Report From a Pashtun Teen: The Flood
By SHER BANO
Sher Bano is a 17-year-old Pashtun girl from Pakistan who spent last year as an exchange student in Evanston, Illinois, as part of the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program. She is now back in the city of Peshawar in the northwest of Pakistan, and has become a regular contributor to “On the Ground.”
Outside the rain poured nonstop while inside poured my mom’s tears. We had been informed that my grandmother and cousins were stuck on the rooftops of their houses and surrounded by several feet of flood water. We could not be of any help to them as we were on a family picnic in the mountain resort town of Nathia Gali, about 200 miles east of Peshawar, when the north of Pakistan was hit with flooding.
Despite the routes being cut off, we left for Peshawar in hopes of helping our relatives. But as we passed through the village of Nowshera, the sight of a lake in its place, along with the panicked faces and the chaos, shocked me. We realized that we were not in a state to help anyone and headed for the highway. We left our car on the road side and walked, crossing broken bridges (on rocks and barrels). I could see some local men taking dead bodies out of the nearby flooded houses. There were no cell phone signals, no traffic police and no one to help but oneself.
This small adventure of mine is nothing compared to what the people of Pakistan have gone through. Pakistan has been hit by the worst flood in its history, affecting 17 million people (according to United Nations estimates), destroying crops, killing millions of people and animals, damaging houses and property and leaving the victims in a miserable situation.
This flood brought people living the high life down to… veritable footpaths. There are so many weird stories just from around here. Some of these stories seem like miracles of God, showing that He has not left us alone. A woman put her newborn baby in a water cooler and left it floating in the river waves. The baby was then found alive by a couple several kilometers down the river.
The damage floods have done cannot be described in figures and it is not over yet. Even though the water levels are receding in most of the areas, they are leaving behind a whole new world of problems, worse than the ones that already exist.
The areas from where the water receded look like scenes from a Hollywood catastrophe movie. There is an aura of creepy silence in the markets, depression among the people, a stench that will make one vomit (which my dad actually did) and piles of filth and mud everywhere. The camps that have been set up for displaced people do not have many facilities. There is not enough food, a major drinking water problem, few shelters, diseases like diarrhea and hepatitis spreading, and a major hygiene problem.
The people here are highly unsatisfied with the government. One can’t deny that the government has issues. But the truth is that there are too many victims and not enough resources and skilled labor to repair everything. Besides, the government is already faced with the war or terror and the already existing economic crisis. According to the Provincial Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, there were only two helicopters—and millions of people to save—when the flood first hit.
Some NGOs, the Army, and foreign relief agencies are actively helping. The local people who survived the floods are also doing their utmost to help those affected. I myself am part of a community service group with iEARN (International Education and Resource Network). But the unfortunate fact is that most of these efforts are disorganized and ill-planned. This means that some people are getting substantial levels of assistance…while others are getting no help at all.
Flood victims must obtain necessities (like food, clothing, and tents) from others as they have no money and no jobs. Some of them are practically professional beggars at this point. The dirt around us has also muddied our conscience and minds; to realize that this aid will not continue forever and that we will need to stand on our own feet is overwhelming. When people are fighting each other for food, there’s not much energy left for planning for the future.
I think that the first major step in rehabilitating the flooded areas would be a cleaning program. If we don’t start one now, the death rates will multiply.
We, Pakistanis, can’t expect our governments to do much, as they cannot! We need to unite! We also request that foreign organizations continue to help. However, I don’t think they should send more food, water or clothes as there are already many agencies working on that. I want aid organizations and workers to come here (instead of sending their money) to help us clean our streets with the modern technological devices we lack. This can also become a source of employment for Pakistanis whose jobs were washed away with their homes.
It’s a known fact that terrorist activities are sometimes initiated in my country. With no sign of a bright future, no education and no optimism, some Pakistanis might be encouraged to adapt the wrong ways of life, like embracing terrorism (maybe in the name of Islam). This is not a threat, but a bitter reality. Thus, the situation needs to be improved before it slips out of our hands.
How to Help:
Most of us are probably unable to follow Sher’s advice and fly to Pakistan to join efforts on the ground. But the following organizations are accepting donations (and sending trained relief workers to Pakistan):
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