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Today Programme Report - Text Only Version 91热爆 Radio 4 |
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Tuesday 10th October 2006 Kashmir Earthquake Kashmir Earthquake – One Year On. Mike Thomson reports from Pakistan administered Kashmir. It’s hard to believe looking me that a whole year has past since the massive earthquake hit this area of Pakistan. The region’s capital, Muzaffarabad has been largely rebuilt and appears to have regained it’s lively pulse but it is a different story in many rural areas. As you drive out of the city towards the devastated town of Balakot, tents still hug the road side and litter the landscape in large bedraggled clumps. It’s all been made worst by late and unusually heavy monsoon rains. These have caused numerous landslides which have destroyed yet more homes, many of which were only recently rebuilt after the earthquake. I got my first taste of what these late rains can do when my driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, jerking me forwards and sending various inanimate objects raining over our heads from seat behind. Looking out of the window I soon saw why he’d done it. A raging river was thundering along what had recently been a road and large boulders now dotted the newly formed rapids. Luckily we were in a big 4 x 4 vehicle which, with extreme care, managed to make it to the other side. Balikot, where 30,000 people lost their lives last October, looks a little like some sort of Roman ruins. Vast areas of the town still lie in rubble. Crumbling doorways or single walls somehow remain standing amidst vast areas of rubble. Eerie reminders that houses full of people once stood here. At first I was mystified by the lack of rebuilding given the time that has passed since the disaster. Then an angry local explained all. The town, once home to around 300,000 people, lies above two fault lines and the government has decided that it is not safe to rebuild homes here. Instead, the whole place is being moved around 30 kilometres South East to a safer site. Few locals, including the man that told me this, want to go. One young 14 year-old boy who lost his last relatives in the disaster is amongst the most defiant. Brushing aside warnings that if he stays another earthquake might take his life too, Umer Shahzad told me: “All the people who left me, their graves are here. My parents are buried here, my brother is buried here and my cousins also. I cannot leave this place.” Many people I talked to elsewhere took a very different view. Fearful that another earthquake or landslide might strike again they told me that they are desperate to leave but lack the money to do so. The government is handing out around two billion dollars of international relief funds to help 600,000 families rebuild their homes, but many say they are either not getting it or that it is not enough. For those who did not own their homes or land there is no compensation. Many of these people continue to live in tents. The Charity Oxfam predicts that as many as 90,000 people may be forced to spend a second winter living under canvas. Many lack fuel for their stoves or adequate clothes to keep warm. The Pakistan government hopes to finish the bulk of it’s rebuilding programme within three years. Those still living in tents have a more short term goal. It is nothing more than to survive the coming winter. The 91热爆 is not responsible for external websites |
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