Watch: Emirati influencer Khalid Al Ameri visits Pakistan, shoots flood relief video

Popular Emirati influencer Khalid Al Ameri visited Pakistan this week alongside Dubai-based filmmaker Faisal Hashmi to shoot a video for flood relief awareness.

Hashmi documented the process through a series of Instagram stories, giving viewers an insight into the utter devastation the floods have caused in the country. The duo travelled to Rajanpur, Sindh — an area that is so "incredibly hard" to reach it took them two days.

A video on Hashmi's Instagram story shows the men travelling by boat across what initially appears to be a muddy river, but is in fact the completely submerged district of Rajanpur: home to a population of nearly 2 million people.

"This is not a river", Hashmi clarifies to the camera. "This was a land with bustling houses and communities. It is now entirely submerged, and a lake where you take boats to rescue." He says that the flood has displaced houses and structures across Rajanpur, leaving its people homeless and helpless. Rajanpur is one of the most affected and flooded parts of Pakistan, Hashmi says, and entire communities have been dislocated from their homes.

"Without enough resources and aid to rebuild their houses, their lives are ruined permanently", he adds.

Another video shows Al Ameri and Hashmi at a large relief camp set up in Rajanpur intended to house those who have been dispersed. Multiple rows of tents can be seen with families and children inside. "It is so heartbreaking to see this many children here", Hashmi says. "A lot of NGOs and disaster relief set-ups are operating here trying to provide the displaced families with medicine, food and shelter — but many more are needed."

The duo also show viewers makeshift hospitals set up in schools to help sick mothers and children deal with the diseases that floods bring. "It is terrible how many sick kids I saw", Hashmi captioned the video. "But heartening to see the collective effort made by volunteers."

Hashmi states that the aim of his collaboration with Al Ameri is to accurately cover the impact of the flooding in the media. He thanked Al Ameri for his decision to visit the "hardest-hit" areas with their harsh road conditions with no monetary incentive.

Al Ameri did this "on his own dime without any sponsors", Hashmi told his audience, "just to "raise awareness without an agenda." He sincerely thanked the influencer for "taking the initiative", saying that he was proud of him.

Al Ameri re-posted the story to his 2.2 million followers, captioning it, "Thank you for your kind words and helping brother! Much love always."

This is not the first time the social media sensation has visited the country. Al Ameri first journeyed to Pakistan in January 2020, visiting Islamabad and the hill station of Nathia Gali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"I’ve fallen in love with Pakistan", he captioned a photo of him in the hill station. "The people and the country are incredible MashAllah. Pakistan Zindabad!"

Hashmi ended his Instagram stories with a plea to his viewers to increase awareness about the devastating floods. "Media coverage isn't nearly enough", he said. "The UK heatwave got 10 times more coverage."

"It is up to us to tell the stories."

anjali@khaleejtimes.com

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