He has been called an unlikely ambassador and an improbable American. A lot of people still wonder who would have gone and lived under rickety makeshift shelters on the quake-hit hills of Pakistani part of Kashmir in 2005 – half a world away from comforts of life in the United States.
But Todd Shea has been a rare volunteer. Instead of returning home after delivering emergency services in the wake of the catastrophe, he decided to stay back, taking part in the massive relief operations. Ten years later, he continues to work in Pakistan, contributing to efforts to put balm on the wounds of quake and flood victims and bring back smiles on the faces of traumatized children.
“My experience has been one of tremendous love from the Pakistani people, tremendous respect. I have been to many countries — it’s only the Kashmiris and the Pakistani people who asked me to stay,” he tells ViewsNews TV, interspersing his talk with several Urdu words.
When people warn him of dangers amid ongoing fight against terror, he points out that there are problems everywhere, and wishes more people in the world would know how so many Pakistanis do so many good things.
“I have been actually blessed to come to Pakistan. I am sorry it took an earthquake to get me there. I wish I had known before what a wonderful country it is. Yes there are problems in Pakistan. We have problems here. We have problems all over the world.”
Far from the modern amenities of Pakistani urban life, Shea has lived with those for whom the world changed forever on that October 8, 2005 morning, when 7.6-magnitude temblor literally turned everything around them upside down and wiped out a generation of schoolchildren.
At appropriate time, he mixes his relief work with music. Incredible as might sound, Shea performs some famous Pakistani national songs like “Dil Dil Pakistan,” continuing his passion for music that brought him to New York in 2001.
Just when he felt he was on the cusp of breaking into the music industry, the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought down twin towers. After that poignant turning point in life, Shea took part in relief work and began devoting his time to taking care of people suffering in disasters across continents.
His Comprehensive Disaster Response Services has helped victims and patients in Kashmir and Pakistan, provided jobs, interacted with communities and students. Pakistanis say his work helps in building bridges between the two countries. He has been welcomed as a real ambassador bearing goodwill in people-to-people engagement during the turbulent times of Afghan war, even when controversies strained U.S.-Pakistan ties.
But there are growing humanitarian challenges in the face of frequent natural disasters including two huge floods.
In recent weeks, exactly a decade after that horrible 2005 October quake, Pakistan and Afghanistan were jolted by another huge temblor. His CDRS (cdrspakistan.org) got into action immediately.
After the latest quake, Shea is on road again to raise funds with a series of events in the United States. In an interview with ViewsNewsTV (https://goo.gl/5SrP6t) during the OPEN forum, an organization of Pakistani American entrepreneurs, in Virginia, he talked about his efforts, how he has found Pakistan, which he calls his home.
