The mood was somber in the Susquehanna Room on Friday evening as students, faculty and local residents gathered to take part in a memorial for those lost in the recent earthquake that struck South Asia.
The memorial brought together members of the BU community for a night of prayer, solidarity and remembrance.
A few of BU’s undergraduates addressed the crowd with their own reflections on the earthquake.
“The scale of the tragedy has given new meaning to the word ‘survivor,’” said sophomore Hina Ahmed.
India and Pakistan bore the brunt of the Oct. 8 catastrophe, a quake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was about 58 miles northeast of Islamabad, Pakistan.
According to reports from the Associated Press, at least 83,000 people have died as an immediate result of the disaster, while millions more have been left homeless and without adequate food or water.
Ahmed called on those present to continue to do what they could to help, asserting that “although we can not heal all the wounds, Binghamton University has shown it can make a difference.”
She also quoted Gandhi, reminding attendees to “be the change we wish to see in this world.”
Imran Battla, a senior human development major, also urged the audience to become involved in the worldwide relief effort.
“The earthquake,” Battla said, “exemplifies the need for society to take care of its hungry, tired, poor and destitute.”
In addition to student comments, a video presentation by BU student Hamza Mahmood and firsthand accounts from Dr. Saeed Bajwa, chief of neurosurgery at Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City, painted a picture of the turmoil in the affected lands. Bajwa traveled to the disaster to provide aid in the immediate aftermath.
The video consisted of a series of photographs showing the poor conditions under which earthquake survivors are currently living, and the mourning process that has been been ongoing since the tragedy. According to the presentation, the earthquake caused the collapse of all the affected area’s 3,000 schools. The casualties among children were accordingly devastating, and many of the video’s images were of children.
Bajwa was the first neurosurgeon to enter the Pakistan-India region as part of a philanthropic effort after the earthquake. Choking back tears, he shared some of the experiences that had been vividly burned into his mind while he was in the earthquake-ravaged area.
“You could not walk on the street for five minutes before you had to put a cloth over your nose because of the smell of dead bodies,” Bajwa said.
His account served as a gruesome reminder to those in attendance of how terrible and frighteningly real the aftermath of the Oct. 8 earthquake is — something that Ahmed said has not been emphasized enough in American media.
Those interested in contributing to the relief effort are encouraged to contact BU’s Red Cross Club, or the Muslim Student Union.