Aamir Latif  

KARACHI, Sindh, Pakistan

Türkiye on Wednesday handed over another batch of relief goods for Pakistan’s flood victims at a ceremony in the southern port city of Karachi.

Nearly 900 tons of relief goods, including food and kitchen items, blankets, warm clothes, cleaning material, and mattresses, were brought by a Turkish ship that anchored at Karachi port.

Turkish Consul General in Karachi, Cemal Sangu, on behalf of the Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), handed over the relief items to the governor of southern Sindh province, Kamran Tessori.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sangu said that another vessel carrying 900 tons of relief items will arrive in Karachi on Feb. 4.

“We want to tell the flood victims that you are not alone at this trying time. The people of Türkiye are with you,” Sangu said.

Tessori, in his remarks, thanked Ankara for its “consistent” support to the flood victims across the country.

The two countries, he observed, share a similar view on regional and global issues, and have stood beside each other in testing times.

AFAD Provincial Director Ibrahim Avsar, and Karachi representative of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Khalil Ibrahim Basaran, also attended the ceremony.

Torrential rains and unprecedented floods brought a third of this South Asian nuclear country under water in September last, affecting some 33 million people, and washing away hundreds of thousands of animals, houses, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures.

The near-apocalyptic floods also killed over 1,700 people, in addition to causing a whopping loss of 30 billion dollars to the country’s already sputtering economy.

So far, Ankara has sent 15 planes and 13 “goodness trains” loaded with relief goods, including tents, food, medicine, kitchen items, vaccine, and other supplies to the flood-hit regions.

AFAD also provided more than 30,000 tents in 19 regions, providing temporary housing to 200,000 displaced people.

The Turkish charity also set up three tent cities in Jamshoro, Dadu and Noshehro Feroz districts of Sindh – the regions hit hard by rains and floods.

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Aamir Latif is a Karachi-based senior journalist. He works for Turkish Anadolu Agency.

Courtesy: Anadolu Agency (Published on 25.01.2023)

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Jacob Zocherman

DADU, Sindh Pakistan

At the end of August, one third of Pakistan was submerged: Some 30 million people were affected by the floods. Months later, more than 20 million nationwide still require regular humanitarian assistance. Hunger, waterborne illnesses such as diarrhea, and inadequate drinking water are now part of their daily lives.

Earlier this month, this scribe travelled to Sindh province for The New Humanitarian to see how survivors were faring. Having lost homes and belongings in the floods, some 240,000 people in Sindh were still displaced as of early December.

“I’m surrounded by worries these days,” Allah Rakhyo told him, as he walked through the ruins of his home, looking troubled. Months after the devastating floods struck Pakistan, his small settlement outside Dadu remained surrounded by water. All the houses here had either been washed away or transformed to dust.

Concerns of both the displaced and those whose homes survived have been deepened by the floods’ massive impact on agriculture. Nearly half a million livestock died in Sindh during the flooding, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority. Nearly three million acres of crops were destroyed. Even as the water recedes, farmers fear that salinization from the floodwaters may have ruined these previously fertile lands for years to come.

Many residents in the farming areas of Sindh are already looking for jobs elsewhere. A typical situation is that the husband leaves to seek migrant work in a city such as Hyderabad or Karachi while the wife stays behind with the children. Rakhyo himself hopes he and his family can move to avoid a repeat disaster.

“We have lived here for generations but, if we could, we would all like to move out from this area to avoid this from happening again,” he told The New Humanitarian.

Millions still at risk

A tent camp outside Dadu houses around 500 people. Due to its proximity to the Indus River and Lake Manchar, Dadu was hit hard by the floods. Normally a fertile and green paradise, its land now looks like a desert surrounded by water. Almost a quarter of a million remain displaced in Sindh province alone. Countless more have tried moving back to their homes, meaning they sleep outdoors, since most of the buildings are completely or partially damaged and not fit to live in. Millions remain exposed to standing water from the flooding, leaving them at greater risk from waterborne disease.

‘We will never be able to rebuild as it was before’

On a visit to his home, Allah Rakhyo walks across the rubble that remains. Water still surrounds the area – residents until recently had to take boats when they returned to assess the damage. Apart from some school books, money, and ID cards, Rakhyo and his family left everything behind when they fled the rising floodwaters. “We will never be able to rebuild it as it was before,” he said. The family is struggling to get by on the small savings they had before the flood, while Rakhyo tries to find what manual labor he can in order to bring in even a small income.

‘I have been very stressed about my children’

Women and girls gather in a safe space provided by the International Rescue Committee. Most schools in affected areas in Sindh have been demolished since the floods, while many women have been uprooted from their communities. In these safe spaces, children can play and study while their mothers come together to discuss their trauma with a counsellor. The women are also provided with materials for embroidery, which they can later sell to get an income for the household. “I have been very stressed about my children and the diseases they got after the floods, such as typhoid and malaria, so it has been nice to come here and pass time with others,” said Eid Ismail.

Farming woes

The need for other sources of income is particularly acute given the blow to farming. Here, a farmer harvests sugarcane. But most of the harvest was destroyed by the floods, and much of the land will be too salty to produce a full harvest. It will take two to five years before the harvests will be normal again, according to the landowners The New Humanitarian spoke to. A major agricultural center, Sindh provides 42% of Pakistan’s rice and nearly a third of its sugarcane. It’s estimated that more than $1.5 billion worth of livestock and crops were lost in the flooding.

