FASTRising

Swat: Update 5
We (an IPSS rep and a FASTRising rep) went to Mardan on Sunday, 7th June and visited 3 different villages/towns (Sadaat baba, Munawar Khan, Janga)
- saadat baba, lunkhwa UC, Mardan : Gave 120,000. Rs 1000 to be given to 50+ newly-arrived families and rest to be equally divided among rest. Will give [...]

Visit to IDP camps (14th June, 2009) - the ‘executive’ summary:
Things are in BAD shape! Seems we, the ones sitting in cities where no operation is taking place and where no IDP camp can be seen, are still unaware of the state of affairs (for [...]

Vist to Sadaat Baba - Impressions
A team of 12 volunteers from YPL, SeenReport, IPSS, FASTRising visited Sadaat Baba (a village near Takht Bhai, about an hour away from Mardan) on 23rd May. I spare you the information about the urgent needs at villages (where more than 85% refugees are based, sources claim) or at the IDP camps. [...]

FASTRising has a two pronged strategy
1) to have regular visits to Sadaat Baba, Bashirabad and the adjacent villages, to provide medical facilities there (at least fortnightly visit by a doctor) and to provide some monthly allowance to the locally registered families (some money in this regard was dispatched on 1st June by post). Next visit [...]

Impressions of a YPL activist
Our Plan:
Many of you may already know that we visited Mardan last weekend (23-24 May), we visited Sadat Baba and Bashirabad (remote areas/villages near Bunir, Pir Baba and Sawat).
First of all no aid from Government has yet arrived in these areas, that is, in the remote areas or villages where most [...]

Why is it that if one speaks against the military operation, drone attacks and US imperialism, he is labeled ‘Pro-Taliban’??
Why is it that if one speaks against the version of sharia that slaughters the throats, burns the schools, he is labeled ‘Pro-US’?
Why is the public discourse based on ‘you are with us or [...]

Several members of FASTRising, in collaboration with friends from Young Professionals Lahore and the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies, left for the Mardan/Swabi area on the evening of Friday 22nd May.
The three groups will work to achieve the following goals:

Set up a medical camp in Saadaat Baba, a union council near Mardan that is [...]

Current activities:

Fund collection: we have not yet launched an appeal on campus but many members have already activated their social networks and started collecting money for whatever actions(s) are finalised. We are certainly interested in setting up a stall on campus and would appreciate any and all help in that respect. If you are interested [...]

The short version, by our in-house wit: An idea whose time has come cannot be contained - nor container-ed.
The spiel:
While the nation celebrates and the most pessimistic activists are in wait-and-see mode till the 22nd of March, it behooves us to do a tally.
Some positives:

At the national level, a large number of people have finally [...]

A full dozen volunteers showed up for the symbolic dharna called by FASTRising as a way of raising awareness of the issue and notifying the community of the presence of a platform through which they could participate in a national movement.
We took up their places by the side of “Mall Road” thus ensuring that maximum [...]