Foreign Policy Blogs

Depilex Smileagain – The saga continues

The below email is from Manzar Mian, former co-director at the Depilex Smile Again.  Place read my post about Depilex Smile Again for background. And here.

—————

Depilex Smileagain Foundation (DSF) has sent a legal notice to its main donor and supporter, Clarice Felli, President Smileagain Italia,  accusing her of defaming DSF. Smileagain Italia lent its name “smileagain” to Masarrat Misbah to start its operation in Pakistan and helped in raising funds and creating awareness in Italy for the victims in Pakistan.

Clarice came to Pakistan in Dec last year and asked questions like where the donations went, who got benefitted etc etc.

Rather than answering her questions, she has been sent a legal notice. The notice creates great doubts about the transparency of DSF which instead of concentrating on answering its critics by sharing data on fund utilisation and work done, is planning to sue its main donor for grounds and i quote the lawyers letter “you have questioned our Clients without any basis for the same,….and you have contributed directly towards the defamation campaign against our Clients”. Ethically any donor has the right to ask a question how the money has been spent, but here the parent donor is asking a question and instead of an answer , it is being said, your question has no basis!

What impression are we giving to organisations who wish to help Pakistan.

As you are already aware, when the Govt of Pakistan started an investigation on DSF, DSF got its accountant arrested on charges of stealing its entire record including the hard disk of the computer. Last month the Court acquitted the accountant of theft charges after a lengthy trial.

Shall keep you informed of the developments as they unfold.

K regds

Manzar

 

Author

Nikolaj Nielsen

Nikolaj Nielsen has a Master's of Journalism and Media degree from a program partnership of three European universities - University of Arhus in Denmark, University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Swansea University in Wales. His work has been published at Reuters AlertNet, openDemocracy.net, the New Internationalist and others.

Areas of Focus:
Torture; Women and Children; Asylum;

Contact