Tackling the Quake Aftermath

THE scale of the Oct 29 earthquake in Balochistan is at once vast and limited. The affected areas are miles apart and, mercifully, very sparsely populated. But sheer facts are uncanny given the tragedy and of no consolation to those who have lost everything, including the irreplaceable nearest and dearest.The worst affected are a number of remote union councils in the neighbouring districts of Ziarat and Pishin which lie on the east and west respectively of the mountain range which was the epicentre; the two towns thankfully avoided damage. The government is still in the process of conducting a survey to determine the actual number of people affected, houses destroyed, casualties suffered, and estimating the funds needed for the rehabilitation of those affected.This will take more than its sweet time. Meanwhile, the victims of the quake desperately need the basic wherewithal to survive the aftermath, especially the fast-approaching winter. Night-time temperatures fall below freezing point already; daytime highs, combined with the wind-chill factor, barely cross 10 degrees Celsius under a clear sky. Tents provided to the survivors will not do for long. What the people need are concrete shelters, which can withstand the still-shaking earth under their feet. There have been over a thousand aftershocks of varying intensity since the big tremor.Another barely noted but perhaps more important aspect is the lingering trauma being suffered by the survivors. Many are at a loss to detail coherently what and who they have lost and how. For the men, who are occupied by the daily rigmarole of survival, a media obsessed with breaking news and getting views is making demands on their time and is adding to the survivors’ emotional toll.Women, many of them having sustained injuries, are also physically restrained and even less equipped to deal with the trying situation. The women have little to say even under normal circumstances and are arguably more burdened with both grief and the increased responsibility of caring for the many orphans they are now surrounded by.While the men have an outlet for their trauma — at least they can talk about their grief and losses to the many male volunteers who have swarmed the affected villages — there are no women volunteers, nor even paramedics on the spot to respond to the women’s medical or emotional concerns. Children too are equally neglected.The provincial government’s involvement in the practical relief effort is negligible as seen and ascertained by those visiting the worst-affected areas. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the provincial government is conspicuous by its absence from the scene of the disaster. Ironic as it may sound, the Balochistan government spends hundreds of thousands of rupees per month on the upkeep of the largest-ever provincial cabinet, yet Ms Rubina Irfan, the provincial law minister who took the trouble of visiting some of the affected villages in Ziarat district last week, said that her government could not cope with the challenge at hand. She demanded that the federal government and aid agencies must come to the rescue of those so badly affected. This even before the provincial government has ordered an assessment of the damage done or documented the actual number of people who need rehabilitation.For now, there is no telling who is queuing up for relief goods at the many camps set up by donors and whether those queuing up are actually victims of the earthquake. However, those asking for help are largely impoverished people and genuinely need basics such as expensive wheat flour. Even if they haven’t lost their homes to the deadly quake, their daily sustenance and ability to provide a meal for their families in the approaching winter are genuine concerns.There are ample rations and tents to be given away which are being given to whoever comes asking for them. Some of the relief goods thus dispensed will invariably make their way back to the market. Tents are in high demand in Quetta. They are now selling for Rs2,000-6,500 a piece, up from Rs500-1,500.As for the victims of the tragedy, there seems to be unanimity of opinion that they should either be given enough cash to rebuild their lost homes or provision should be made on a war footing to get weather-proof concrete shelters in place for them before the fast-approaching winter sets in.Failing this, the aftermath of the quake could claim more lives than the original tragedy through the onset of disease.