‘There are many skin diseases today that were not here before’

Men and children queue in order to collect medicine at a mobile primary health post outside Dadu. The clinic sees between 500 and 750 patients a day. “There are many skin diseases today that were not here before,” Santosh Kumar, the doctor responsible for the clinic, told The New Humanitarian. The flood disaster laid bare and worsened healthcare inequities in Pakistan, where many struggle to access care. While most provinces in Pakistan have started to see a decrease in waterborne illnesses, pockets of Sindh and Balochistan continue to report a high number of malaria and cholera cases.

Continued dangers

Cows bathe in the floodwater outside Dadu. In some areas, the floodwaters are still two to four meters deep, posing a lingering hazard. Parents worry about drowning deaths, especially as most children here can’t swim. The stagnant water also provides a breeding ground for malaria, as well as driving diarrhea and other illnesses. Survivors told The New Humanitarian that diarrhea remains very common, but saw some hope in decreasing dengue and malaria cases due to the cooling temperatures.

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The writer is freelance photo- and video-journalist focused on conflicts, disaster, and humanitarian crises

Courtesy: The New Humanitarian (Published on Dec 20, 2022)

The post Flood survivors struggle to rebuild first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Aamir Latif  

DADU, Sindh Pakistan

In the remote village of Allah Bachayo Phanwar in southern Pakistan, Mithal Chandio was combing through the debris looking for intact bricks so he could begin rebuilding his house, which was flattened by last month’s devastating floods that submerged one-third of the country.

His belongings included damp blankets, a pedestal fan, a few bags and trunks full of clothes, and some crockery. When floods hit his village last month, he could only grab that much.

Located on the outskirts of Dadu district in Sindh province, one of the worst affected regions, the village — like nearly all others in the area — was completely inundated by the floods, which forced around 500 residents to take refuge on a nearby road.

The raging water levels have since receded, leaving behind clear signs of massive destruction with nothing left intact.

The village is still surrounded by 4- to 5-foot deep water, giving it an island look. Swarms of mosquitoes and houseflies continuously swirl around.

Boats are the only way to reach the ruined village, bring food, or transport the sick to the hospital.

“Only men from 10 to 12 families have returned so far during the past week to assess the damage and prospects of repairing the houses, which are currently uninhabited,” Mithal Chandio, a local farmer, told.

The women and children will join when at least one room of each house is made livable, according to Chandio, who has five children.

“Nothing is left intact here. It seems that we have to start from zero,” he said, pointing towards the razed walls and cracked wooden doors of his small house.

Another resident, Ghulam Omer, said the village was also hit by flooding in 2010, but the scale of the devastation was far less.

“This time, triple the amount of water came and left nothing behind except devastation and helplessness.

“We are facing a dual challenge. First, we have to have money for reconstruction of our houses, and secondly arrange livelihoods as the massive rains and floods have already wiped out our crops,” Omer added.

His cropland is still under water, with no chance of receding in the coming weeks if not months.

Unsure about future

Munir Leghari lost his house in the 2010 floods, which took him the next eight years to rebuild.

But he and his family were only able to live in the new house for four years as the recent floods once again deprived them of a dwelling place.

“I had worked so hard to rebuild my house and pay off the loans. But I have lost it again,” Leghari told.

He was loading luggage on a canoe at Chandan Mori, also known as Zero Point, located around 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Dadu city, to return to his village after over a month. His family, which is currently staying at a shelter camp in Dadu, will join him “soon.”

“I don’t know if I will be able to rebuild my house again. It had taken me a good eight years, but I don’t know how many years it will take this time, especially when resources have run out,” he said.

At least 500,000 Pakistani rupees (around $2,300) are needed to build a small house — money that Leghari and many others don’t have.

He said his first priority is to find some work to earn a living, which has become so challenging due to an economic slowdown.

“If I don’t find work in a day or two, I plan to leave for Karachi or Hyderabad to find something there.

“I am not sure what to do,” he said before heading towards Ibrahim Laghari village near the town of Johi.

Drainage of floodwaters required

A combination of torrential rains – 10 times heavier than usual – and apocalyptic floods have killed nearly 1,700 people across Pakistan since mid-June.

The colossal devastation will cost $40 billion to fix, according to government estimates.

The drenching monsoon, combined with massive floods, has damaged approximately 45% of the country’s cropland, posing a serious threat to food security.

Mohammad Musa Babbar, an official at the Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest relief and rescue organizations, said that the immediate drainage of floodwaters is essential for the resumption of economic activity and the reconstruction process.

“Almost 80% of the land in Dadu and adjoining districts are still under water, even after a gap of over a month, hampering the rehabilitation and reconstruction process,” said Babbar, whose organization plans to help flood victims rebuild their homes.

There is a shortage of construction materials, particularly bricks, as almost 80% of the brick kilns in Sindh are closed due to the inundation of large swathes of land.

Even if bricks are available, Babbar said, their transportation is a big issue due to the inundation of roads.

“The government’s top priority should be the clearance of land and roads, which will generate huge economic activity in terms of agriculture and reconstruction, aside from providing jobs to thousands of flood victims,” he added.​​​​​​​

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Courtesy: Aamir Latif/Anadolu Agency (Published on 14.10.2022)

The post Flood victims in Sindh return home to start from zero first appeared on Sindh Courier.