At a dialogue hosted by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) on the post-flood situation in Pakistan on Saturday, participants highlight the need for coordination among the government and NGOs sector to prevent future disasters.
According to a statement issued by Piler, the dialogue was moderated by Abbas Haider and chaired by labour leader Habibuddin Junaidi. It was attended by Piler Executive Director Karamat Ali, Shahnaz Shidi, Prof Aqdas Afzal, Nasir Mansoor, Faisal Edhi, Abdullah Dayo and Mahnaz Rahman.
It was said that as we were putting our efforts into the rehabilitation of people and infrastructure damaged by floods, we must also think about and prevent the causes behind it before going into another disaster. Prof Afzal highlighted the impact of climate injustice on Pakistan, a country that contributed only 1 per cent to the world carbon emissions but was currently facing the impact of climate change the most.
He shared that in addition to handling this crisis, Pakistan was also burdened by $130 billion foreign debt. He said the government should demand that Pakistan’s debts be nullified as an act of solidarity with a country in crisis.
The speaker also maintained that democracy was inevitable for the country to make swift, comprehensive and practical policies to protect human rights and prevent such disasters in the future.
Sharing the statistics of the destruction the floods had caused to human life and infrastructure, Dayo representing the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung shared that currently there were 6.7 million people displaced across the country and at least 70,000 women were expected to give birth in the initial days of the disaster.
He added that the flood victims were reluctant to leave their homes even if they were washed away because in the government shelters, they would have to share space with families they did not know and they were worried of the security of their family in such situations.
Dayo also emphasised the need for including climate awareness in the school syllabus for younger generations. He also called for introducing a proportional electoral system to make everyone’s voice accessible to the authorities as only this could lead to the elimination of social injustice.
Mansoor shared that he had been directly involved in flood relief work in Sindh and one thing that had remained the same from the earthquake in 2005 till this year was that whenever a disaster occurred, the state was seen nowhere to protect its people.
He said that around 1 million workers employed in the garment sector were expected to lose their livelihoods because of the destruction of cotton crops but no planning or policymaking was being seen to prevent such a situation.
He also endorsed the need for strengthening network between the government and non-government organisations.
Mahnaz, the resident director of the Aurat Foundation, endorsed the idea of a proportional electoral system to increase the inclusiveness of all sections of society. She highlighted the need for creating awareness about family planning during the flood displacement.
The Edhi Foundation head spoke about his experience of relief work in the interior Sindh and expressed his disappointment to know that most agriculture workers earned more or less Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 per month barely surviving in this time of high inflation when there was a minimum wage law in the country.
He requested the participants to raise their voice against that injustice and hold a campaign for the implementation of the minimum wage law in the agriculture sector.
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