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Pakistan: A Day in Chakothi
Courtesy of the ICRC, Special to Redcross.org
Friday, November 04, 2005 — CHAKOTHI, Pakistan – From the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chopper, we see a dreadful and graphic pattern of destruction – collapsed homes with tin roofs, buildings smashed, roads cut by landslides and fallen rocks and, from time to time, houses still standing with an air of normality.
Victims of the devastating South Asia earthquake gather in front of their destroyed home.
(Photo Credit: J. Björgvinsson/ICRC)
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Chakothi is a district deep in the Jhelum valley located very close to the line of control. Now only accessible by helicopter, Chakothi town is surrounded by mountains where farmers live and manage to cultivate corn along terraced fields.
What we don't see from the sky becomes very quickly apparent once on the ground.
The center of town is very gloomy, evoking a ghost town. Most buildings – the post office, shops, schools and homes – have been flattened. We meet a doctor from the Pakistani army who has set up a field clinic that has treated more than 800 patients over the last two weeks. The most seriously injured are evacuated for more intensive treatment.
"I take more time for the younger ones" is his way of summing up the dilemma he faces. He shows us a smashed building, a school where ten girls and two teachers died. Among the rubble lies the debris of youth and daily life: shoes, school notebooks – one with a clown on the cover. In the middle of this deadly pile of stones, one thing is still standing – the blackboard, a silent witness to what this building once was.
While we walk around we see people on their way out of town. They are carrying their belongings and making their way towards a bus station that may still be functioning 19 kilometres (11.8 miles) away. From here, they hope to make it to Rawalpindi.
In the army clinic, the ICRC doctor discusses various medical issues and follows up with the doctor in charge. Two cases identified for medical evacuation include a 12-year-old boy with a broken femur. The boy is stoic; his face a testament to dignity. His bearded father remains close by his side.
Later, at sunset, we are on the helicopter, and I watch the boy again. He is lying on the stretcher looking at the sky and the landscape. In an hour, he should be in the operating theater at the ICRC's field hospital in Muzaffarabad. His father is still on the ground looking up at the chopper.
Climbing up into the air, the destroyed villages become smaller. The people still are struggling to come to terms with this disaster.
Just before we took off a young man asked: "What's the aim of our life now?"
This article, which was originally published on Oct. 28, 2005, appears courtesy of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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