NY Times: Branded a radical by hate-groups, a Muslim educator loses her school

Apalling…..When something like this happens, we all suffer. Americans, Jews, Muslims, Christians…Everyone.

From The New York Times

April 28, 2008

Battle in Brooklyn | A Principal’s Rise and Fall

Critics Cost Muslim Educator Her Dream School

By ANDREA ELLIOTT

Debbie Almontaser dreamed of starting a public school like no other in New York City. Children of Arab descent would join students of other ethnicities, learning Arabic together. By graduation, they would be fluent in the language and groomed for the country’s elite colleges. They would be ready, in Ms. Almontaser’s words, to become “ambassadors of peace and hope.”

Things have not gone according to plan. Only one-fifth of the 60 students at the Khalil Gibran International Academy are Arab-American. Since the school opened in Brooklyn last fall, children have been suspended for carrying weapons, repeatedly gotten into fights and taunted an Arabic teacher by calling her a “terrorist,” staff members and students said in interviews.

The academy’s troubles reach well beyond its cramped corridors in Boerum Hill. The school’s creation provoked a controversy so incendiary that Ms. Almontaser stepped down as the founding principal just weeks before classes began last September. Ms. Almontaser, a teacher by training and an activist who had carefully built ties with Christians and Jews, said she was forced to resign by the mayor’s office following a campaign that pitted her against a chorus of critics who claimed she had a militant Islamic agenda.

In newspaper articles and Internet postings, on television and talk radio, Ms. Almontaser was branded a “radical,” a “jihadist” and a “9/11 denier.” She stood accused of harboring unpatriotic leanings and of secretly planning to proselytize her students. Despite Ms. Almontaser’s longstanding reputation as a Muslim moderate, her critics quickly succeeded in recasting her image.

The conflict tapped into a well of post-9/11 anxieties. But Ms. Almontaser’s downfall was not merely the result of a spontaneous outcry by concerned parents and neighborhood activists. It was also the work of a growing and organized movement to stop Muslim citizens who are seeking an expanded role in American public life. The fight against the school, participants in the effort say, was only an early skirmish in a broader, national struggle.

Earthquake in Pakistan: 2nd anniversary

It is the 2nd anniversary of the terrible earthquake that hit the northern areas of Pakistan. Much has been said about the earthquake, the lack of warning systems, the tragedy that struck victims living in poorly constructed homes, and the chaos after the quake that left many homeless and in desperate need of external intervention.

I recount below what ATP posted exactly one year ago in terms of the devastation that was caused by this massive earthquake. There is no other point in recounting this human tragedy but to remember and reinforce the necessity that the victims still need help. International aid agencies have all but left the region and the rebuilding effort is slow, plagued with charges of corruption, and philanthropic efforts slowing down.

But then I see the photo above (originally posted on ATP) and I think it says it all. The pain, the need, and the hope in her eyes. As a human being and as a fellow Pakistani, she deserves more than we as a community have been able to do so far. So the only thing I can do is to ask you to give more, and to give such that it reaches people like her quickly and efficiently.

Total dead in Earthquake = 80,000 - 90,000
Estimated proportion of children amongst dead = 80 percent
Estimated houses destroyed = 400,000
Early recovery assistance pledged by international donors = US$ 255 Million
Early recovery pledges that have NOT been received yet = US$ 94 Million
Original estimate of long-term reconstruction costs = US$ 3.6 Billion
Current (updated) estimate of long-term reconstruction costs = US$ 4.4 Billion
Current estimated shortfall = US$ 800 Million
Total displaced by Earthquake = 3,500,000
Affectees still living in tents in camps = 35,000 - 40,000
At-risk families without permanent shelter = 60,000 - 100,000
Additional people who might need shelter this winter = 30,000 - 60,000

Google’s massive solar complex and other clean-tech initiatives

There has been much written already about the corporate environmental leadership that Google has shown. And in his world where such leadership is almost always left wanting, it has to be complimented. Not only has Google been a part of sponsoring several cleantech initiatives especially through its Google Foundation, its founders (role-models for many) drive fuel efficient hybrids and have set clear directives for its employees to adopt more ‘green’ lifestyles.

