zone.
Eid-al-Fitr a Somber Affair in Pakistan as Flooding Affects Millions
Celebrations for the holiday Eid-al-Fitr in Pakistan are muted as millions of Pakistanis continue to suffer in the wake of the country's worst flooding.
The heavy rains came to Pakistan just before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, known locally as Ramazan, arrived.
Sunrise-to-sunset fasting is the key component of the month. And while Eid-al-Fitr marks the end to the fasting, there seems to be no end in sight for millions of Pakistanis who were caught in the floodwaters.
And from Democracy Now!
Pakistan Flood Victims Tell of Suffering, Unfolding Disaster in Southern Sindh Province
MADIHA TAHIR: But while the government has partnered with larger NGO’s, many smaller organizations and private camp sites have also cropped up. They may get funds and goods from the government, but there is little oversight. At these camps everything from access to food and medical help is becoming a problem. This is Ayesha Zadi, she has lost two girls. They fell ill after coming to a small camp only a few miles from Sukkur City.
AYESHA ZADI: I took them to the hospital, but I didn’t have money so they didn’t get treatment. So I put them in the government hospital. One daughter died on the first day. The second died on the second day. We didn’t have a proper funeral for them, I couldn’t even afford a coffin.
MADIHA TAHIR: The elder daughter Nasima was 6 years old. Her sister Samina was only 12 months.
In the early days we focused on organization that gave direct support. That list is here:
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Greg (Three Cups of Tea, Stones Into Schools) Mortenson's non-profit (CAI) recommends supporting a local (Pakistani) groups to which donations will likely have a large, immediate, and lasting impact-
Human Development Foundation
http://www.hdf.com
(800) 705 1310
DONATE
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Doctors without Borders (MSF):
DONATE
Shelterbox
DONATE
Mercy Corps:
DONATE
OXFAM:
DONATE
Islamicrelief
DONATE
UNICEF:
DONATE
Toll free: 1-800-FOR-KIDS (1-800-367-5437)
Text: "Text FLOODS to 864233 (UNICEF) to donate $10"
Shelterbox:
DONATE
ShelterBox tents in Shishkat upper Hunza, Pakistan
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From the US State dept.
How You Can Help:
Text "FLOOD" to 27722. Your $10 will go to the State Department Fund for Pakistan Relief that Secretary Clinton announced August 19, and is part of a new effort to bring attention to the need for aid.
Text "SWAT" to 50555 ; $10 goes to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees fund for flood victims
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List of more organizations can be found here:
If you are giving inkind medicine please note in Pakistan Tylenol and Motrin/Advil are not easily found and these are needed fever reducers, all forms are needed from infant and children's liquid, children's chewables to adult liquid and pills. You may wish to include a bottle in your donation. Inkind donations are highlighted.
Action Against Hunger - contain the spread of water-borne illnesses. It will provide access to clean water through water trucking, repair water points, disinfect contaminated sources, and distribute purification tablets. The response will also include constructing emergency latrines and public sanitation facilities, distributing thousands of hygiene kits, organizing hygiene promotion campaigns, and helping communities clear the streets of rubble and debris. ACF is also planning "cash-for-work" programs to help families regain their livelihoods and will distribute household items. ACF will also provide vouchers to purchase basic necessities and micro-grants for restarting small businesses
ActionAid International USA - will provide immediate support in terms of food, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene and construction of shelters
Adventist Development and Relief Agency International - expects to distribute aid such as shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, food, and water
Aga Khan Foundation USA - providing food, temporary shelter, education materials for children, medicines and clean water to affected people. In addition, mobile medical teams have are providing emergency health care
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee - has opened an emergency relief fund and is collecting donations to directly assist the floods victims on a non-sectarian basis
American Jewish World Service - emergency support for victims of the flooding and helping to prevent the spread of disease
American Refugee Committee International - deployed mobile health teams to Baluchistan in Sibi district to provide health assistance. In Swat, mobile health teams have been deployed by boat to reach areas made inaccessible by washed out roads and collapsed bridges. ARC Pakistan’s maternal child health center in Swat remains operational and ARC’s team is distributing non-food items to patients and offering health and hygiene sessions, emphasizing education around contaminated water. The team is also distributing essential medicines
AmeriCare - delivering and distributing lifesaving medical assistance and emergency aid to flood-impacted communities
Baptist World Alliance/Baptist World Aid - sending funds for medical, food and shelter needs
BRAK USA - Pakisan has begun to deliver food packets containing such items at rice, lentils, flour and water purification tablets
Brother's Brother Foundation - plans to send requested donated pharmaceuticals and medical supplies (Gifts In-kind Accepted: pharmaceuticals, medical supplies)
CARE - distributing tents, shawls, mosquito nets, plastic floor mats, water purification tabs, hygiene kits and kitchen sets.
