When the Mountains Moved: Survival and Friendship in the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake

		Todd Shea Todd Shea is a vocalist, songwriter and guitarist whose lyrics often reflect his fascination with humanity's potential for creativity or destruction on many levels. Having worked as a relief worker during 9/11, The Tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina, Todd was adamant upon going to Pakistan after the earthquake in 2005 to help in relief and rehabilitation. After seeing the magnitude of the need in Kashmir, Todd started his own NGO by the name of CDRS and currently works and resides in Chikar, Kashmir providing free medical facilities to 150,000 people who would otherwise be without any health care in that remote region.

		Bashir Hussein Bashir is an electrician in the Batal area. He lives there with his extended family. When the quake struck most of his house came down, but he managed to escape. At the last minute he realized that his niece was missing and ran back into the crumbling house to find her. He managed to escape with her by a hair’s breadth as the last walls fell behind them. He has moved his family temporarily to Karachi and spends most of his time in Batal between looking for work and waiting at government offices for compensation.

		Susan Pietsch-Escueta Having been born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and raised there until the age of 18, Susan harbors a special place in her heart for Pakistanis. When the earthquake struck, Susan was personally distraught and felt the overwhelming need to help right away. She went to Pakistan in an individual capacity to help the survivors. Weighing and measuring the children in the remote villages of Northern Pakistan, Susan made sure that they were getting adequate vitamins and health care supplies in the aftermath of the disaster.

		Thomas Tighe Currently serving as the head of Direct Relief International, Thomas Tighe was previously the Chief of Staff and the Chief Operating Officer at Peace Corps overseeing day-to-day operations of the agency's worldwide programs. Thomas Tighe is cited in a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Nomination. The nomination describes the mission and achievements of the Peace Corps and cites 11 current and former volunteers and staff as some of the world's most effective peacemakers who are carrying on humanitarian efforts around the world.

		Brett Williams In response to the severe earthquake, Direct Relief's Disaster Coordinator, Brett Williams, traveled to Pakistan to work with local and international aid organizations to facilitate the timeliness of getting aid to survivors. An Emergency Medical Technician by trade, Brett worked in Pakistan in coordinating logistics as well as helping rebuild homes using existing materials in the devastated areas. His program, nicknamed Winter Race, was adopted by all the existing NGOs in the area and proved to be a huge success in ensuring that quake survivors had adequate shelter for the harsh winter.

		Muhammad Afzal Afzal comes from Garhi Dupatta just outside of Muzaffarabad. When the earthquake hit he was asleep. The first thing he saw when he raced outside was the dust settling and every one of the 400 houses in his area flattened. He immediately joined the relief effort and flew on a number of helicopter sorties, evacuating patients. His one unfulfilled wish was to ride on a Chinook. He now works as a medical administrator.

		Mark Ward Mark Ward is an Administrator at USAID in Washington DC. Mark is very familiar with Pakistan as his previous assignment for almost four years carrying out USAID’s mission of assistance in the areas of health, poverty and education in the region. Mark went back to Pakistan right after the earthquake to assist in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation effort.

		Dr. Arshad Raja Dr. Arshad comes from Muzaffarabad and is a medical superintendent. He was working the night shift on October 7th. He had just arrived home from work and was washing up when the earthquake hit. His entire apartment complex collapsed and he barely managed to escape with his life through the rubble, falling concrete and twisted iron. He then walked for a day in the rain (since there was no transport left) to reach his family home.

		Peggy O’Ban Peggy O’ban is the Media Coordinator for USAID. On her way from Kabul back to the US she stopped for a couple of days in Islamabad, on October 7th. The next morning she felt her hotel room shake with the jolts of the quake. There was a change in plans and she stayed on in Islamabad to help coordinate media access and media coverage of the disaster. However most of her time was spent working as a volunteer, bringing food, medicines, blankets, tents, and comfort to the victims and survivors, some of whom were in very far flung and difficult to reach areas. Peggy herself had to be evacuated for a medical condition while working in the field.

		Abbas Jaffri Abbas is an Emergency Relief Technician.