The CIDI offers its hearty congratulations to the Iranian-American community for their efforts to collect cash in lieu of material goods to help the Bam earthquake victims and their generosity in answer to the appeals. The response to this emergency from the Iranian-American community has been exemplary, with thousands of Iranian-Americans coming together to show their generosity and humanity.

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a Washington, DC-based non-profit founded in 2002. As an educational organization it promotes Iranian-American participation in American civic and political life. NIAC is a non-partisan, non-political, non-sectarian, non-profit organization with members nationwide.

On December 26, 2003, at 5:27 AM local time, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck southeastern Iran's Kerman Province. The epicenter of the earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers, was near the city of Bam, l80 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital of Kerman and 975 km southeast of Tehran. As a result of this catastrophe, thousands perished and one of Iran's oldest cities was destroyed. Presently, estimated numbers dead are 41,000, 130,000 injured, and nearly 75,000 have been rendered homeless.

Less than 24 hours after the news was received, NIAC members mounted a campaign to help the Iranian earthquake victims. The NIAC website, (www.niacouncil.org) placed a strong emphasis on the "cash is best" approach from the very beginning of their fundraising effort. They knew the importance of time efficiency and paid close attention to the officials from American aid agencies who emphasized the importance of sending financial assistance over material assistance to Iran. They understood that financial help is certain to multiply beneficiaries and eliminate the extremely expensive shipping costs of material aid.

The CIDI's Director, Suzanne Brooks, noted that NIAC "has been instrumental in helping get the donations message out to the community. NIAC clearly has an understanding of the economic, cultural and political issues involved in this response. The fact that Iran was an embargoed country and licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control would be needed before the relief community and the public could respond were also factors that had to be taken into consideration of potential donors.

"I was pleasantly surprised by how professional and efficient the NIAC staff has been in response to this emergency. Their web site was a wealth of information – even for the CIDI, as we were able to target our donations message by television and radio to the cities where many Iranian Americans live. This census information actually came from a comprehensive NIAC report on Iranian Americans living in the United States, available on their web site.

"I was also very impressed with one of the NIAC staff that I met at a local Iranian-American meeting. NIAC Board member Sean Murphy's message regarding cash donations, and particularly timing, were right on target.

Early on, the CIDI was in contact with NIAC's Director, Trita Parsi, to offer assistance. Once the CIDI had its Guidelines for Making In-Kind Donations translated into Persian, NIAC immediately posted the information on their web site."

"Confusion is one of the characteristics of catastrophes of the magnitude of Bam. People want to know whether to send clothes or cash, what aid organization to support, how to help the victims as efficiently as possible. Under these circumstances, the knowledge and expertise of CIDI saves lives. By using CIDI's well researched material, we were able to quickly dispel misconceptions on these matters and direct our community's aid to the Bam victims through the fastest, safest and most inexpensive channels," said Trita Parsi, NIAC President.

To date, NIAC has collected more than $100,000, and members are continuing their efforts. NIAC members are teaming with the Many Hats Institute and other organizations to hold fundraisers for Bam in Washington, DC and the metropolitan area.

NIAC worked closely with Mercy Corps and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to coordinate the public's donations for Iran. Both of these organizations are on the ground in Iran, providing relief services to the affected communities and know how to make the best use of the donations to get what is really needed. The NIAC website directs donors to these organizations.

NIAC continues to work with various charities based in the U.S.  to facilitate aid to Iranian earthquake survivors. The Council urges individual donors to give preference to monetary assistance over material assistance toward the relief effort, as it ensures that more of Iran's victims are helped more rapidly.

"We have to make this a learning experience. Whether we like it or not, earthquakes are certain to hit Iran again, and through long-term cooperation with CIDI we can ensure our community's readiness to effectively respond to future natural disasters," Parsi concluded.

NIAC and its members and associates are worthy of this honor for their extraordinary efforts. The generosity and humanity of the Iranian Americans has been exemplary!

Suzanne Brooks, Director
Center for International Disaster Information
 

For additional information, please use the contact information above, or contact the Center for International Disaster Information at cidi@cidi.org.