Flood in Pakistan has Many Faces
Problems at the doorstep: The Pakistan flood of 2010 has seemingly endless ramifications for the battered country. Photo: Talib Qizilbash
Newsline‘s September cover story looked at the floods that have ravaged Pakistan from many angles. Beyond a look at the devastation and political manipulation, there is analysis of the army’s efforts, NGOs, social media at work, the role of climate change and the likelihood of droughts. You can now read all these stories here:
Apocalypse Now by Sairah Irshad Khan
The floods have stripped bare the ugly face of a feudal-sardari system and its umbilical connect with politics and bureaucracy that have together created an underclass so wretched that it has nothing left to lose.
Flood of Sorrow by Talib Qizilbash
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a region that has suffered through years of turmoil: suicide bombings, Taliban rule, military operations and displacement. The floods are just the latest blow. But how much can its denizens take?
Who’s to Blame? by Abdul Wahab
Official inaction and haste to secure agricultural land in Balochistan has drowned cities and rendered millions homeless.
Religious Mission or Political Ambition? by Shahzada Irfan Ahmed and Ayesha Siddiqa
With their well-organised relief efforts, the religious and militants outfits pose the threat of making significant inroads in the flood-affected regions.
Disastrous Winds of Change? by Afia Salam
Are the floods in Pakistan a result of climate change or are they human-induced?
Technology to the Rescue by Sana Saleem
ICT and social media tools are being used to map and garner support for individual relief efforts.
The opinions expressed in this article and the views shared by readers in the comment forum below do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance or policies of Newsline.
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Older People on the Mercy of Watan Card
October 1st, the International day of older Persons. This day is being celebrated by organizing seminars, discussions, rallies and publications by different civil society actors, organizations and relevant government departments around the world.
Pakistan is going through one of the biggest crises of its history in terms of disaster and flood destruction all over the country. Older people are among the most vulnerable groups affected by flood. I would like to draw the attention of all the civil society actors, media, NGOs and the government and other policy makers towards an arising issue of older people during the emergency response.
Everyone is well aware of the consequences of natural disaster; one of the biggest challenges is displacement. People have already lost their homes, livestock, agriculture system and property along with a huge loss of human lives as well. Older people who have spent their whole lives in the farms are now sitting in camps with bare hands.
NADRA technically was set to support the government in transparent disbursement of flood relief cash grant of Rs. 20,000 per family by introducing Watan Cards in the flood affected areas to facilitate the victims in getting the relief. It has become a routine since last few days that as soon as gates of registration and distribution centers open, the people rush inside the offices.
Due to an unorganized way of getting Watan cards from the community put older people and people with disabilities into difficult situation and without the provision of any mobility and accessibility support, they try to reach the Watan card distribution points. Several cases have recently been reported that older people have lost their lives while struggling to reach the Watan card distribution centers in various cities of Sindh and Punjab.
This is an urgent issue and concern to be resolved immediately. The civil society actors, policy and decision makers need to act and respond immediately to look into the matter and perhaps their attention lead them to a serious consideration on implementation of international declarations and governments commitments towards meeting the special needs of older people during emergencies and conflicts.
Abdullah Dayo
Islamabd
Tel: +92 (0)333 7224201