KARACHI: As relief efforts for the earthquake victims continue, heroic deeds become more of a reflex action of the ordinary citizens. In Karachi, the past few days have seen an unprecedented support lent by almost every individual in this city of 14 million. Just hours after the massive destruction of Saturday’s quake, a simultaneous mass relief movement was triggered off in the rest of the country.
Abandoning ethnicity, caste and social boundaries, the populace united in the face of a national disaster never witnessed before. Especially in Karachi, the outpouring of grief and aid collection has been overwhelming. One of the most prominent efforts include the largest donation collection point set up at the PAF Museum, where initially a few youngsters got together to collect relief goods and requested the army for a C-130 to fly out supplies to the affected areas.
What they hadn’t bargained for was the quantity of donations that soon began amassing when the word spread and within hours they had collected goods enough to fill almost 40 of the same planes.
And this was just one venue. Now, besides the stalls of various organizations dotting the entire city, relief camps have been set up in people’s homes as well where individuals have taken upon themselves the responsibility of the collection and transportation of donations, mobilizing all their contacts and resources.
Private and commercial services have opened up their doors and trucks and planes are taking off at regular intervals to transport goods to the quake stricken areas.
But just as in war, when profiteers and mercenaries come into action, so too have the traders and public transporters sharpened their claws. While some vendors are doubling the prices of essential items like tents and blankets, the cross-country transporters are fleecing the distressed relatives of the earthquake victims wanting to travel either in search of their missing families; to help their homeless relatives or bury their dead. Even though the local ministry for transport has issued warnings against an illegal rise in fares, the cheats know that those who are desperate will pay.
Though individual citizens have opened up their hearts and pooled in their resources with no holds barred, frustration is mounting in the regions of Muzzaffarabad, Balakot and in the remote areas of Kashmir as despite enough availability of relief material in the main towns not much is reaching these area as they are not easily accessible.
Though military and foreign relief teams have now managed to reach some of the remote areas, private accounts coming in inform that the locals are accusing the government of being slow to react. Bitter statements have been heard from the relatives of those buried under the rubble, who could do little but hear the sounds of the trapped souls grow weak and eventually silent, marking their end.
And when such stories filter through, sitting just a few thousand kilometres away, we feel helpless and anguished. The people from Karachi and all over the world are doing so much but the magnitude of the disaster is such that we feel we have not done enough. Our efforts fall like drops in the ocean, as so much is left to be done.
There is still not enough heavy lifting gear available in the remote regions to remove the large pieces of concrete. And until the concrete is removed the true death toll can never be ascertained. Experts say that the relief efforts cannot be taken in stages. Rehabilitating the survivors, freeing the trapped bodies from under the rubble and burying the dead all has to be done at the same time. And what is sorely needed is manpower.
Since the government (and the army) has not dealt with such a large scale disaster in the past they too are almost grappling in the dark.
Most importantly, the government at this crucial juncture should properly utilize the individual resources offered by the private sector and worthy individuals. Many volunteers have offered their services in any capacity of manpower that is needed and a sustained, well-managed programme of rehabilitation can come into motion if the public-private efforts unite. All provincial ministries should seek professional aid from the health sector, the construction companies and even from corporate managers who are best at crisis management.
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