IRIN
PAKISTAN: Festive holiday brings little joy for quake victims
5 November 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

BALAKOT, 5 November (IRIN) - Saima, eight, listlessly holds the doll she 
has just received as a gift as she sits beside her aunt in their tent. 
Even though the doll is the first toy she has played with in days, it 
seems to do nothing to bring a smile to her face. The doll, the child 
says, reminds her of the two sisters killed in the earthquake and of her 
mother, lying injured in a Rawalpindi hospital, close to the federal 
capital, Islamabad.

"Of course we are grateful for these gifts," says her aunt, Nudrat Bibi, 
gesturing towards the small heap of glittering bangles and a box of 
sweets that lies in a corner. "But the presents also make us sad because 
they remind us of past festive occasions we spent with our whole 
families, in our own home."

Eid ul-Fitr, the most important festival on the Muslim calendar, fell on 
Friday. To try and bring some cheer into the lives of the millions 
affected by the quake, charities, NGOs and the Pakistani government had 
arranged for gifts to be distributed, bangles to be handed out and for 
the hands of young girls to be painted with henna, as is the tradition.

The Eid holiday marks the end of Ramadan - the holy month of fasting - 
and is usually marked by feasts and family celebrations that continue 
for days.

But this year, across Pakistan, the holiday has been a subdued one 
following the quake that has killed at least 73,000 people in Pakistan. 
With the government urging people not to spend lavishly on celebrations 
and instead make donations for quake relief work, the occasion has 
refocused attention on the victims, many of whom are still without 
shelter.

In the more inaccessible villages of the Neelum and Jelum valleys in 
Pakistan-administered Kashmir, many indeed have still to receive any 
outside help at all.

"The situation really makes one wonder how these people will survive in 
the coming days. The conditions in the camps are miserable, as there is 
no sanitation and disease is already rampaging in these conditions," 
said volunteer Dr Khalid Ahmed, whose three children had also come up to 
Balakot from Karachi, the country's largest city, to mark Eid with the 
victims.

Many others, including film stars, sports heroes and politicians have 
done the same, as a gesture of solidarity with the victims.

But there are doubts over how long the compassion will last. People are 
asking how many days it will be before donor fatigue sets in and the 
victims are left isolated through the icy winter that is creeping down 
the mountains in the north.

"People are of course returning to their ordinary lives. No one can 
volunteer indefinitely and in the months ahead, it is the role of the 
government and the bigger international relief agencies that will be 
crucial," said Yasir Hameed, working with the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) in Balakot and the Mansehra area.

Acute handicaps remain in the way of providing relief. Large tracts in 
the mountains are still beyond reach. While mules, human porters who 
carry supplies on their backs and helicopters are all being used, aid 
has still to reach thousands.

Many more beg for shelter one month after the quake and the World Health 
Organization (WHO) has renewed its warnings that many more will die over 
the coming weeks if they are not provided with tents or other housing.

Pakistan's President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, in a desperate plea for more 
help on Friday, has criticised the West for failing to provide 
sufficient assistance. The United Nations has reiterated appeals for 
more funds.

Even where camps have been set up, living conditions are often 
miserable. Poor hygiene is contributing to the spread of disease, and 
aid workers say children have "begun to die every day from cold, 
malnutrition and disease" in areas such as the Allai Valley.

As the focus shifts to survival, villagers across the affected area are 
contemplating whether or not to abandon their homes and move down from 
the mountains - to wherever they can find help. Many are beginning to 
panic as winter hovers threateningly just days away and the aid they had 
expected simply hasn't arrived, in many cases.

"We are leaving. We don't know where to go, but we will see what fate 
brings," said Rashid Shah, driving down the road from Bana in Allai with 
his wife and five children. Lumpy bundles, containing what belongings 
they have been able to salvage from their collapsed house, are crammed 
into the small van they occupy.

Others simply do not have the resources to move away. All through 
Friday, thoughts were not on festivities, but on the need to quickly 
build whatever shelters they can, salvaging materials from the piles of 
rubble that were once homes, and attempting to assemble them into shacks 
that can protect victims from the worst of the snows and winds that 
still lie ahead.

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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