Adil Najam
Today, October 8, marks the 2nd anniversary of the tragic earthquake hit Northern Pakistan, Kashmir, and parts of India and Afghanistan.
But we want to dedicate this post not only to the memory of what happened, but also to the reminder that much more still needs to be done. This post today is dedicated to Zalzala Khan. A little child born in the village of Pore, in the heart of the earthquake-hit region on October, 2005.Last year, marking the first anniversary of this event we had written (other ATP posts on the earthquake here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here):
This is a moment to simply pause, pray and ponder. To think back on what has been done and what still needs to be done.
The same is true today. But, memories fade, new calamities happen, people move on. As the poet says:
Reh gaya Mushtaq dil mein rang-e-yaad-e-raftagaaN
Phool mehngay ho gaye, qabrain purani ho gaeen
But the fact is that qabrain purani nahiN hoeeN. The wounds are still there and they still bleed. The reconstruction has been slow. Children are still without parents. The houses still need to be rebuilt. The villages have yet to be rehabilitated. Much has happened because of the good work of many. But not enough has happened. What remains to be done is much more. Its just that our attentions have been diverted.
There are, of course,many other claimants to our attention and to our generosity. Earlier this year, in July, we at ATP had announced a small donation to the relief effort in Balochistan for those hit by Cyclone YemYeni. We sent half of our gift through Edhi Foundation and the remainder directly to small NGOs working in the cyclone area. Today we have decided to donate our advertising revenue since then to the earthquake relief efforts that are still going on. What we have to offer is not much. But as any one who has been to the area since the earthquake knows, even ‘not much’ can go a long way.
Maybe ours is just a symbolic gesture. But symbols are important. We at ATP hope that what you will read into this small gesture from this small website is that we all can do something. Even if only a little. And if we all do a little, it will soon add up to a lot.
(P.S. Other posts today on Pakistani blogs on the earthquake include: Islamabad Metroblog, Karachi Metroblog, Lahore Metroblog, Teeth Maestro, Micro Pakistan, Chowrangi, Buzzvines, Mera Jehaan, Help-Pakistan. Please add yours in the comments section.)
Heard it at a khutba ….
While we are reflecting on the earthquake anniversary and reminiscence on our Ramadan, it might be better if we also contemplate and reflect on our weakness in the face of the forces of nature, the insecurity of our lifestyles and the temporary nature of the material world ….
Take note, O people of insight
[Quran 59:2]
It’s good to hear every survivor has adequate shelter this winter.
Ayesha,
Earthquakes, like many other natural disasters
are direct geological “Action / reaction” based facultative phenomenon, now, since we are not prepared to
confront them, therefore, vulnerable to a very disaterous
consequences because of lack of comprehension, we react
accordingly, i.e our disarray and grief.
It can only be defined as a wrath unless a
massive, collective mischief is comited by the whole
nation. It is indeed a warning to our conscience and
a reminder to our collective memory in this ordeal as
well as a TEST.
I was eagerly waiting for this post Adil, thanks very much. It is vital that we remain informed and involved. I wrote a brief post about ERRA (which offers a lot of information about the rehab work) and its telecom related work.
http://telecompk.net/2007/10/08/erra-telecom-after -the-quake/
We were in Abottabad when the earth quake came and the only thought that occoured to us then and there was how small and weak we are when God almightys wrath hits us. The lawns were rolling, there was a thunder sound coming from somewhere deep underground before every jolt, the 80/90 year old fir trees were swinging like toys… and this was abbottabad where not much destruction took place.
Our family contributed what we could , however we could , roping in friends from Lahore and Karachi but the sight of limbless people in Ayub Medical College complex and other hospitals in Abbottabad was enough make even grown people cry out loud.
The aid has trickled to an almost stop now , the foreign agencies have donated thier field hospitals and most have gone back, some remain back, a lot has been done and surprisingly a lot is still being done by local people , by the army jawans who were targeted initially by trouble makers for not doing enough.
But for all those pessimists who think not enough is being done , or not enough HAS been done , my humble opinion is that , A LOT of help has come forth from this nation and from the world at large. What that area was then , its not now.
We leave for Kashmir on the 18th Inshallah to see for ourselves how things have progressed and where and how we can further contribute in our small capacity.
Every small step counts , any small step goes a long way and the more personelly involved you are the more you can get done.
We are a nation that comes together in tragedy and stands united, how sad that it takes a sad moment to get us together !
Encouraging news related to this anniversary:
http://tinyurl.com/28e3v7
http://tinyurl.com/yq9ekr
“There is a consensus among international aid organisations that Pakistan has made a surprising and exemplary recovery from its worst natural disaster. “When you fly over Kashmir you can hardly believe there was an earthquake two years ago,” Jean-Christophe Adrian, of UN-Habitat, the United Nations housing agency, said. “It’s really impressive — better than anything we have seen before.”
And remember “Earthquake Aftermath”:
7.6 on the Richter scale
74,500 people dead
70,000 people severely injured or disabled
3m homeless
585,000 rural homes severely damaged or destroyed
40,000 urban houses severely damaged or destroyed
Sources: Times archives; Asian Development Bank; DFID; DEC; USAID
In case any reader wonders why we have the picture of a laughing child on a swing as our ’splash’ header on the front page, I just wanted to say that this picture was taken as a relief camp for earthquake victims. The child is herself an earthquake victim and the point of this post is to highlight that we must do what we can to keep these children smiling in the future.
Zalzalah, one of the many hundred thousands
known or still unknown phenominal technical system formulated and demonstrated by the omni genious
of Allah (SWT) which surpises us everyday and yet
warned us in advance through Quran.
Our earthquake or Sunami alert system is not yet
advanced, so we have to suffer unless every country is
sufficiently equiped with warning system to only avoid
human loss.
We have’nt learned lessons and have a long way to go for
a standard maximum safgety precautions as for
constructions as well as determination of séismologically
approved buildable areas.
What ? have we done in that direction ?? why there is a
lull in required debate on the subject???