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Tragic Homecoming in Pakistan
Yrsa Grüne, , Special to Redcross.org, Courtesy of IFRC
Monday, October 31, 2005 — BALAKOT, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan – For Sarfaraz Reematullah the return from South Africa to his village in Pakistan came unexpectedly.
For Sarfaraz Reematullah, the return from South Africa to his village in Pakistan came unexpectedly. (Photo Credit: Till Mayer/Courtesy of IFRC)
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“I can hardly believe my eyes,” he says, pointing with his hand towards the mountains behind the city of Balakot.
He was born and grew up in the small village of Mange, five kilometres from Balakot. For some time he has been working in South Africa as a teacher.
“When I heard about the earthquake I returned home as soon as possible. Fortunately my mother, three brothers and my sister all are alive and well,” Sarfaraz Reematullah says. "We lost the house, but the most important thing is that we all are alive."
We are standing close by the river. People are washing their clothes in the water. There are more tents than before, but still not enough for everybody. The river provides a lifeline, so many people have come down to the valley from the tens of villages on the mountainside.
“Only two families have stayed in our village,” Sarfaraz Reematullah says.
Up to 7,000 people are believed to have been killed in Balakot, a city of 30,000. The smell of death still lingers in parts of the city. It will take time before the heavy blocks of stones and concrete can be removed and the victims who are still buried under the rubble can be brought out.
In Balakot, Pakistan, a Spanish Red Cross emergency health care unit is up and running, able to deal with up to 30,000 patients over the next three months. (Photo Credit: Till Mayer, Courtesy of IFRC)
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But the residents of Balakot are not alone. The Pakistan Red Crescent Society has thrown its full resources into the earthquake operation. It is supported by more than 100 delegates from 25 Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies, coordinated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Balakot is a main destination for Red Crescent trucks carrying relief goods. People from remote, cut-off villages walk down to Balakot to pick up essential supplies.
In Balakot, a Spanish Red Cross emergency health care unit is up and running, able to deal with up to 30,000 patients over the next three months.
In addition, the Austrian and Swedish Red Cross societies are running an emergency water and sanitation response unit. They are able to produce safe water for 40,000 people a day, transport 75,000 litres of water a day and provide latrines for 40,000 people.
For Sarfaraz Reematullah, the return from South Africa to his village in Pakistan came unexpectedly. (Photo Credit: Till Mayer/Courtesy of IFRC)
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Today Balakot is a city full of people, despite the collapsed buildings that will never again house anybody, despite the destroyed yards and gardens, despite the fallen trees and the despair.
In a town where you cannot find one house that is still standing, Balakot looks crowded. The first shop opened this week – a small sign of life getting back to normal, whatever that may mean after a disaster of this scale.
Survivors like the family of Sarfaraz Reematullah, come down from the mountains to have get water and relief goods after their homes are gone.
Crossing the bridge to the other side of the river we reach the road that climbs up along the mountainside on the right side of the valley.
A week ago this road was not accessible. Today you can see cars slowly moving up and disappear behind the hills. Day by day the access to remote villages becomes better.
But it is a race against time and the winter.
This article, which was originally published on Oct. 28, 2005, appears courtesy of the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies.
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