Survivor Naqsha Bibi Raises Many Queries

By Asem Mustafa

She has survived the earthquake on October 8 that displaced over 4 millions and her survival has been termed as a miracle as for 63 days she was cramped in a position that has frozen her limbs.

The people who found her in Muzaffarabad, were looking in the rubble to construct a make shift shelter and she was spotted and taken to hospital of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association.

How will she survive now with doubts that have been aired by none other than people who despite seeing her starved body say that it’s a hoax and fake. She weighed 25 kilograms when found and is in intensive care now in Islamabad hospital and is recovering slow.

The race against time is a phrase that remains but a phrase the efforts done at snail paced and people's reluctance to come to shelters clearly shows that life in the camps is more of a prison than of relief.

The lines moves with the speed of snail and thousands in camps take the food that is served only two times and that too with insults that add misery to the people who were once owners and not beggars.

So much has been written and the complaints shadow the relief work that is catering not even to 10 per cent of the people that are affected and are in the open.

The makeshift tents are not winterized, the people are frozen and have died too. The common cold has the children affected most and none is allowed to warm the tent as in fear of burning oneself and people did burn and died too with unbearable cold.

Death, disease and hunger have gripped the affectees who pass their days amid slogans for a better tomorrow.

The relief and money from people of Pakistan if divided on every person, man woman and child then every one is richer by a million and more and can start a fresh all over again in a very short time.

Sadly all these millions given by people of Pakistan are not reaching the people of Pakistan and the answer to the ‘big why’ is in the queries raised by international donors, opposition parties and aid workers added with the suffering affectees.

Naqsha Bibi found in rubble in cramped state also depicted the callous attitude of the society, media and relief as the doubt was created on the woman who lost her family and all that she had in the October 8 devastating quake and hardly survived.

Her coming out alive is a miracle by majority but a scientific explanation was sought and doubt were made and picture worth a thousand word she was a genuine case but for reasons unknown she was painted as a liar and fake like rest of the woman who made 2005 a flash point for policy makers.

Her recovery from rubble leaves many questions as rescue was not properly done and many a people died as they could not be taken out from the buildings as the equipment as in picks and shovels were not there besides hammers that could break the roofs.

The agonizing details of people giving all their remaining belongings to get the loved ones out have trickled down in media, a child narrating what is happening to her in quake as she is buried alive in her school. She survived for few days along with her friend and amid hunger and thirst she wrote her ordeal. Her call for help remain unanswered like screams of millions that are still unheard as there are too many a hungry mouth and too little a bread.

The dead are in the rubble and they can’t speak but details can be asked from survivors who have a lot to say and have nothing to gain.

Naqsha Bibi is one lucky woman who has survived but many thousands trapped in their homes were not that lucky and have nothing to say. One single building in Islamabad (Margalla Towers) had its rubble removed in two weeks and Kashmir and Frontier Province start a 100 miles from Islamabad in different directions and it took time to notice the other parts of Pakistan which are far flung.

So much has been said and written on various aspects that in the end when it adds up the right direction is still not there.

People have made countless runs for every helicopter that hovered over their villages and thousands say that not a single landing was done and in the end they have stopped running and have accepted that it will be survival on their own.

Government and highest offices have asked people to come down to camps and people have refused as if they leave their land their property will be claimed by looters and why they chose to be in the cold as the trust has not been built by government or any of its offices.

The people say we will die of cold and starvation but we wont come down and if they have the much-trumpeted care announced for us they can come up and help us.

In some cases it was done but majority living on the hills and valleys outside city center stayed the way they are as despite the devastation they feel safe that the corrupt government officials namely police and land officials are not disturbing their peace and they hold on to their small pieces of land.

Those who went to the camp in some cases have come back to their broken places, as there was more complains of treatment below dignity and those who stayed had no option and they had lost all family.

Still nothing could be said as how the quake victims will be given money the distribution has left many people complaining as its not fair. How the identities will be established, how check will be made, as the payment are made but how, what about the shelter will it be build or locals will construct themselves, millions of questions but few repeated answers that say all will be ok.

The pledge from government and feedback on ground to international donors include priority to the basic needs of the quake victims (less than 10 per cent of 4 millions are in camps), fast and speedy law enforcement that solves and minimizes complications (more complaints then praise), involvement of locals in rehabilitation process (locals injured and in need of assistance complain of unfair distribution of claims), fair and impartial settlement of claims (how its done its not known), feedback on the relief efforts (there is a lot of improvement needed in the area) and audit of money spent from Auditor General of Pakistan with verification from third party (this point is still hotly debated).

The incompetence levels which are established benchmarks in the land of the pure has more people complaining of being cheated then praising the government despite the efforts.

The figures speak for it as how many are in the relief camps, they do not even make 10 percent of the total survivors who are affected by the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.6 at Richter Scale.

Doctors say there is no question that many people will die here, and children are most vulnerable thousands have been treated with pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections like bronchitis. The figures will grow extreme as December ends.

The harsh winter last year in late December had approximately 10 feet of snow and it increased with passing days not less and 2006 offers little hope for the survivors.

World Health Organization fears that bronchial infections and hypothermia will be killing thousands and there are reports coming from different areas where women and children are dying of cold.

Cholera and bubonic plague are rumoured as 4 million people in the open and with little or no water and sanitation plan the situation will go from bad to worse.

UN relief official Darren Boisvert is on the record in early December to say that 90 per cent of the 420,000 tents handed out in Pakistani Kashmir were no good for winter use.

Jan Vandemoortele, UN co-coordinator for Pakistan, has described the situation as critical and is appealing for more assistance and it’s the human lives at stake.

The much trumpeted international donors conference had resulted in 5.8 billion dollars with 1.9 billion as grant and remaining 3.9 billions as loans and negotiations are still taking place as how the returns will be made.

Two acts of government that has resulted in criticism as the relief helicopters will be paid the fee in dollars so far its not known how much but its colossal as they will be paid per hour as they did the relief for the good of humanity where all others failed and second is the luxury high speed jets which will be bought in the 2006 for the fast to and fro movements of the government high officials.

Common man sits and waits in cold for the promised relief and prays to survive that long, so it reaches him so far slogans have kept him alive but he will not live that long he needs food and shelter the very basic of needs.

The government is right in saying that the country has a booming economy but that booming economic growth leaves out the 120 millions out of 160 millions who live at one dollar or two dollars a day and country progresses as poor is near eliminated and has no say and his presence doesn’t matter.

A small comparison as in ground reality the pine nut cost Rs 1000 approximately a kilogram and government has fixed Rs 3000 as minimum pay. A common man can purchase those three kilograms of pine nuts and spend the winters munching on pine nuts with his children.

Almonds which have established their value for nourishing the brains cost nearly the same and poor is advised to eat them so that poor can use it (brain) wisely and should not be a poor as all wise guys in government use almonds frequently and have unmatched wisdom because of that seed.