Pakistan Earthquake: Response and Recovery
By Nasim Hassan
Delaware, USA

Long after the images of the earthquake that struck Pakistan on October 8 fade out from television and newspapers, the agony of the earthquake victims will remain for years. The devastation is so immense that recovery will take a long time. Considering the losses - about 3.3 million rendered homeless, 53000 dead and over 70,000 injured - we are faced with a challenge that demands the attention of all Pakistanis living at home or abroad.
The people in Pakistan have shown a great spirit and I believe the initial rescue and relief needs will be effectively handled. The problems will arise during the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the homeless people. Two to three million people cannot continue to live in tent cities in cold weather. These people will move to other parts of Pakistan and add to the poverty of the nation.

Pakistanis living in North America, Europe and Middle East need to make sustained efforts and long-term commitment to meet the need of the motherland. At this time, we have to leave our biases, ethnic and religious differences behind and make a united effort to help Pakistan at this hour of need.
I visualize the recovery effort in various phases as follows:

Rescue and Relief
After a slow start, this effort is gaining momentum. Pakistanis at home and abroad have raised funds and relief supplies are being sent to the affected areas. Food, clothing, tents and medical supplies are making their way towards the needy people.
A large number of national and international organizations are working to help Pakistan. Pakistanis all over North America have raised funds to the best of their ability. Muslims in North America have also helped a great deal in raising funds for this colossal tragedy
However, considering the population of 300,000 to 500,000 Pakistanis living in the USA, this effort simply cannot provide the estimated amount of over 5.0 billion dollars to meet the losses.
Based on available information, it is heartening to know that funds raised will meet the initial needs of rescue and relief. The challenge lies in the next phases.

Reconstruction
Before any reconstruction effort is started, Pakistani people and the government must understand the dynamics of earthquake damages. It seems to me that brick, mortar and concrete buildings and houses have caused a great loss of human lives. If the houses, schools and offices had been built with lightweight materials such as wood then perhaps the loss of human lives would have been minimum.
Pakistani government must ensure that the new construction meets the local earthquake zone requirements. The standards applicable in Europe and North America can be applied and adopted as local standards. The new construction in cities like Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Mansehra and Balakot must meet the minimum earthquake standards. If this type of construction is too expensive, then at least the lightweight wood construction should be considered.
If Pakistan does not have enough technical expertise it would be wise to acquire consultant services from advanced countries. This area needs a great deal of thinking and technical knowledge.

I fully understand the bureaucratic logjams in Pakistan where doctors in hospitals have to leave the patients and provide a proper protocol to a visiting VIP looking for a photo opportunity. Now the people of Pakistan and particularly those living in the affected areas must demand from the government to implement the standards.

Rehabilitation
This is by far the most important aspect of the relief effort. The tragedy is so profound that if it is not handled properly, it would lead to generations of impoverished people. This is a long drawn out process where the affected people will need all the help they could get. I remember vaguely the impact of partition in 1947 - families migrating from India to Pakistan starting a long journey that spanned years of hard work. Although a small segment of refugees coming from India never recovered but large population of refugees picked the pieces and started a new life in Pakistan
Pakistani Americans can contribute in the process of rehabilitation of the earthquake survivors. This effort should be started collectively in an organized fashion. This means the efforts should be taken up by Pakistani-American organizations, Islamic centers and community centers. The organizations are capable of making long-term plans as individuals move from one location to another.

Adopt a Village
Large organizations can adopt a village in the NWFP or Kashmir region. There are a large number of small villages spread across the vast area. Villages like Bagh, Rawalakot, Battagram, Kohistan, and Shangla have been destroyed besides many others scattered around the Himalayan Mountains. Small villages generally have homes, grocery stores, masjid, schools and a local industry with few government officials.
First we should collect data about the villages, population, occupations, health care needs, and water resources. Depending upon needs, plans should be chalked out to start the rehabilitation work in order of priority.
It does not matter where the effort is started. If masjid or a school or homes or drinking water supply needs rebuilding then resources should be directed to complete such projects.
Pakistani Americans have ongoing contacts back home with their family and friends. There is a large number of good NGO’s operating in Pakistan. A system of checks and periodic inspections can be developed to monitor the ongoing progress.

I believe effort of rebuilding will have a multiplying effect. Rebuilding will provide jobs to local people. When people have jobs they have money to spend on other necessities of life and the economic cycle starts to include large number of people.

Build a school
In certain areas, the schools are on the priority list. Small organizations can take the responsibility of building a school in a village, town or city. I believe the schools in remote villages are sometimes located in a masjid. This is a very important need of a small community. This will not require a large amount of money. Community organizations or Islamic societies in North America can easily raise funds to rebuild schools.
The rebuilding of schools will require the active assistance from the government of Pakistan. The most important help that the government can provide is to control bureaucratic interference. They should become facilitators instead of interfering agencies. Perhaps this will make or break the sustained effort of rehabilitation. If the local and federal governments provides help and recognizes the effort of any outside group then the goodwill will go around. A positive feedback will encourage other organizations and individuals to participate and get involved in the rehabilitation.
However, if local government demands bribe or hinders the rebuilding effort then the reverse could also happen. The net effect will be the quick exit of overseas groups who are trying to help.

Sponsor a family
When I talk of sponsoring a family, I mean rehabilitation of the family in its old profession or business. For example, if a person supporting a family had a business or a grocery store, then our goal should be to establish him in a similar business. His or her past experience will help in achieving the success.
We should avoid sending money to a family for long periods of time. Such well-intentioned efforts should only be applied to old and disabled people. A misdirected effort often results in promoting a culture of poverty. Human beings take the easiest path for survival. Once the habits are formed then people start looking for other avenues.
The objective here is lending a hand so that people and families in affected area are able to take care of themselves while preserving an element of dignity and self-respect.

The recovery from such a big catastrophe requires a sustained effort. People generally take care of their own country, nation, relatives or tribe. I have not detected a great empathy from American people. Americans generally get their news from the television. The American media has already moved on to other issues and so have the people
So the long-term efforts have to be made by Pakistanis all around the world. Pakistani Americans can spearhead such an effort. I believe in the interdependent world of today. The rebuilding effort in Pakistan will uplift the economy of South Asia.
Let us all stand up and set an example for other people to follow in this noble act of kindness and generosity.

 

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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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