As winter sets in

Earthquakes often bring sudden death. But in the case of the October 26 earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, the affect seems to be creeping in more slowly. That is mostly due to the failure of authorities to offer affected people the help they badly need. On Tuesday leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami made a call for more help for the people of Chitral. From the same area the people of the remote Broghil Valley made a still more desperate appeal, stating they had been cut off from Gilgit from where they usually obtained supplies. The reason for that is early snowfall that has closed routes already damaged by the quake. And few seem to be even aware of the fate of the Kalash people of Bumboret and other valleys inhabited by the ethnic and religious minority. Community leaders say temperatures have slipped to well below freezing point, but even now dozens of families shelter only under flimsy tents provided by the limited number of relief agencies active on the ground. A significant number of INGOs have not been able to offer help as swiftly as was required because of new restrictions on them imposed under a new law introduced on October 1 this year.
Pakistan Red Crescent Society has been handing out kits to construct shelters more solid than tents in Chitral, Shangla and the Bajaur Agency. But these too cannot take the place of lost homes. Even where cheques for the Rs200,000 compensation amount set by the government have been given out, people will not be able to rebuild homes instantly. The process takes months – and winter is already here. The National Disaster Management Authority, which is dealing with quake rehabilitation along with provincial bodies, said in a press release last week that according to initial assessments 98,094 houses were damaged by the earthquake, most of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. Of these, 26,626 were completely destroyed. The NDMA has also specified in a press release what all it has so far distributed. But the October 26 earthquake victims say help has been limited and they are in desperate need of more. The opposition members in the KP Assembly have, in the meanwhile, demanded an increase in compensation amount, as well as another survey to assess the damage the earthquake brought with it. Fuel wood is running short in areas of Chitral, where quake damage was aggravated by previous destruction caused by flash floods which hit in August this year. People need urgent help. Relief workers fear disease will spread, pushed forward by the sub-zero temperatures. Respiratory sicknesses have already been reported, notably among children. Families with homes still standing have opened them up to those who have no roof to protect them. But this is not enough. We need to see more official action and a recognition that with winter closing in even more fiercely there is simply no time to lose. There has been too long a delay already.