Catholic Relief Services - aid packages include water purification tablets, soap, cookware, jerry cans, mosquito nets and more
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee - intervention that includes tents, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, and trauma counseling. CRWRC will also provide emergency food assistance to 64,000 individuals displaced by the disaster in hard-hit Nowshera and Charsadda Districts of Khyber Paktunkhwa Province. CRWRC will work with Pakistani partner Interfaith League Against Poverty (I-Lap) to provide 8,000 families with a one-month food supply including flour, salt, sugar, oil, beans, and spices
Church World Service - Assistance includes food and non-food relief items, emergency shelter and basic health services
CONCERN Worldwide US - prioritizing the distribution of: clean water, food, shelter, emergency medical assistance, mosquito nets, and basic hygiene and kitchen items
Doctors Without Borders - provides emergency medical care to millions of people caught in crises
Food for the Hungry - distribution of food, NFIs, tents and hygiene kits (Gifts In-kind Accepted: NFIs: mosquito nets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, cooking stoves as well as water purifying tablets and filters)
Friends of ACTED - essential non-food items, water & sanitation, cash for work, emergency shelter and rehabilitation of basic infrastructure
Giving Children Hope - tents, food and blankets as well as will be sending medical supplies to help those displaced by the flood (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Disaster relief materials: tents, blankets, flashlights, food, etc. [all new and in good dates])
Global Fund for Children - providing emergency support to our grassroots grantee partners in regions affected by the floods in Pakistan to help meet their communities’ immediate needs
HelpAge USA - has partnered with medical aid agency, Merlin International, to provide targeted emergency care to the most vulnerable older people and their families in the Nowshera district in Northwest Pakistan. Preliminary efforts include distributing mobility and hearing aids, emergency health assessment kits, as well as household items such as food, flashlights, bedding, and water containers
International Catholic Migration Commission - medical staff are providing individualized consultations in UC Prango, distributing medications, while also developing referral protocols and coordinating primary health care response with government hospitals, health centres, private clinics and dispensaries
International Medical Corp - support displaced people through mobile medical units serving the hardest hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest, treating cases of acute respiratory infection, acute diarrhea and skin disease. In addition we have deployed psychologists to address mental health needs, as well as hygiene promoters in the worst affected districts
International Relief & Development - provides safe drinking water, sanitation, household items, and emergency temporary shelter (Gifts In-kind Accepted:Tents, bedding, shelter for children, toys, solar flashlights, livestock feed, medicine to prevent and treat infectious diseases)
International Rescue Committee - water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions
Islamic Relief USA - providing food and water as well as distributing tents and blankets
Life for Relief & Development - tents, blankets, pillows, medicine and medical supplies, hygiene kits which include buckets, towels, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, laundry detergent and food baskets to feed a family of 7 for a month
Lutheran World Relief - In addition to food will distribute shelter kits, jerry cans, plastic mats, hygiene kits and mosquito nets (Gifts In-kind Accepted: LWR accepts quilts, health kits, school kits, baby layettes, sewing kits and soap for distribution during emergencies. Specific information about donating in-kind items is on our website.)