And now the most visible display of Google’s environment-consciousness has been revealed. It is the most massive, largest corporate installation of solar panels at its Googleplex headquarters in Mountainview, CA. The majority of the solar panels (around 9212 to be exact) have been installed atop rooftops of the Googleplex and the remaining on top of the newly constructed parking Garages which also provide cords for plug-in electric vehicles. The photovoltaic solar panels have been designed and installed by a company called EI solutions, a remarkable feat in under 9 months.

The total installed capacity of this solar grid is 1.6MW. That is a big number! In one day the system generated 9,468 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This is enough electricity to power 83,000 hours of flat-screen TV viewing each day (see live Google stats on this solar installation). Google expects to save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs—or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system should be able to pay for itself in roughly 7-8 years.

This is not the only way in which Google has taken a leadership stance in promoting clean energy and resource efficiency. It is already famous for having probably the largest employee density of people driving hybrid vehicles. Dr. Larry Brilliant, head of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has already announced the search engine company’s new Recharge It program—a Google.org initiative that aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. It is estimated that commercial plug-in hybrids will be able to go ~40miles without any fuel use, which might be plenty for weekday commuting to work for most people. The gas engine will, in that case, act as a backup in case a longer trip has to be taken.

According to a news article, Google has been offering a $5,000 rebate to employees who purchase a vehicle that gets over 45 miles per gallon. That is wonderful. Nothing better than a direct cash incentive program. Hybrids, and especially the plug-in hybrids would get there. But so will diesel. In fact, with such a rebate from the employer a diesel powered vehicle would actually be cheaper than buying an ordinary low mpg gasoline car. Remember my note earlier than Honda is introducing a diesel car in the US that will get roughly 62.8mpg? Honda is not the only company introducing high fuel efficient diesel models in the US. Trust me that for long distance commutes, clean diesel powered cars will be more fuel efficient than a plug-in or gas-hybrid. The only thing sexier would be a diesel-hybrid! Now that’s what I am waiting for….

How to Raise Funds for Non-profit Events?

A few years back I had the distinct honor of helping the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). IFMSA is an international umbrella network for all the national organizations of medical students. It has done terrific work since the second world war in mobilizing medical students to provide care and service in many therapeutic, and especially public health concerns. I was helping IFMSA put together a major congress and conference on its 50th anniversary celebrations - it was going to be a re-birth of an organization that had been successful in its first 50 years of xistence, and wanted to grow into the next stage of a global entity serving humanity.

One of the things I realized during that experience was the need in most non-profit ventures to learn about fundraising. That uphill battle becomes even more difficult when it comes to youth organizations that do not always have experienced staff, and where most people’s efforts are largely voluntary. Hence, at that time, a few of us published two documents that we thought would help students organize non-profit activities in their communities, and actually raise funds not just locally, but internationally. We were sort of amateurs ourselves, but wanted to have the knowledge and experience we had gained in the fundraising process to be distributed widely. These documents are given here:

• Writing a Grant proposal
• How to fundraise via Grants

I am reminded of the above because one of the IFMSA colleagues just posted a note on our mail server regarding a nice online fundraising organization tool for small non-profits raising monies. I am posting it in its entirety below:

Probably one of the most discussed topics in IFMSA is fundraising. I have found a tool on the net that can help you fundraise from individuals quite easily and wanted to share this with you. Just wanted to share this with you, it may be of help in funding your project. The tool is called Fundable and can be found at http://www.fundable.org

How does it work: you have a project and have a set fundraising target. Individuals can donate through the web with their creditcard or paypal. The individuals are only charged if your fundraising target is met, so there is no risk for the donors that the project doesn’t go through finally. There is however an options for donors to give you money regardless whether the target is met or not.

The service is not free of charge, if you reach your target, 7% is deducted to cover for the costs. But if you don’t reach your target, it doesn’t cost you a thing. Furthermore you don’t have to pay bank-costs for receiving creditcard payments.

To me this seems a perfect tool for small projects that don’t require a lot of funds. You can promote your project and refer possible donors to this site. You could even split your project in different stages to get funding for each stage. It also helps you to set realistic goals for fundraising efforts as you must reach your target to get your money This is just a tool, so you still need to approach donors yourselves. You will still need to make a good proposal, find possible donors and ask them for money. This tool just helps you to cash in.

Good luck fundraising!

Yours, Jacco Veldhuyzen
IFMSA Treasurer 2001/2002.

Edhi for the Nobel Prize!

Many of you probably have no clue who Abdus Sattar Edhi is! I say this because my guess is that most people reading my blog are not of Pakistani origin.

