I find the media treatment of what is happening in Kashmir, Pakistan and India to be shameful. 80,000 people have died, millions are homeless and struggling to get food or water. The homeless face terrible cold and suffering due to lack of shelter. This combination of disaster and difficulty responding makes this the worst problem that the world has faced in years.

This is a disaster that has killed 78,000 more than Katrina and Rita and destroyed 5 to 10 times as many homes as Katrina and Rita. This is a disaster that is a close second to the tsunami in terms of death and much more difficult to respond to.

And yet, it is now back page news. And as a result, public awareness about the problem is at an incredible low.

Podcasters have not performed any better than the mainstream media. I think we owe it to our fellow man to be better citizens of the world.

I have asked Podcasting’s two venture backed leaders, Podshow and Odeo, to feature podcasts about this problem and gotten no results. I have sent emails to Podshow founder Adam Curry asking him to say something on his show, and not a word. I have sent emails to Odeo founder Ev Williams asking him to say something on his blog, and not a word.

Tsunami and hurricane fatigue are no excuse. 80,000 people have died and millions are desperately homeless. The silence is deafening.

Mainstream media has left these people to die. The public isn’t reacting because they aren’t being made aware.

I was proud of podcasting’s support of Katrina relief, now I am saddened at the lack of reaction to this disaster.

Three things you can do to make a difference.

1. Go to southasiaearthquake.org and find a place to donate
2. Talk about the problem on your podcast or blog and get people doing something about it
3. Send an email to Adam Curry at adam at curry.com and to Ev Williams at evhead at gmail.com to let them know that as leaders of big podcasting companies they should be speaking out about this

I don’t know anybody who lives in Kashmire or Pakistan or India, but I do know that when I see children like this they deserve our help, our love and our support.

Please help these people!