Pakistan Floods: 1st Anniversary

Almost one year ago, Pakistan saw the worst ever floods in its 80 years history that clamied over 2000 lives, 20 million people (equal to the entire polulation of Sri Lanka or Madagaskar) were displaced and one fifth of the whole country (area equal to the size of the United Kingdom) was under water. According to a UN report, nearly 2 million homes were destroyed or damaged and over 2.2 million hectares of crops lost and Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General - termed it as a slow moving Tsunami.
The rough estimates for reonstruction of basic infrastructure was estimated at 10 billion dollars.


One year on - people are still living in makeshift tents, lives have been devasted, family members or bread-winners dead. In one interview a woman flood victim shared her experience and told her story that though everybody has been suffering but for women in particular life is worst - they have to do parda (veil) and at the same time, minimum fascilities at the camps have made it one of the most difficult experience in her post floods life.


Many of these women have spent their whole lives within their small, closed communities/villages but now, that floods have brought them on the road - life
is really tough with no sanitaion, no bathrooms, clean water or medical checkups. Even after a year, there are no schools for the children affected by floods. With the handful of belonging that is their whole world, it is hard to understand for them - why aid has not yet reached them & their conditions have gone from bad to worst. Some areas have got help but a few others have been completely ignored.


Pakistanies have galantly worked to help the victims - but it is such a mega disaster that government's take on that will bring change - if any!


In an interview to reuter CARE Pakistan’s Country Director, Mr Waleed Rauf, said, “With heavy rains forecast for the next few weeks the likelihood that Pakistan will have another flood disaster is very real, and once again women and children will bear the brunt of it as they are the most vulnerable and marginalized."


He further said that“Donors, the government and international organisations need to continue to support both recovery and disaster risk reduction efforts in Pakistan to prevent a reoccurrence of last year’s crisis.”

Monsoons are around - there have been alerts for this years' rains as well. I wonder what measures have been taken by the government to lessen the hardships of already battered victims of the last years floods.



Photo credits@Boston Globe