Pakistan is facing worst ever floods of its history. Torrential rains have unleashed flash floods in different parts of the country since last three weeks. Water levies broke leaving the people exposed to flood water. It is devastating scene on the television screens all the time. More rains expected during next three days. It is the worst flood we ever had. The government did not realize the scale of the losses earlier. Now they are all saying that this flood has done more damage than the October 2005 earth quack. In that earth quack, over 100,000 lost their lives and damage was mainly in two areas.
The present floods have affected almost all parts of Pakistan. It is estimated that over 140 million people have been affected. In several areas, people are still trapped. More than 650,000 houses have collapsed, mainly in villages. Thousands of acres of crops have been destroyed due to flood water. Houses, live-stock such as cattle’s and goats, household goods, clothes, shoes and other items have been destroyed. Residents of villages are currently without drinkable water, food, shelter and in need of clothes. In particular, the situation is dire for children and women and they are in desperate need of food and clothing. Disease is spreading fast in the areas affected due to lack of drinkable water. In particular, flu, fever, diarrhea, cholera have been noted and are spreading.
The government’s response has made matters worse. They failed to act immediately, leaving tens of thousands of people unaided. They came after twenty four hours to the make-shift camps with paltry amount of food bags to distribute. The gap between the food being distributed and the large number of people desperate to eat led to fighting breaking out making matters even worse for these desperate people.
Despite the fact that there is very little coverage in the media, the fact remains that the situation in Balochistan is just as bad as in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and western and southern Punjab. As usual, also, they are not at the top of the government’s priority list.
The Labour Education Foundation, Labour Party of Pakistan, National Trade Union Federation, Women Workers Help Line and Progressive Youth Front have set up Labour Flood Relief Camps in Lahore and so far have collected more than 300,000 rupees. Rs. 110,000 have already been sent to Baloachistan and more than 200,000 are on way to Southern Punjab to help flood victims.
We appeal our friends and organizations in Pakistan and abroad for donations of a monetary kind or in the form of drinking water, clothes (new), shoes, medicine.
For further information please contact Labour Education Foundation Director Khalid Mahmood
email khalid@lef.org.pk
Here is report of a union council in Khaiber Pukhtoon Khawa province by a team of four LRC members led by Farooq Ahmad, member of the federal executive committee, Labour Party Pakistan:
On 29 July Pir Sabaq, a Union Council of Nowshehra district, with a population of more than 34,000, is completely destroyed by the recent flood waters. A tent city of more than 1,000 tents has been established but most of the people are still forced to live in homes partially destroyed by the flood. This can lead to a major building collapsing any time, resulting in the further loss of lives.
In addition to losing their homes most people found their household items have been swept away. They have lost their cattle and goats as well. People without anything to eat, drink or wear.
Pir Sabaq is mainly a town of working-class people who work in marble or stone-crushing factories, or in the construction sector or agriculture sectors. When a LRC team visited yesterday, local people told about how water more than 14 feet high reached the town’s roof tops. Since the flood came around 4 a.m., while people were sleeping in the comfort of their homes, there was no chance to save anything but their lives.
The owners of small tourist boats did their best to help save lives of common people.
By contrast, when army helicopters arrived at the scene, they began evacuating the families of military men and residents of the big houses. People immediately saw the way the army discriminated about who they aided. People told the LRC team that many stranded on the roof tops of their houses waved their hands in the air when they saw the army helicopters coming, but it was of no use.
People have also blamed the government for failing to inform them on time about the danger of the flood. Some also charged that water was allowed to flow from the Warsik dam in order to save the nearby military camps.
The LRC team saw the house of Pervaiz Lala, general secretary of LPP in Pir Sabaq. It, like the majority, was completely destroyed; he and his family is now homeless. He told them the people did not eat for almost three days after the flood. Not a single governmental official has visited the area so far. The information minister of KP province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, stated in clear terms that the provincial government cannot do anything to help people in this disaster. however two days before an NGO started providing some food.
There is still water all over Pir Sabaq. A bad smell is everywhere and no clean drinking water is available. The children are suffering from diarrhea and skin rashes. The local government dispensary, the only medical facility for the townspeople, has been totally destroyed. In this environment people are haunted by the possibility of diseases being spread.
People now are in need of: food items like cooking oil, wheat flour, milk, sugar, clean drinking water, vegetables, clothes, tents, cooking utensils and medicine.
Readers can also donate via the Australian trade unions’ aid agency APHEDA at http://www.apheda.org.au/news/1281331224_14992.html.]
The Union Show 