Village Journals
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Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Earhquake update from some one who has been there
As you know that here in Pakistan, people are doing their best to help the earthquake victims. However, we need foreign help as the scale of disaster is too big. There are nearly 100,000 deaths (as opposed to the official figure of 53,200).
About four million people have gone homeless. Farmers have lost their livelihoods as land has been destroyed through land slides and the emergence of undulating earth patterns. Already about 2000-3000 people have been amputated because they could not get timely treatment to their injuries.The survivors are out in the cold injured and depressed. There is no shelter. What we need are tents (water proof and insulated). Four million people would require at least 500,000 tents. Gas stoves and medical assistance. Food and clothes have been donated in loads and loads by pakistanis within Pakistan. They are lying on raods in heaps with no takers.The priorities are tents (at least 6 by 6 feet or bigger), medical assistance and gas heaters/stoves.
Kindly sensitize the Pakistani community abraod and the foreigners about the scale of disaster. People in the West have failed to get a real picture of its impact. You should contact university teachers, your co-workers, journalists and tell them about the scale of destruction and our needs. Only when civil society organisations in the West put pressure on their governments, can we expect some help.
Consider the following facts:
Tsunami affected on million people. Pakistan's earthquake has made 4 million homeless.In case of Tsunami the affected areas were coastal areas (flat) and thus easy to reach. Here we are dealing with rugged mountaineous terrain which is only reachable by helicopter or heavy earth clearing equipment. That's why the delay in the relief effort.All areas affected by Tsunami had a moderate weather. Here temperatures have already dropped to freezing and if shelter and other aid is delayed for another week or two, half of the 4 million survivors may die. Thus the need for urgent aid.In case of Tsunami, 4000 helicopters were made available by foreign countries for rescue. We got just 70.In case of Tsunami 80% of the aid pledged by Western countries to the UN was realised in two weeks. We have just received 12% of the promised aid.Kindly bring these facts to the notice of whomever you can. Help and encourage others to help.Discourage them to dump their undesired clothes. Tents, stoves, and shlter for the future i.e. long-term reconstruction. Foster houses for orphans and widows. Schools and reconstruction of houses.Its stinking in Azad Kashmir because many dead bodies could not be removed. There is smell of human flesh in the air. If you take the missing to be dead then the number of dead may actually be around 200,000. 80 % of Balakot and 85% of Bagh died.
About four million people have gone homeless. Farmers have lost their livelihoods as land has been destroyed through land slides and the emergence of undulating earth patterns. Already about 2000-3000 people have been amputated because they could not get timely treatment to their injuries.The survivors are out in the cold injured and depressed. There is no shelter. What we need are tents (water proof and insulated). Four million people would require at least 500,000 tents. Gas stoves and medical assistance. Food and clothes have been donated in loads and loads by pakistanis within Pakistan. They are lying on raods in heaps with no takers.The priorities are tents (at least 6 by 6 feet or bigger), medical assistance and gas heaters/stoves.
Kindly sensitize the Pakistani community abraod and the foreigners about the scale of disaster. People in the West have failed to get a real picture of its impact. You should contact university teachers, your co-workers, journalists and tell them about the scale of destruction and our needs. Only when civil society organisations in the West put pressure on their governments, can we expect some help.
Consider the following facts:
Tsunami affected on million people. Pakistan's earthquake has made 4 million homeless.In case of Tsunami the affected areas were coastal areas (flat) and thus easy to reach. Here we are dealing with rugged mountaineous terrain which is only reachable by helicopter or heavy earth clearing equipment. That's why the delay in the relief effort.All areas affected by Tsunami had a moderate weather. Here temperatures have already dropped to freezing and if shelter and other aid is delayed for another week or two, half of the 4 million survivors may die. Thus the need for urgent aid.In case of Tsunami, 4000 helicopters were made available by foreign countries for rescue. We got just 70.In case of Tsunami 80% of the aid pledged by Western countries to the UN was realised in two weeks. We have just received 12% of the promised aid.Kindly bring these facts to the notice of whomever you can. Help and encourage others to help.Discourage them to dump their undesired clothes. Tents, stoves, and shlter for the future i.e. long-term reconstruction. Foster houses for orphans and widows. Schools and reconstruction of houses.Its stinking in Azad Kashmir because many dead bodies could not be removed. There is smell of human flesh in the air. If you take the missing to be dead then the number of dead may actually be around 200,000. 80 % of Balakot and 85% of Bagh died.
Comments on this journal
atiq very accurate account and i second it - having seen it all first hand.
as for where to send the funds - great question.
i am going back to Islamabad next week before Eid and will be there till after. the main aim other that to offer surgical help is to find out which organization is able to handle the load and for what task.
how do people overseas know where to send aid ?
in the aftermatch of the tsunami one of the lessons learned was that the 300 or so aid agencies present were all stockpiling goods and not releasing them to the right places as there was a massive lack of direction/ management..
as a result i think the UN is supposed to coordinate efforts in future, but i have heard nothing on this with relation to earthquake relief specifically.