MAP International - coordinating with in-country health institutions and programs for the delivery and dispensing of medicines and medical services (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Accepting appropriate long dated pharmaceuticals, OTC medicines and medical supplies)
Medical Emergency Relief International, USA - has set up 28 health clinics and deployed 18 mobile teams. Merlin medics are running 24-hour clinics in Jalozai camp, home to over 100,000 vulnerable people, in response to a significant spike in diarrhea and other waterborne disease
Medical Teams International - have shipped three containers of medical supplies to partners on the ground in the flood-affected area of the country. The medicines and supplies are enough to help hundreds of thousands of people and are valued at nearly $2 million
Mercy Corp - Mercy Corps helps people in the world’s toughest places turn the crises of natural disaster, poverty and conflict into opportunities for progress. Driven by local needs and market conditions, our programs provide communities with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives. Our worldwide team of 3,700 professionals is improving the lives of 16.7 million people in more than 40 countries
Mercy - USA For Aid & Development - providing food, water and hygiene packages to families left homeless by severe flooding in the northwestern Khyber Pakthunkhwa Province. Each family package contains: 88 pounds of wheat flour, 11 lb. of rice, 6.6 lb. of pulses, 11 lb. of dates, 2.2 lb. of sugar, 1.1 lb. of dry milk, 2 liters of cooking oil, one portable gas stove, matches, one large water proof plastic sheet, one 10-liter jerry can, 5 liters of bottled water, water purification tablets, one towel, toothpaste, 3 toothbrushes, one fingernail clipper, 2 combs and 6 large bars of soap
Operation USA - helps communities at home and abroad overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid (Gifts In-kind Accepted:Bulk disaster materials including water purification chemicals, shelter supplies, electric generators, medicines and medical equipment are accepted from corporations)
Oxfam America - installing toilets and water-storage tanks and delivering clean water by truck to prevent deadly waterborne diseases from sweeping through communities of displaced people
Plan USA - provision of tents, food and water, as well as health and hygiene kits in shelter camps. Plan is also working with local authorities to monitor and address possible disease outbreak
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance/Hunger Program - provide food, shelter and medical assistance.
Red Cross/Red Crescent - In a world of poverty, war, displacement and disaster, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies serves those in need without regard as to race, religion, class or political belief.
Relief International - deployed emergency health units to ensure immediate access to primary care and medical supplies; are distributing Emergency Family Kits that include water purification tablets, clean water receptacles and temporary shelter materials; providing clean drinking water to communities suffering from water contamination and to those with no access to water at all. Our team is organizing the distribution of non-food-items (such as clean clothing, bedding and household items) to children to ensure their survival
Save the Children - Of particular concern is the health of the floods’ youngest survivors. The agency is providing emergency medical care and distributing tents, shelter kits, hygiene kits, food and supplies. Save the Children has mobile health teams working in flood zones and is supporting health clinics. The organization is distributing hygiene and "clean delivery" birth kits and conducting hygiene promotion to prevent the rise in waterborne diseases like acute watery diarrhea. Save the Children also has established a diarrhea center for flood-affected communities in Swat
Solidarity Center - will use relief fund contributions to distribute clothing, medicine, and non-perishable food to displaced workers and their families, build temporary shelters, and assist in providing needed counseling and health care
United Methodist Committee on Relief - providing clean drinking water, food, temporary shelter, and medical aid to tens of thousands of people affected by the crisis
US Fund for UNICEF - have set up nine medical camps and are providing medicine, water treatment tablets, nutritional supplements, hygiene kits, and jerry cans. The agency is also supporting the local authorities by providing clean drinking water
World Food Program USA - providing monthly food rations to flood‐affected communities in 24 districts (Gifts In-kind Accepted: Please contact for more information)
World Vision, United States - has begun distributing food and water to flood survivors, and and plans to provide medical assistance, shelter, hygiene kits and other basic relief items as soon as possible
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We are looking at what may be the worst humanitarian crisis the world has seen in a century, and the worst Climate Change disaster yet.
Some of us at Daily Kos use a Google group to help organize for the crisis in Pakistan. Anyone who would like to get involved or get alerts when a new HELP PAKISTAN diary is posted, please join
( CLICK THE PIC )
