PNAC Relief Operations in Kashmir

 


 

First Relief Mission

 

In the same meeting which was called on 10th of October, it was decided that first mission would be sent immediately to the capital of Kashmir, Muzafarabad. The objectives were:

 

  1. To assess the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake
  2. To make a needs assessment survey
  3. To try to re-establish contacts with Board Members and staff  of Kashmir AIDS Consortium, so that with their help better and more effective operations could be planned
  4. To distribute the relief goods among the victims of the earthquake
To express unity with the victims of the earthquake and to assure them of
constant support from their Pakistani brethren.

 

 

 

The team consisted of Raja Khalid Mehmood, Aftab Ahmed Awan, and Gul Mawaz. The first target was to purchase the relief goods. The purchasing continued till late at night. The main items which were bought were dry food item, medicines and white cloths for wrapping dead bodies, which were badly needed in the devastated areas where thousands of bodies were still buried under rubble and waited for proper burial.

 

The team started its journey in the morning of 11th October. The journey which usually took four hours

 took more than eight hours because of broken roads and traffic jams. At many places the road had been totally destroyed by the land slides and only narrow paths had been cleared by army bulldozers on which only single line traffic was possible. After Kohala Bridge which serves as boundary of Kashmir region, the sign of total destruction were evident on both side of the road.

 

The team reached Muzafarabad late in the evening and the goods were distributed with the help of local residents.

 

The night was spent in Muzafarabad and the next

 

 

morning a detailed survey of the city was conducted. Most of the buildings of the city had been razed to the ground. The infrastructure had been completely wiped out. The number of causalities in the city of Muzafarabad alone is believed to be more than 20 thousand. The stench of the dead bodies buried under debris of the buildings had made it impossible to pass from some roads. Almost all the houses had been badly affected and rendered unsuitable for residential purposes. There was no system of electricity and water supply, even after three days of the earthquake.  Most of the families which had been badly affected by the earthquake were living under open skies as there were no tents available for

 

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 Establishment of PNAC Relief Fund

 

The earthquake hit Pakistan on Saturday 8th Oct. An emergency meeting was called in PNAC office in the morning of Monday 10th Oct to discuss the situation and to develop a future plan of action with the consensus of PNAC management Team. The meeting was also attended by the President PNAC. The agenda was to discuss the response of PNAC to the situation. Many factors were discussed in detail. These included: availability of human and financial resources, PNAC’s ongoing activities and impact of relief operations on the ongoing work and PNAC’s mandate. After detailed and comprehensive discussions it was decided the as responsible civil society organization, which represents all the provinces and regions of the country, it was necessary for PNAC to respond to this national tragedy despite its limited resources and other heavy commitments.

 

It was decided that PNAC would establish a relief fund for its operations. The President initiated the fund by announcing Rs.5000/- for the fund. All the members of PNAC national Office decide to donate one day’s salary in the fund. All the provincial and regional networks were also informed about the establishment of the fund and they responded enthusiastically. All the staff members of the provincial and regional offices also donated one day salary in the fund with some members going even further and donating extra amounts. The fund was further supported by individuals out side the consortium as well. The largest contribution came from Japanese civil society organization Shapla Neer. which decided to donate $5000/- for this noble cause. The generous contributions in the fund enabled PNAC to send two relief missions to the devastated areas Kashmir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report

 

 

 

 

 

Compiled by:   Aftab Ahmed Awan

                         Communication Officer

 

Background:

 

Pakistan was hit by its worst ever earthquake on the morning of Saturday, 8th October 2005 at 8.52 AM. The deadly earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, wiped out entire villages, reduced many of them to rubble, triggered landslides, killing thousands in NWFP, AJK, Punjab, and Islamabad. It left hundreds of thousands stranded, buried under rubble, shelter less and homeless in its wake. It was reported by the chief of Pakistan’s meteorological department, Qamaruzzman, that it was the strongest quake in the last 100 years in this region. Though the effects were felt in almost all the parts of the country, the worst affected areas were Kashmir and Hazara Division, where in some places entire populations were wiped out from the face of the earth. The School children were one of the worst affected groups.

 

"We had three schools here, a primary school, a middle school and a girls' school. They're all gone," soldier Mohammed Iqbal of Patangi village, some 7km (four miles) from Balakot, said. (The News, October 9, 2005)

 

The massive calamity called for mammoth relief efforts from all the sections of society. It was evident that government alone was not capable and equipped enough to handle and deal with the destruction at this scale and magnitude. The response of the civil society organization to this tragedy was spontaneous, awe-inspiring and overwhelming. Immediate relief operations were announced and started to help the poor victims of the earthquake.

 

Though Pakistan National AIDS Consortium is not a relief organization and is primarily working in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health, it was felt that as a premier civil society organization it was its obligation to respond to the situation. In an emergency meeting called at PNAC office it was decided that PNAC would play its due role in helping the sufferers of the earthquake and start its own relief operation for the devastated areas of Kashmir.