At the fantastic Party for Pakistan [1] last week, Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Maleena Pone caught up with Riz Ahmed, one of the event's organisers and former CAS contributor, to find out how it all went:
Congratulations on such a phenomenal event, is this the first one that you’ve done on this scale?
I‘ve done events like this in the past, but this was a quite ambitious one with an all-star line up in an iconic venue, plus we didn’t have very long to organise it all, so it was a fresh challenge.
How easy was it to get all the acts on board to and commit to taking part?
It was actually quite easy to do because, as you’ve seen through the massive amounts of public donations to the Pakistan flood appeal, most people in the UK do feel some connection to Pakistan, 
and there seemed to be the same feeling amongst the talent we got on board for the event.
"On one level there’s a bit of a disaster fatigue amongst the population of developed countries, because we live in an age where news is globalised and we are bombarded with images of suffering everyday"
There was a massive willingness and eagerness amongst all the acts to get involved and help, and when I contacted most of them, there was a sense of surprise that they hadn’t already been approached about doing an event like this. It seems that there hasn't been as much willingness to support the cause than in the British media.
What was the atmosphere like backstage?
It was wicked atmosphere backstage and it was really nice to have people meeting each other, some for the first time. For instance, when I introduced Plan B to Fonejacker, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so star struck by anyone! That was a nice moment, we got a photo together. There were a lot of great, like-minded, creative people that don’t often get to be under one roof, so it was quite special.
What was your favourite moment from the night, any standout performances?
I felt like every single one of the acts delivered a really punchy, weighty set, which is really difficult as they only got like 15 minutes each. For me personally, a highlight was getting to MC over DJ Zinc’s set because I’m a big fan of his and he’s been a pioneer of UK dance music.
As you’ve mentioned, you don’t think the media has done enough to raise awareness about the help required, what about the government, do you think they’ve pledged enough to help Pakistan?
Well, I don’t have a comprehensive list of ins and outs of all the government actions but I know that in general, the governments that have said they would pledge money need to come good on that. Often when governments pledge a lot of money it takes a long time for it to come through.
Do you think the British public has become desensitized to the suffering of the people of Pakistan due to the media coverage the country has received over the past year?
On one level there’s a bit of a disaster fatigue amongst the population of developed countries, because we live in an age where news is globalised and we are bombarded with images of suffering everyday. Having said that, for that very reason I think there’s also been an increase in the public sense of global responsibility and global citizenship. It’s still really important to thank the British public on how forthcoming they’ve been with the donations and encourage that to continue.
Thanks to all that took part in the event - we at Ctrl.Alt.Shift salute you.
Words: Maleena Pone
Photo: Courtesy of Ctrl.Alt.Shift
To donate to our Pakistan appeal, click here [2]
Click here [1] to read the full review of the Party for Pakistan
Links:
[1] https://ctrlaltshift.co.uk/article/london-parties-pakistan-and-raises-£7k-flood-victims
[2] http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/pakistan-floods-appeal/index.aspx