But Edhi is not someone you should know as a Pakistani. Yes, Edhi is the name of a single person, but when spoken in the context of a lifetime of service to humanity’s poorest members, it is the name associated with a movement that to me is larger than any other known to mankind. Edhi is the name of an old man, approximately 80 years old, who is perhaps the most trusted, the most respected, and the most honorable bearded man that I know.

I have no qualifications whatsoever to write about Edhi and his monumental work in charity, welfare, emergency services, and shelters for women and children. As many many Pakistanis would say, Edhi Sahib is there when no one else is. When all hope is lost, one can turn to Edhi, if nothing than just for that precious loving smile that can only come from a man with such a generous heart. I do not easily use the word Sahib to salute someone, but among the few people in Pakistan I will bend over backwards for, Edhi Sahib has to be on top of it.

I first learnt about Edhi as a little kid growing up in Karachi. Edhi ambulances were everywhere, Edhi homes were the place to go for charity, when bodies were found dead without relatives taking ownership, Edhi Sahib’s morgues would hold them, prepare them for burial and his staff would say the cermonial prayer. When women were beaten in their homes and feared their lives, they went to Edhi Sahib’s shelters, and if I wanted to support the largest orphanages in my city, I knew I had to support Edhi Centers.

As a kid I have seen Edhi Sahib, in his ever so salt-and-pepper beard and cap standing on the street corners of Karachi, literally begging and collecting 1 ruppee at a time to continue his charity operations. I have handed him a 5 ruppee bill and heard him say “Shukria, Allah aap kaa bhalaa karey“. Those words will never be forgotten from my memory. When Karachi was burning in the early 90’s, I have watched Edhi defy bullets and enter areas of Karachi that I would not dare drive through. I have watched him carry wounded young men off the streets, and watched him beg the residents of the same city to not listen to idiotic politicians and give his network their charity, alms, and hides during the sacrifice season. When there were rumors in the city that Edhi Center was a front operation of an illegal organ sale mafia, I walked into an Edhi center and myself witnessed his workers serving food to the homeless and the women who had been abandoned by their families. I have watched goons go door-to-door discrediting this great man and his charity organization - and then I have watched the same feeble man show his two-room apartment in an old part of Karachi, from where he runs his largest ambulance network in one of the most populated countries of the world. The only thing I ask is, when have I not seen Edhi be at the forefront of all emergency relief, rescue, and support operations? When is Edhi not the name to call on in cases of trouble? When has Edhi turned anyone away, and has Edhi not sacrificed his entire life to create a momentum for charitable social service in Pakistan that will live way beyond his own mortal life. Truth be told, if we had a process in Islam to beatify saints, I would nominate him for that.

But no, we do not have that process. But what we do have is a request from a dear friend to help him create a dossier that he can file with the Nobel Committee to consider Abdus Sattar Edhi and his foundation for a Nobel prize. He is the one man I know who truly deserves it, not only because he has literally been the difference between life and death for millions of people, but because his charity supersedes nationality, religion, caste, culture, or creed. If there is one living bearded man who deserves to be on the front page of our newspapers, our stamps, our post card, and on our walls, it is he. Please support Adil in his nomination effort by sending your personal encounters with Edhi and any other information you might have on him to his attention. Let me know if you want his personal email, otherwise you can see his post here to get more information on his project (clicking on any of the pictures will take you the nomination post). Only a few days are left, so please hurry up!!!

Sources:
Edhi Foundation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edhi_Foundation
Abdus Sattar Edhi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Sattar_Edhi
Nomainating Edhi for Nobel Prize: http://pakistaniat.com/2007/01/23/nobel-award-pakistan-abdul-sattar-edhi-testimonial/

A $3 Water Purifier That Could Save Lives

I have written about the problems of water shortage before. Water is most certainly going to be the most important commodity in the future, not only because it is becoming scarcer to find in drinkable and pottable quality, but also because the ever increasing world population is finding many uses for it outside of drinking as well.

Treatment of water to make it drinkable has recently attracted many investigators, both in basic research and in product development. Fortunately a significant body of knowledge is developing even though th eproblem is not yet fully solved. While reverse osmosis or membrane based filtration systems are used in large field deployments (e.g. in Saudi Arabia and Israel), a big problem plaguing this field is that the treatment systems are needed for the developing parts of this world, and that is exactly where the associated costs quickly become prohibitive. However, I am encouraged to see lots of activity in this sector, esp by budding scientists and young entrepreneurs, who have identified this as a great opportunity to create value for their businesses and do good at the same time. Kudos to VC and private equity firms that are supporting their efforts with investments. I wish them luck.

