IRIN
PAKISTAN: Quake victims despair as wait for land drags on
16 August 2006


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

MUZAFFARABAD, 16 August (IRIN) - Thousands of survivors are still 
waiting for land to be allocated so they can rebuild their homes more 
than 10 months after the devastating earthquake that struck northern 
Pakistan.

The 8 October quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed at least 
75,000 people and left more than 3.5 million homeless when it ripped 
through Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 
Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Many survivors are living in camps and have no idea when they will be 
allocated land by the government.

Mohammed Sadiq, who also survived a landslide that killed 12 people two 
weeks ago, said the delay was frustrating.

"I have been living in camps for the past 10 months and I'm waiting for 
the government [of Pakistani-administered Kashmir] to give land to me so 
I can start my life again - to be a farmer and to have a good life like 
before," Mohammed said from the Chehla Bandi camp in Muzaffarabad, 
capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

The 30-year-old said he was no longer thinking about the earthquake or 
the risk of landslides during the monsoon season - what mattered now was 
the future and having a real home.

Thousands of displaced people are waiting for the government to 
implement its plan to give each landless family a quarter of a hectare 
in a 'safe area' - meaning land that is not at risk from earthquakes, 
landslides and flooding.

Ershad Bibi, 30, a widow with two children, survived the quake and lives 
in a camp run by the UK-based Ummah Welfare Trust, an NGO focused on 
helping orphans, widows and landless people from the quake-hit area.

"I cannot go back [to where she lived before the earthquake] because my 
land is gone. I lost six family members, including one daughter and my 
husband, Hafis Erman. He was a farmer and I am a dressmaker. The family 
have much less money but I still have hope about land and a house for my 
family," Ershad said.

Kashif Murtaza, Chief Secretary of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, said 
its land plan would hopefully be finalised by the end of the year, with 
resettlement beginning next year.

"The landless people, from both rural and urban areas, are not more than 
about 10,000 -11,000 families [in Pakistani-administered Kashmir] and we 
must find the most suitable sites for these people. We are working on 
land identification. We do not have any government land, only private 
land, and we need to purchase it first.

"We have initiated the processes of acquiring that land, which will be 
finalised this year. We hope we can resettle the people at least before 
the end of next summer," Murtaza said.

But survivors remain unaware of how long this process could take, 
leading to a sense of despair.

"I can't live in camps anymore - I'm depressed. My father is not healthy 
and is getting weaker here. I heard about people starting reconstruction 
but I don't even have land. The government has no clear policy for us 
[landless people] and they are wasting their time. I don't care where I 
will live, just give me land," Mohammed said.

Giovanni Zanelli, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees 
(UNHCR) hub coordinator in Muzaffarabad, said the agency had identified 
two kinds of people who needed land - earthquake victims, who accounted 
for the majority of the displaced, and the victims of landslides.

"These people need land but it takes time. There are two questions they 
would like to know - when and where? When they can move and where the 
new location will be," Zanelli said.

Ershad said there would be a lot of changes compared to when the family 
had her husband's steady income.

"It is a very difficult situation for me now. I don't have a steady 
income as a dressmaker but if I get the land I will try hard. I can only 
guess when I will get land. Now I'm just waiting, but it is a very long 
wait, " she said.


IRIN-Asia
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