Global Voices Secondary Information Sheet

Pakistan

Courtesy of the www.columbia.edu

About Pakistan

• Pakistan is a country in South Asia that shares a border with Afghanistan and India.
• An estimated 170 million people live in Pakistan. The country has the second largest
population of Muslims in the world outside of Indonesia.
• The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad, a city that lies in the northeast of the country.
• Kashmir is a disputed region that is currently divided between three countries: Pakistan,
India and China. India and Pakistan do not recognize the parts of the region they do not
control as actually belonging to the other country.
• On Oct. 8, 2005, Kashmir sustained a significant about of damage after an earthquake.
Nearly 80,000 were killed and four million displaced. At the time, $6.7 billion was pledged
by the international community to help alleviate suffering.
• According to a new study, the people who received the bulk of this aid tend to have a
more positive view towards the United States and Europe as opposed to the rest of the
country of Pakistan.
• Across Pakistan, about one in six people view the United States as an enemy according
to a study by the Pew Center.
• This is problematic for the United States. The U.S. military believes that Taliban and Al-
Qaeda terrorists are using the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan as a base. So, they
routinely bomb suspected militant camps in the region.
• Most Pakistanis disagree with this practice as civilians have gotten caught in the
bombings. As a result, many have negative views towards the U.S.
• Right now, more than 20 million people have been displaced by flooding in Pakistan.
There is hope that by providing the same level of aid to the region, this will improve
people’s attitudes towards the U.S., just like during the Kashmir earthquake.
Key Terms

• attitude – manner, disposition, feeling or position

• distribute – to divide or give out in shares
• humanitarian – about saving human lives or alleviating suffering
• logistics – the planning, implementation and coordination of the details of a business or
other operation
• political – relating to the state, government, or policy-making
Global Voices Secondary Educator Resources

Note to Educators:
The following activities are designed to stimulate a current events discussion. Generative in nature,
these questions can be a launching point for additional assignments or research projects.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities to meet the contextual needs of their classroom.

In some cases, reading the article with students may be appropriate, coupled with reviewing the
information sheet to further explore the concepts and contexts being discussed. From here, teachers
can select from the questions provided below. Activities are structured to introduce students to the
issues, then allow them to explore and apply their learnings. Extension and conclusion activities are
included to challenge students and finally, encourage them to reflect on the issues at hand.

Since these activities are designed as discussions rather than formal lessons, assessment strategies
are not included.

Themes and Course Connections

• Media literacy, natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, preparation, weather, weather forecasting,
prevention, geography
• Course Connections: Canadian and World Studies, English, Geography

Materials
• Computers and internet
• Chart paper
• Paper
• Markers

Specific Expectations and Learning Goals

Students will:
• Gain knowledge on natural disasters, specifically earthquakes and floods.
• Learn how to voice their opinion in a non-threatening environment.
• Practice their media literacy skills.
• Participate in active class discussions.
• Create a fact sheet to inform the public about floods.
• Research and learn about the geographic factors that cause a region to become a disaster
“hotspot.”
• Learn about humanitarian emergencies.

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Word Cloud: Humanitarian Emergencies (estimated time: 15 minutes)
a. Write the following on the board: Darfur conflict in Sudan, Indian Ocean tsunami, Eastern
Africa food crisis, hurricane Katrina, Haiti earthquake, Chili earthquake, Pakistan floods.
b. Under this list, write the question, “What do these events have in common?”
c. Have students think about their answer to the question quietly.
d. Ask for a few ideas and then explain that all of the events are examples of humanitarian
emergencies that required a humanitarian response.

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 e. Instruct students to think about how they would define a humanitarian emergency. Ask
them to brainstorm and record all of the words, images and phrases that come to mind
when they think about the examples of humanitarian emergencies.
f. Explain to students that they will create a word cloud with their brainstormed words.
Explain that the relative size of each word conveys the level of importance that word has
in communicating what a humanitarian emergency is.
(Teacher Note: a word cloud is a collage of words associated with one topic that all
together form the shape of a cloud. These words can be placed in any direction on the
page.)
g. When students have completed their displays, ask them to hang their word clouds around
the room and then circulate to view their peers’ work.
h. Discuss:
i. What similarities did you see among the word clouds?
ii. Did anything surprise you?
iii. What is a humanitarian emergency?

