Help Pours In for Victims of Iran Quake

Mohammad Davatolhagh emerged from his van Sunday loaded down with large, plastic Kmart bags filled with hundreds of dollars worth of blankets and clothing for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Iran last week.

“I’ve heard the weather is cold over there and that they need help,” said Davatolhagh, 45, a pharmacy technician from Reseda. “They need warm things.”

Torrance resident Bill Young Jr. joined Davatolhagh moments later at the West Los Angeles headquarters of the Iranian Muslim Assn. of North America to make a donation of three bags of clothes. “I don’t have a lot myself. I’m not rich. But these people have lost everything,” Young said.

Young and Davatolhagh were among the dozens of donors who showed up Sunday at the headquarters with clothing and money for victims of the quake, which is believed to have killed 20,000 to 40,000 people and injured thousands of others. The temblor devastated the historic city of Bam, about 600 miles southeast of Tehran.

A telethon broadcast on five Los Angeles-based Iranian television stations had raised more than $330,000 as of about 4 p.m. Sunday, according to Mohsen Movaghar, the association’s vice president.

He said donations ranged from a 4-year-old girl offering $5 to a businessman donating $20,000.

“It’s really a great feeling,” added Masood Behshid, an association director. “We have Jews, Christians and Muslims all working together.”

At the headquarters, volunteers had transformed the parking lot into a makeshift collection center. Stacks of sweaters, shirts, pants and blankets flowed into a nearby building. One man showed up with five crisp $100 bills.

“I asked for his name,” said Neda Mehrizi, a member of the association who had been accepting donations since 8 a.m. “He said he just wanted to help.”

Behshid told Young his group was counting on help from nonprofit organizations to get the donations transported to Iran. After handing over his bags of clothing, Young downplayed his donation.

“It’s things we don’t need anymore,” said Young, a 53-year-old technical writer. “It’s just clothes.”

“But that means a lot to them,” Behshid replied.

Los Angeles County fire officials said Sunday that a planned mission by the county’s urban search-and-rescue team to Iran had been canceled by federal officials.

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How to Help

The Iranian Muslim Assn. is accepting donations at its headquarters, 3376 Motor Ave., West Los Angeles, CA 90034. Contributions may also be made with credit cards at (310) 202-8181 or online at www.iman.org.