In a brief yet personal account of her experience immersed in Pakistani flood recovery over the summer, Morial Shah (SFS ’13) shed light on the victims’ suffering to an audience in McShain Lounge Thursday evening.

“In the last week, 250 villages – 1,400 homes – were evacuated,” she said.

Shah spoke at a panel discussion sponsored by the International Relations Club that aimed to address where Pakistan stands since floods first began to ravage the Indus Valley in July. Today, flooded areas remain in the region, a sign of political and economic tension in the South Asian nation, according to Ambassador Howard Schaffer, former diplomat, former deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia and a senior counselor in the School of Foreign Service.

“The devastation could not have happened in a worse time or in a worse place,” he said.

Schaffer highlighted the perceptions of the civilian government and the military in response to the disaster. According to him, the incompetence of the civilian government in responding to the floods has weakened support for the Asif Ali Zardari administration, and the military response has generally been more effective.

Schaffer concluded that the military wants no authority as the insurgency in the country increases in tempo. Forces would prefer to let civilians take the blame for any failures, he added.

oderated by Paula Newberg, director of Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, the panel also featured Allan Jury, director of the U.N. World Food Program’s U.S. relations office, who provided information on the ongoing humanitarian relief efforts. He emphasized that the level of response varies in different areas of the country, especially as the WFP seeks to overcome three challenges: logistics, funding and security.

“It’s a massive logistical problem,” he said. The WFP has banded with other U.N. organizations, non-governmental organizations and the Pakistani government in successfully distributing food to 6 million people. It is expected that 7 million will be reached by the end of October.

aggie Ronkin, School of Foreign Service professor and a scholar from the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, spoke on the humanitarian situation in Pakistan as a result of the flooding.

“Flood waters destroyed the health care infrastructure,” she said. Ronkin also stressed the loss of vast agricultural lands and products, the increase of petty crimes, as well as problems of sanitation, disease and a lack of access to clean water – problems that existed in some areas well before the disaster.

“Food is needed for 8.2 million,” she said. “Water is needed for 7 million.”

Ed Dunn, foreign service officer on the State Department’s Pakistan Desk, rounded off the discussion with a talk on how the United States has contributed to the relief efforts in the wide-reaching disaster. The Pakistani floods have affected more people than the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined, according to Dunn.

Twenty-eight U.S. military helicopters as well as a number of civilian helicopters are currently carrying out the relief efforts. The U.S. government has also been working with private enterprises as well as on-the-ground contributors from Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. Nevertheless, Dunn stressed the need for boosted coordination.

“It is still ongoing,” he said. “We’re still doing emergency relief.”

Engaging with audience members, the panelists emphasized the need for donations and better coverage to narrow the trust deficit that Pakistanis have for Americans.

IRC Chair Eitan Paul (SFS ’12) expressed his satisfaction with the event.

“I think it’s very important to start this conversation at Georgetown,” he said, “about arguably the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today. It was nice to have a variety of perspectives.”

Information for donations as well as a donation box was made available to guests.

The event was run by the International Relations Club and held with the support of the South Asian Society, UNICEF Georgetown and the GU Task Force for Pakistan.