News
Monday, September 19, 2011
Flood victims sell possessions, beg
* Victims complain of government inaction
* Selling meagre possessions to survive
PANGRIO: The family of 12 were relieved when a Pakistani army boat rescued them from flood a week ago. But the hardships have only piled up at a makeshift camp.
The few family possessions saved from the roaring waters have been sold to buy food. The children have picked up potentially fatal diseases but can’t afford to rest. “The children have been begging in the market to get food and from the passing cars. I just need two things - food and a tent - to protect my children from the sun and the rain,” said Ahmed, 50, one of almost 2 million people displaced by floods.
It’s a repeat performance of last year, when authorities failed to ease the suffering of millions hit by epic floods in July and August, prompting the military to take charge.
Some 800,000 families hit by that calamity remain homeless.
The army is active again, travelling across kilometres of flooded farmland in boats to rescue people who have just the clothes on their backs. President Asif Ali Zardari was widely criticised for trips to Britain and France last year when Pakistan was battling floods that killed about 2,000 people and made 11 million homeless.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who has been visiting flood victims, said the government could not ease the latest crisis on its own. “The floods from the rains are beyond anyone’s expectations,” he told Reuters in the town of Nawabshah after touring flood-hit areas on Sunday.
“This catastrophe, at the moment, considering the already poor health and nutrition status, is really extremely seriously for the people,” Timo Pakkala, United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, told in a news conference. He launched an appeal for $356 million for a rapid response plan for three months. Aid groups have warned of a growing risk of fatal diseases. Ahmed’s youngest child, two-year-old Mansoor Ali, has had diarrhoea and fever for over a week. The private clinic was too expensive. “We don’t have anything else to sell,” said Ahmed. reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk
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