It is with great sadness that I convey the news of the passing of Haji Ghulam Rasool Bazaz, father of Mr. Ajaz Bazaz. May Allah grant him Janat-ul-Firdaus. Our condolences go out to the Bazaz family, and may Allah grant them patience during this difficult time. Mr. Ajaz Bazaz left for Kashmir immediately upon receiving the news.

Khuda Hafiz,
Zarar Siddiqi

It is with deep sadness that I convey the news of the passing of Mr. Qayoom Bakshi, father of Mr. Omar Bakshi. Mr. Qayoom Bakshi passed away yesterday in Kashmir surrounded by his family, including his son, Omar. Mr. Bakshi had visited Canada in the past and we all have very fond memories of him. Our condolences go out to the Bakshi family and may Allah grant them patience in this trying time. May Allah bless the departed soul and grant him Janat-ul-Firdaus.

Khuda Hafiz,
Zarar Siddiqi

I hope the summer is going well. I thought it would be nice if we can enjoy the weather outside and organize a picnic. The date is July 10th and the location is Kelso Conservation Area:

http://www.conservationhalton.on.ca/ShowCategory.cfm?subCatID=1085

We have been there once before, and it is a beautiful park with a lake, boating options, plenty of room for soccer, cricket and more. This will be a pot-luck style picnic. Please aim to get there by 12:30PM so we can get a nice spot, and have a fun day.

Khuda Hafiz

Please RSVP by tomorrow (Tuesday) to either Tariq at tariqmahmoodin@hotmail.com or Farhat at farhat.buchh@gmail.com .

http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?EventId=10082

Being an honor for a Kashmiri Muslim to have been invited by prestigious international affairs school in North America, we as Kashmiri Community in Toronto welcome the occasion and hence would like to invite him for a dinner to interact and get to know the Kashmiri community so that a very positive impression of our community is conveyed back to Kashmir.

In this regard Mr. Farhat Buchh and Mr. Tariq Mehmoodin will get in touch with you for further details about the venue of the dinner.

Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir has remained a flashpoint in South Asia during past over 21 years. An armed rebellion, which broke out in 1989 led to destabilization in region which thousands of people getting killed and displaced. India used its military might to contain the conflict but the real political issue remains unresolved. Since Kashmir dispute is centre to acrimonious relationship between India and Pakistan, both the countries have tried many agreements, but have failed to bring peace to the region. With both pro-India and pro-secessionist parties claiming to represent people of Jammu and Kashmir, there is no forward movement on political settlement. The result is that Kashmir is writhing in pain and agony. Past three years have seen a different uprising, which many believe, is a transition from violence to non-violence but there seems to be no capitalization on that account. The stalemate has left people in despair and sustainable peace remains elusive.

Shujaat Bukhari is a senior journalist and writer based in Srinagar, the capital of Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir. He has covered Kashmir conflict for the last 21 years and has reported on politics, culture and defense issues. He has worked with several regional, national and international newspapers and has carved a niche for himself. Besides being a journalist he has special interest in promoting culture and his native language—Kashmiri. He has survived four assassination attempts during his chequered career but has stayed back in his home place.

Ryerson University, 245 Church Street, Toronto

More information here: http://www.ryerson.ca/news/events/General_Public/20110119_issues.html

Zero Bridge Trailer from ZeroBridgeFilm.com on Vimeo.

Zero Bridge opens Feb. 16th, 2011 at New York’s Film Forum Nominee for Venice Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards and Gotham Independent Film Awards. RSVP to sara@filmpresence.com

Asalamualaikum,

Hope you’re all doing well. It has been almost a week since we met so I will just remind you guys what this is all about. I really appreciate the time you take to read this email, its hard to get so much across in a few words!

All of you are well aware of the deteriorating situation in Kashmir these days and the topic needs no introduction. We have all been trying to keep up with the situation in Kashmir by watching NDTV and updating our facebook statuses and what not. After a while even that tires you out, you feel helpless, hopeless in the advent of such adversity which the people of Kashmir continue to face till today.

While the whole world is focused on a much bigger disaster faced by the Pakistani nation we as Kashmiris must not forget our own obligations to our brothers and sisters back home. Especially given the present circumstances the people who are already poor are suffering the most and we must do more than the usual to help alleviate some of their distress.

This summer I had the opportunity to volunteer with the HELP foundation (Human Effort for Love & Peace) in Kashmir and witnessed some truly inspiring work done by their organization. Started in 1997, by Mrs. Nighat Shafi Pandit, HELP runs various schools and orphanages in areas like Kupwara and Inderhama which aim to provide education to under-privileged children with a focus on orphans or as Nighat Auntie calls them her ‘special children’. It also runs various women empowerment centers where women can learn Ari work, make spices and learn to support themselves. Additionally the organization also offers free health clinics and rehabilitation loans for widows and orphans.

Kashmir being the breeding ground of trauma has experienced a steep increase in the no. of NGO’s that claim to be helping the needy. How many of those organizations actually do the work is questionable. I have not done my research in this area so I cannot lay any false claims. Regardless, my aim is not to belittle other humanitarian organizations but highlight the work of the organization that I personally witnessed is doing whatever it can to help.

However, I was unaware that the Kashmiris here had helped raise money for the HELP foundation once before and faced some disappointment in terms of communication. I got into touch with them right after the Eid party and they were able to send me a short report of the work they did during the earthquake in 2005. So I hope that this will help clarify some of the issues some of you had regarding the credibility of the organization. I have also attached a report of a recent project HELP ran during the summer in order to help alleviate some of the problems caused by the protests and killings.

Lastly, Sahl ibn Sa’d reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“I and those who care for orphans will be in the Garden like this,” and he pointed with his forefinger and middle finger and made an opening between them.” [al-Bukhari]

If you’re interested in making a donation or have any questions about the organization please visit their website for more information and of course feel free to contact me about the same!

If we can generate enough interest then a more organized approach like a local Kashmiri youth group could be set up to collect funds for specific projects through the HELP foundation along with an orphan sponsorship program. These projects could include buying sewing machines for their ari work centres, facilitating loans through KIVA (http://www.kiva.org/ ) or OXFAM which also had tie ups with HELP.

Website: http://jkhelpfoundation.org/contact