October 20, 2005
SEATTLE — On Wednesday, October 19, the Libertarians at the University of Washington (LUW) hosted a bake sale in front of the Husky Union Building to benefit earthquake victims in Pakistan. In about five hours the group raised over $450 which will be donated to Pakistan Relief, an organization that provides direct aid in the effected region.
Pakistan Relief is one of many organizations working to help victims of the 7.6 earthquake that hit Pakistan earlier this month. With nearly 80,000 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, there is a desperate need for food, clothing, medicine, and shelter. To date, however, international aid has been lackluster when compared with the response to the Indonesian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. It was this lack of support that prompted LUW to hold the bake sale.
“Several of our members expressed frustration with the lack of public attention given to the Pakistan disaster,” explains LUW President Don Rasmussen, “so we decided to raise awareness and money by holding the bake sale.”
The group also plans to help the Pakistan Association of Greater Seattle with an upcoming Tent Drive to raise money for temporary shelter for the thousands of people left homeless by the earthquake. When asked why a political organization was raising money for Pakistani earthquake victims, LUW founder Travis Wright responded simply, “Because somebody has to.” Wright added, “We all have an obligation to help people in need and we can’t just pass that off to the government or expect someone else to do the work.”
That basic premise is behind an ongoing charitable effort that LUW calls People Helping People. “LUW is primarily a Libertarian political group,” states Rasmussen, “but some issues should not be about politics. Some issues are just about people, and this project reflects that attitude.”
LUW is a registered student organization affiliated with the Libertarian Party. More information about the group is available online at www.uwlibertarians.org. For more information about earthquake relief efforts or to contribute online, visit www.pakistanrelief.org or www.pakistanseattle.com.