Call for supporting vulnerable communities in flood-hit areas

Karachi: Speakers at a post-flood 2022 consultation demanded that the government take measures to ensure the proper rehabilitation of vulnerable communities in Sindh because they are facing marginalisation during the flood relief process.

The consultation, ‘Advocacy Meeting on Floods 2022 in Sindh: Mapping Vulnerabilities in Relief and Rehabilitation’, was jointly organised by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) and The Knowledge Forum (TKF) at a hotel on Tuesday.

NCHR Sindh Member Anis Haroon, Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Nuzhat Shireen, Member Provincial Assembly Adeeba Hassan, and representatives of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the social welfare department, the civil society and international organisations attended the event.

Anis said that it is the need of the hour that the hurdles being faced by the flood-affected people after the passage of months are documented and a proper mechanism is devised for speedy rehabilitation. “Pregnant women, persons with disabilities, children and people with compromised health are suffering the most in the displacement situation.”

She said the government should ensure transparency in the rehabilitation process. “Non-transparency in disaster response affects the vulnerable communities the most, as they don’t have the voice, the agency and external assistance to influence change.”

She said that many areas in the province are still inundated with floodwater where people are suffering a lot due to the winter season. No healthcare facility is available for the flood victims, she added.

Nuzhat said that when she visited the camps, she found that women and children were suffering the most because of the nature of their vulnerability. Moreover, she said, the government departments involved in aid lacked data of the vulnerable people, which complicated the overall process of the delivery of relief and rehabilitation.

TKF Director Zeenia Shaukat said her organisation is working with the NCHR to conduct a research seeking to map the experiences of the vulnerable communities in Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad) and Sanghar during and after the floods. “These communities include the scheduled caste population, women, and transgender, disabled and displaced persons.”

TKF field researchers Zameer Awan and Ishak Soomro shared the data from the field. “Based on responses from Sanghar and Nawabshah, every community has been affected by the rains and the floods in these areas.

“However, the challenges for those from the scheduled castes (particularly Bheels, Meghwars and Kolhis) and the Christian community engaged in sanitation work have been particularly bad.

“That is because many affected people from scheduled communities were dependent on agriculture, and floodwater had inundated land and deprived them of their livelihood. Predominantly, they live in Kutcha houses on land that they don’t own, including state-owned land. Such houses have often not been surveyed for assessment of damage.”

The research led by the TKF in collaboration with the NCHR will be ready later this month. Anita of the Sindhuwaas Foundation said the flood-affected people in many areas in Qubo Saeed Khan did not receive any substantial support for reconstruction of homes. She said that only food relief was distributed.

She also said that the camp at Hub Chowki has over 500 people living. They do not want to go back because all their homes and livestock has perished, she added. She further said that a large number of people are sick, adding that no healthcare facility is available, while 80 per cent of the people in camps are suffering from malnutrition.

Pirbhu Satyani of the International Rescue Committee highlighted a recent research that noted 40 per cent cases of discrimination. He said that most people are unaware of where to get health care. He added that issues such as standing water and lack of information on where to find post-flood assistance has been contributing to the communities’ distress.

A Legal Aid Society representative noting her organisation’s experiences of relief and rehabilitation activities said that there have been various cases of exploitation of children, who are forced to do labour to protect the lands of the big landlords.

She said her organisation has been working on filing petitions to free those children from forced labour. She also said that a proper platform should be there for dewatering. She pointed out that it did not happen in many areas, adding that the people’s main demand was dewatering.

PDMA representative Ajay Kumar said the PDMA had facilitated non-governmental organisations for no-objection certificates. No formalities were required because the National Disaster Management Authority had notified that for three months no strict requirements were in place, he added.

He said that during the floods they faced problems in relief distribution, adding that the Sindh Services & General Administration Department provided a focal person in each district. The PDMA has only 15 to 16 officers, so they were unable to meet the requirement, he added.

He said the survey reveals that 2.1 million homes were damaged partially or completely in 23 districts, and around 2.4 million ration bags, 900,000 tents and 1.6 million blankets were distributed.

Dewatering on the right bank has been completed by 93 per cent and on the left bank by 97 per cent, while Rs1 million as compensation is being provided on each death and 121 boats have been distributed in all districts, he added.

Sadiqa Salahuddin of the Indus Resource Centre, Ross Mahta of the Community World Service, Malka Khan from the Aurat Foundation, Kazi Khizar of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Adnan from the Sindh Human Rights Commission also spoke on the occassion.