Here’s an idea that showed up on NYTimes recently and I am highlighting here. This, together with ideas that are as simple as building small clay vessels lined with adsorbing ferrous catalysts, or small scale filters for family use, iso an indication that a ground breaking technology may be just around the corner.

 

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

 

Published: October 10, 2006

 

In very poor countries, the family that has to walk miles to fetch drinking water from a well or a stream may be the lucky one. In many villages, the water source is a filthy pond trod by animals and people, or a mud puddle out next to the yam field.

As a result, about 6,000 people a day — most of them children — die from water-borne diseases.

 

Vestergaard Frandsen, a Danish textile company that supplies water filters to the Carter Center guinea worm eradication program and mosquito-killing plastic tarps to refugee camps, has come up with a new invention meant to render dangerous water drinkable.

 

The invention is called Lifestraw, a plastic tube with seven filters: graduated meshes with holes as fine as 6 microns (a human hair is 50 to 100 microns), followed by resin impregnated with iodine and another of activated carbon. It can be worn around the neck and lasts a year.

 

Lifestraw isn’t perfect, but it filters out at least 99.99 percent of many parasites and bacteria, the demons in most fatal cases of diarrhea.

 

It is less effective against viruses, which are much smaller and cause diseases like polio and hepatitis, and it wouldn’t protect American backpackers against the parasite giardia.

 

Nor does it filter out metals like arsenic, and it has a slight iodine aftertaste (not necessarily a bad thing in the large stretches of the globe with iodine deficiency).

 

It can be manufactured for about $3, but it needs more field-testing. Only about 100,000 have been handed out, 70,000 to earthquake victims in Kashmir last year.

 

Already in the works, however, is a Lifestraw toddler version — which will be squeezable.

USA University rankings. MIT is at top (again!).

University rankings is a quirky business, and as far as the annual US college and university rankings is concerned, the US News & World Report rankings basically do not much more than indicate a trend towards the quality of education and success rate of its student body. Such listings are useful, but serve a limited purpose. They somehow do not indicate well enough how that university and its students/alum have contributed to the society.

However, a new kind of university ranking has now hit town, and in may ways this might provide more useful information for policy-makers and motivated student/alumni body (alike). The ranking is not about the student-teacher ratios, money availble for research, endowment contributions by alumni etc, but about the social impact of universities and their students. Its a fascinating list, and one that deserves a second and a third look. I stand proud today - not just because MIT once again reached the highest rankings among other colleges and universities, but because it has been recognized today for making meaningful and real difference in people’s lives. An aspiration I believe I was also taught at MIT.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reads:

The Washington Monthly, a political magazine, today published its second annual college rankings, and they’re quite a different animal from the lists compiled by magazines like U.S. News & World Report. As with last year’s rankings (The Chronicle, August 22, 2005), the 2006 batch gives top billing to colleges that are engines of social mobility, not just finishing schools for the super-rich; that foster “scientific and humanistic research”; and that promote an “ethic of service to country.”

With those criteria, the rankings come out quite a bit differently than those compiled by U.S. News. Most of the Ivy League institutions plummet; many state colleges and universities rise to the top. The University of California, for example, put four of its campuses (Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Davis) into the top 10 among national universities.

The top institution over all, as last year, is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among liberal-arts colleges, Bryn Mawr College nosed out last year’s leading institution, Wellesley College, for the top spot.

Pakistan: An Economic Turnaround?

I have wondered recently if Pakistan is moving slowly towards rightfully qualifying as a “failed state” or are things actually improving but just not visibly enough to those of us who are away from the country.

Needless to say, I am not the only one asking such questions. When I hear about the rising inflation, the social injustices against women, the radical religious and separatist movements, the gross inequities, and the failings of infratructure (roads, electricity, water etc), my head starts to feel heavy and fall in shame. These are real issues that people in Pakistan face every day, and they only see their problems becoming worse over time. I have been surprised by the number of my friends who have recently decided to move back to Pakistan, optimistic about opportunities there, but when I asked a friend who spent his entire life in Pakistan he said those moving back are either dreaming, or simply did not succeed abroad and hence have little options than to come back to a plush job with a “been-abroad” stamp on their back.