2. My Opinion: Natural Disasters (estimated time: 10 minutes)

a. In each of the four corners of the room post “Strongly Agree,” “Agree Somewhat,”
“Disagree Somewhat,” “Strongly Disagree” signs.
b. For each of the statements below, read the statement aloud and allow students to move
to the corners of the room that best express their views on the statement.
c. As students take their places, write the statement on the board. Then, ask at least one
student in each group to share his or her opinion.
i. Socio-economic status helps determine how one will fare during a natural
disaster.
ii. Poor countries feel the impact of natural disasters more than rich countries do.
iii. Older people are more likely to be adversely affected by natural disasters than
younger people.
iv. I do not worry about natural disasters because I know my country is prepared to
handle them.
v. The area where I live has adequate infrastructure to deal with natural disasters,
such as building codes, disaster warnings, and first response systems.

Thinking
1. KWL Chart: Pakistan Disasters (5 minutes)
a. Have students create a Know-Want-Learned chart.
b. Explain to the students that today they will be learning about the most recent
humanitarian emergencies that have occurred in Pakistan.
c. Explain that they will record what they already know about the particular emergencies
that have occurred in Pakistan BEFORE reading the Global Voices column.
d. They may then proceed to fill in the WHAT column with questions and points about the
humanitarian emergency that they wish to learn more about.

2. Read Global Voices Column independently. (estimated time: 5 minutes)

a. Ask students to read the Global Voices column silently to themselves.

3. KWL Chart: Pakistan Disasters continued (estimated time: 10 minutes)

a. After reading the column students can fill in the Learned column of their KWL chart.
b. Ensure that students take the time to also answer all of the questions they listed in the
Want column.

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Communication
1. Discussion Questions: Flooding (estimated time: 10 minutes)
a. What areas do floods often affect, and why are these geographic locations prime targets
for devastation?
b. How are floods forecasted, and what surveillance methods are used to watch the
progress of flood conditions?
c. How can people prepare for a flood?
d. What government services are available around the world to help areas affected by
weather disasters?
e. What aspects of a country’s infrastructure may be affected by a flood or other natural
disasters?
f. How might the size of a country affect the proportion of the population and geographic
area subject to devastation and in need of aid in the event of a flood or other natural
disaster?
g. How might people living in a rural area be affected differently by a flood from those living
in urban areas?
h. What industries might be affected by major floods?
i. In what ways can governments rebuild their countries following a natural disaster?
j. What are some of the essential differences between how floods and other natural
disasters affect lesser developed countries (like Venezuela) and developed countries
(like the United States), and why do these differences exist?

2. Informing the Public: Floods (estimated time: 30 minutes)

a. Using resources around the room, ask students to create a fact sheet that will inform the
general public about floods. They can focus on one of the following areas:
i. How to prevent a flood.
ii. How to prepare for a flood.
iii. What to do if a flood occurs.
b. Explain to the students that the point of a fact sheet is to teach the reader about a topic.
They are to make it concise, readable and catchy while getting all of the information
across.
c. Ask students to follow these steps:
i. Gather content.
ii. Organize content.
iii. Simplify the content.
iv. Create an outline.
v. Format.
vi. Create!
d. When the students are finished ask them to swap with a partner for an analysis of the
effectiveness of their fact sheet.

Application
1. Natural Disaster Hotspots (estimated time: continuous project)
a. Have students briefly review different types of natural disasters.
b. Based on their prior knowledge, ask:
i. Which parts of the world appear to be the most impacted by drought? By
earthquakes? Or by hurricanes?
ii. Which global areas are vulnerable to more than one kind of natural disaster?
c. Next, divide the students into six groups and assign each group to one the following
regions:
i. Caribbean/Central America (Haiti, Honduras)
ii. South America (Venezuela, Peru)

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 iii. South Asia (Pakistan, Sri Lanka)
iv. East Asia (China, Japan)
v. Western Asia/Middle East (Turkey, Iran)
vi. Africa (Algeria, Sudan)
d. Ask each group to research their assigned area and create a presentation on the dangers
that this areas faces based on their geographical features as well as the history of natural
disasters in the area.
e. At a later date, have each group present their work to the class.

Additional Resources
National Geographic http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/