Adil Najam
Karachi burns. Pakistan drowns. Pakistanis are desperate to clutch at some twig, some branch of hope. There seem to be none. Even the cricket team collapsed, much like the mud houses outside Swat and Nowshehra.
The brutal murder of MQM MPA Raza Haider has triggered a cycle of violence and arson in Karachi that has already consumed 32 more lives in its wake. And all of this as the rain waters rise as quickly as the death toll due to them: already over 1650 Pakistanis dead in their wake.
Here is the story thus far, as told by the numbers (all of these numbers are likely to keep rising, much like the flood waters):
Cost to Agriculture:
US$1,000,000,000
(US$ 1 Billion in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)
Pakistanis Affected:
2,500,000
(including incidents of disease and displacement and with rising threats of epidemics)
Households needing help:
100,000
(Mostly in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa)
People still waiting to be evacuated:
27,000
(Including 1500 tourists)
International Relief Pledged so far:
US$30,000,000+
(Including US$10 million from the United States, another US$10 million from the United Nations and US$8 million from United Kingdom)
Death Toll:
1650+
(Estimate of 1500+ in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)
We continue to watch these rising numbers with fear of the worse that is bound to come. We have already written about the mounting deaths (hear and here), about how this is a human-induced calamity and not a ‘natural disaster’, about the need for all of us to help in any which way we can and that ATP has sent all of its revenue to relief agencies working with the poor hit by these flood (via Edhi Foundation). We continue to urge our readers to do the same.
More details on this calamity here, here and here; and a pictorial post of the misery it has brought, here.
Let’s not forget Pakistan lies in a complicated part of the world in terms of many different dimensions. You are sitting under three of the worlds highest mountain ranges, so what do you expect? It is a difficult terrain, and a difficult place to live, and govern. True that the nation is facing many problems, but because of consistent bombardment related mostly to the sensational news everywhere , many people have just become used to seeing dark side of things. There are many positive things coming out of Pakistan and I sure hope that those get proper coverage as well. Things like the rescue efforts by people of Pakistan for their fellow country men, going out of the way. Where there are stories of wreckage, there are stories of selfless altruism in the face of worst catastrophes, and the way in which the nation has come together is not a manifest of a dying nation. People should take Pakistan for what it is, based on ground realities, and learn to deal with it.
Why don’t anyone blame God for murdering small children in floods and earthquakes?
Thank you Rasheed!
What you said, it hits the heart, hope it hits the brains too.
Thank you again.
Shahid
I can’t help noticing (with pain) that Pakistan is showing every sign of a dying nation in accelerated decay. Everywhere you look, you see problems multiplying, like maggots; fungus; vermin. It’s like the nation is ready to kick the bucket.
Leaders aren’t helping either, setting the worst possible examples of betraying the people in times of dire need while pursuing self-serving errands. It’s as if it has literally turned into a Godless and God-forsaken nation that has not only lost its spirit; its way, but its moral compass as well – like the “drunken giant walking on the legs of a mosquito”, to borrow an African proverb from Chinua Achebe. The efforts of a few good souls like the author(s) of this series of articles are like a drop in the bucket.
I guess we all got caught off guard. Even NGO’s don’t seem to get a grasp of the enormity of the natural calamity.
But why wern’t we paying attention? Why were’s measures taken over the years to protect the public, and this time even in the wake of clear meteorological predictions of dire consequences?
It seems that the blame goes in part to the role of the Mullah over decades, who has lulled the masses and distracted the nation’s colletive attention toward futile pursuits, many of them based on hatred. People have wasted way too much energy toward fueling sectarian and divisive rivalry. They gave a false sense of accomplishment to the masses, viz-a-viz the goals of life being fighting against the others’ beliefs and rights. They drugged the nation with this national catharsis, so much so that the false sense of security that we’re all set with God, made it seem like nothing physical needed to be done to get our lives on earth secure as well.
Even after a delay, there is hope that some systems will not be broken, and they (UN? small NGO’s?) will come to the rescue for those for whom it might not be too late. Sindh should not have to go through what their northern compatriots have suffered. There will be some short-term help coming, but the problem is due to decades of neglect. We need better planning than leaving everything to God. God helps those who help themselves.
Lessons learned from this calamity must be applied to future, comprehensive, long-term security mechanisms both physical and psychological. Unity among the masses can go a long way towards getting the nation to work TOGETHER on goals of common national interest. This way, resources available to every faction or sect could be pooled toward productive security. This would entail revolutionary changes in the system of laws, to include ALL pakistanis in the dialogue and the nation-(re-)building process that should begin within this decade.
Due to global climate change, some more of this must be expected (El-Nino; global warming; etc.). With an elevated aquifer after the cyclone and the floods, another cyclone could be devastating in the short term.
But with careful planning, one can even reap benefits (e.g. irrigation) from such cataclysms rather than suffer such death blows toward national extinction. One simple and natural benefit, for example, would be to plant life in the long run. So while one season’s crop might be washed away, there might be several good years after this one.
Could someone be kind enough to list reputable organizations to donate to? I see the Edhi Foundation is mentioned above…it would really help for all those who would like to donate but don’t really know where to donate…