But there are other times when I do feel proud and am seriously tempted to think the tide may be turning (finally) in the right direction. I look at the team working on establishing a School of Science and Engineering at LUMS and I see how great things can happen when the right people put their minds to it. I hear about the success of some IT/Telecom firms (Al-Warid, TRG, Si-3), and the development of a non-profit, non-governmental culture and I am given some hope. However, its clear that there is a long road ahead and sustained effort from individuals and communities inside and outside Pakistan will be needed to keep the growth and development on track. As Pakistanis, if we do not succeed, and if we let people fall through the cracks, we will only have ourselves to blame. That would be the real shame!

Abrar Siddiqui has written a wonderful note on Pakistan’s recent economic trends for those who may be fishing for such information. Check out the full article here.

The numbers speak for themselves. Pakistan registered an economic growth rate of 8.4% last year, second only to China and highest in over two decades of the country’s history. With a steady increase in population of 1.9%, the per capita income also rose by 5.9% during last year. With the impact of high oil prices and 8th October Earthquake, the economy is still expected to keep its momentum and grow at a steady rate of 6.5% during the current year.

Targeting key services sectors, Pakistan has witnessed a boom in telecommunications, media and information technology while industrial and manufacturing growth created new records. As the budget deficit dropped from 8% to 4% and tax revenues went up by 20%, the government institutionalized a bold privatization policy that has attracted foreign investors from all over the world. A 26% stake in country’s telecom giant, PTCL, netted $2.6 billion for the government while two cellular-phone licenses grossed around $600 million last year. This year the government is aiming to attract $3 billion in foreign direct investment, highest ever for the 58 year old country.

Pakistan has eagerly emerged in very less time in the eyes of foreign investors as a prime location for investment. Still, the nation’s will and capacity to sustain the momentum in its growth and maintain its status in the eager eyes of foreign investors is yet to be tested. Perhaps, the country’s estimated growth till 2010 and its performance in next few more years will truly qualify this decade as the era of Pakistan’s re-emergence in the new global economy.

If you have not seen this before, I highly recommend Adil’s short video on Pakistan, inspired by Faiz’s classic poem “Hum Dekhein Gay“. Also Check out his blog.

Long live the Gates’ legacy

One has to be sleeping with the hibernating bears to not have heard about Warren Buffet donating most of his wealth to:

(a) Establishing a Buffet Children Savings Account –> WRONG
(b) Establishing a Buffet Private Equity or Hedge Fund –> WRONG
(c) Establishing a philanthropic Buffet Foundation –> WRONG
(d) Donating it to someone else’s foundation –> CORRECT

Yes, the second richest man on earth has decided to donate most of his wealth, currently estimated donation at $37 billion, to a foundation that will not even carry his name. It just so happens that the foundation does, however, carry the name of his close friend and the richest man on earth - William H. Gates. With their philosophies on philanthropy aligned, and their financial hoo-haa put together, a tremendous lot can be done to improve the lives of people around the world. While reading through a news clipping, I noticed that 1.7 million children’s lives were saved directly due to the Gates’ Foundations’ vaccination programs. How many of us can claim to have had that impact on humanity? Long live the Gates legacy (of the philanthropic sort, that is).

These businesses geniuses could have done so many things together to disrupt any sphere where they chose to exert influence. Imagine what havoc they could wreak if they entered venture capital community, private equity community, or simply decided to exert influence on money losers like Ford and GM. But no, they chose a higher ground and demonstrated a philosophy that my dear friend Nikolay (who I hope one day would also hold billions in his bank accounts) espouses all the time. They chose not to leave their kids as multi-billionaires and forever advantaged over the others who would have to compete with them, but plowed their wealth back into the world that provided them with such great opportunities so others with different last names could have some hope as well. I was always a fan of the business genuis of these two, now I am a personal fan as well.

Now I question what would some of the rich people from developing parts of the world do to follow this lead? Not to name people and put them on spot (like they care what I have to say!), but let’s not forget India has its own Steel giant Lakshmi Mittal who showed up on the top 10 richest people list last year with a personal wealth of over $25 billion. What would he do to improve the lot of struggling 1 billion plus Indians? And would he extend his philanthropy across the borders to his neighbors in South Asia? I really hope so. I pray so.

Links:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation