News article written while Information Officer for Action by Churches Together (ACT) International
Winter’s arrival in Pakistan’s quake areas means constant battle to assist survivors
Geneva, January 19, 2006--In the first 100 days since a powerful earthquake hit northern Pakistan in October last year, killing 73,000 and leaving up to three million people homeless, the humanitarian aid community has encountered a host of challenges and is now facing its biggest test: harsh winter weather settling in over the quake-affected mountainous areas.
“It has been a challenge from day one to respond to this emergency because of the high terrain, culture, security – all the challenges you can imagine,” said Marvin Parvez, director of Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International. Since the quake, CWS has been rushing to meet the needs of thousands of survivors in camps and mountain villages, especially those at higher altitudes that will soon be cut off by winter weather and snow.
“As the winter comes in, the situation has gotten grim,” said Parvez, speaking by phone from Pakistan. But he said he believes the relief supplies CWS and other humanitarian aid organizations have been able to get to survivors so far has put thousands of people in a better position to get through the winter.
The focus for CWS and other humanitarian aid organizations it cooperates with in the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum is how to support survivors through the winter. The main issue, Parvez said, is “how do we meet these challenges of winterization, especially at 5,000 feet, with snow all over the place, with winds so strong.” Members of the forum considered this question at their latest meeting on January 17.
Shelter has been a major concern for CWS in the initial phases of its operation, and following its distribution of 19,000 tents and 6,130 sheets in the past three months, it has turned to other winter essentials, distributing, among other items, nearly all of the 43,000 jumpers and blankets it recently received from ACT members.
“Assessment and monitoring teams in the affected areas – especially in remote areas – were noticing that children had no hats, shoes, or socks for their heads and feet – two of the most vulnerable areas of the body,” said Parvez. ACT member Norwegian Church Aid has sent funds for CWS to purchase and distribute some of these items.
“The winter has been unusually harsh this year again,” Parvez said. He added that with 1,600 aftershocks, survivors have continued to be affected in many ways. “It’s a
constant battle for these survivors.”
Parvez added that the situation in the last several days has become serious again. “Recent assessment and monitoring teams going out on mountaintops have come back having seen some very difficult situations.” CWS is working to supply camps in the valleys where many mountain residents are quickly moving with blankets, plastic sheeting and warm clothing, as well as helping to make water and sanitation facilities available. “We are trying to assist the army and government to scale up so they can receive these new people,” Parvez explained.
Although there are still many weeks of harsh weather ahead, Parvez reported that some residents in camps for displaced people are already looking forward to the future.
According to Parvez, psychosocial teams working with men’s and women’s groups in the camps that CWS is managing are starting to talk with camp residents about life after the camp and moving back to their villages. Parvez said life in many camps for people who left their villages after the quake is “quite grim” due to the cold, which forces people to stay inside their tents, which in turn causes boredom.
CWS teams working in camps have organized meetings to motivate residents and have held regular meetings with men to encourage them to think about reconstruction of their homes and villages. “We’re talking and planning for how to rebuild houses. The recovery plans of CWS are in place,” Parvez said. “We’re talking to people about accompanying and supporting them through the rebuilding process.”
While trying to address other concerns such as accessing remote villages and providing medical care, the immediate task, according to Parvez, is trying as much as possible to assist people and keep them warm, which is “an uphill task this winter.”
