Help Millions in Need

The devastating flooding in Pakistan put 20 percent
of that country underwater at one point, and today more than 10 million people are displaced. Their recovery will be delayed not just by the magnitude of the floods, but by the growing outbreak of disease, the wiping-out of next year's crops and the washing away of entire families' property and wealth.

This week, I was proud to join the the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America's (APPNA) Southern California Chapter at a huge event in Downtown to raise relief funds and to get the word out that this is a disaster that by many measures is larger than the recent Haiti earthquake and the great tsunami that swept through the Pacific combined. With me were Gov. Gray Davis, Sheriff Lee Baca, Controller John Chaing, and Congressmembers Howard Berman, Brad Sherman and Judy Chu, who all gathered in support of APPNA So Cal President Dr. Asif Mehmood's efforts to ease the suffering in Pakistan.

I understand times are tough, but I also know that Americans have always been the first to respond when others are in trouble, no matter where they are. I also have a firm belief that the United States will make its mark as the world's remaining superpower not just because of our economic and military might, but because of the care and compassion displayed throughout the world by the American people.

If you are able to help the victims of the Pakistan flood, please contact the APPNA Southern California Chapter at www.appna-socal.org.