The fading tragedy

Despite concerns over security in Pakistan following angry anti-Western protests against the blasphemous cartoons, it is highly commendable that the UN is continuing its relief efforts in the earthquake-affected areas. The commitment of the UN and other aid agencies is laudable, but the international donors’ attitude has been disappointing. The massive October 8 earthquake was the strongest earthquake in the area during the last hundred years and it was by far the most destructive disaster in the region. With more than 87,000 people killed, another 65,000 injured, an estimated three million people left homeless and much of the infrastructure of the affected regions in Azad Kashmir and NWFP destroyed or badly damaged, the huge scale of the relief effort required to cope with the aftermath of the disaster posed a massive logistical problem for the government and relief agencies. Terming it one of the worst natural disasters and one of the most difficult relief operations, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland sounded a grim warning to the world community.

The Pakistan government estimated that $5.2 billion were needed for ongoing emergency relief, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. The donors at the International Donors’ Conference held in Islamabad exceeded the plea, promising a generous $5.8 in cash grants and loans. The total amount of pledges for the earthquake were over $6.5 billion, but apprehensions were there because following major disasters, only about half of the pledges made by donors ever materialise. This has proved to be the case with Pakistan too. The government has only received $25 million in cash so far. President Musharraf has expressed irritation over the “slow-paced” efforts of the Foreign Office in the collection of funds pledged by donor countries. It was reported that 32 donors, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Islamic Development Bank have not responded to calls for the fulfillment of pledges. The government should urge the donors to convert pledge promises to immediate funds to aid survivors and avert further deaths. It would be a sign of hope for the future to break from the tradition of unfulfilled pledges with this disaster.

The country is teetering on the brink of a second humanitarian crisis. The Himalayan winter had brought an onslaught of deadly illnesses, especially pneumonia. Poor drainage inside temporary camps had been worsened by snow, and most victims are still dependent on food aid. Fortunately the weather has eased, but even then the victims are in dire straits. Everybody who visited the disaster areas commented that they have never seen destruction and access complexities of this magnitude. Because of those challenges, the relief efforts are still going on and if it is taking this long for rescue and relief, it is inevitable that rehabilitation is going to take a long, long time. The survivors in the camps face dismal conditions as they have no proper sanitation arrangements and risk exposure to infectious diseases, coupled with mental trauma. The Pakistani government certainly cannot single-handedly meet the demands of the survivors and take care of the relief and rehabilitation efforts. There is bound to be latent dissatisfaction amongst the affected people who, in their traumatized state, can neither understand the enormity of the situation nor fully comprehend the logistical challenges. It is in this context that the donors need to cough up their pledges as soon as possible. It seems as if the magnitude of the devastation is fading in the memories of the donors. Unless and until the government vehemently pursues the donors, there is little hope for the earthquake survivors.