IRIN
PAKISTAN: The long wait at a quake camp
13 December 2006


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

BALAKOT, 13 December (IRIN) - Abdul Koayyum's life was shattered by 
falling debris the day of the earthquake. His home collapsed, killing 
his wife. His leg was smashed.

More than a year later Abdul's leg is still healing, pinned along its 
length after a series of operations. But life goes on for the 
38-year-old carpenter and his four children, waiting for the second 
winter under the canvas of a tented village at Jaba, near Balakot, in 
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

"The leg will be mended soon," he insists. Doctors have told him he will 
walk again, perhaps before the end of the year, if he is lucky. And 
there is hope too his life will improve in the future, after the winter.

For now he sits and waits. Waits for his leg to heal; waits for the 
winter to pass. Life has come to mean waiting; measured from one food 
distribution to the next, praying that one day soon hope will translate 
into a positive outcome.

The last year has dealt him a series of bitter blows. He and his four 
children made the difficult journey from their mountain village to see 
out the first winter after the quake in the valley below in a 
government-run camp.

Like thousands of families they made the return to their home village in 
the spring. Despite appalling leg injuries Abdul was able to continue 
his work in the village as a carpenter.

Living among the ruins of his former home, he had started to rebuild his 
life when the rains came. The heavy monsoons of August swept what was 
left of his home away in a landslide and he and his children were lucky 
to escape again with their lives.

Here he is not alone. At Jaba camp more than 630 families have similar 
stories to tell. More than 100 households lost their land in the quake. 
The rest, like Abdul, were forced to seek aid at the camp following the 
heavy rains.

Conditions are adequate for survival. Abdul says there is enough food 
and he has a winterised tent with mattresses and quilts. There is a 
school and medical support. But the life he had known is gone.

"We just wait for better days; what else can we do?" he says with a look 
of resignation.

The manager at Jaba Camp, Asghar Ali Shah, says the site is already full 
beyond its capacity, with more families arriving by the day; last week 
alone 30 new families arrived, the first of those coming down to escape 
the harsh weather in the mountains this winter.

Since early December families have been directed to the reopened Kashtra 
camp in Mansehra District, with a capacity for 700 families, he said.

Meanwhile at Jaba, preparations to support families through the dark 
winter months are under way. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is 
supporting shelter needs, with additional stocks from World Vision 
International, to replace small or damaged tents. The World Food 
Programme (WFP) is supporting food requirements, while a medical 
facility is provided by the government.

Abdul Koayyum is prepared for the long wait until the spring. Camp 
manager Asghar Ali Shah is determined to offer him and the many families 
like his, living on the edge of despair, every possible support until 
the sun shines on them again.


IRIN-Asia
Tel: +90 312 454 1177
Fax: +90 312 495 4166
Email: IrinAsia@IRINnews.org


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