The long wait at a quake camp

Abdul Koayyum’s life was shattered by falling debris the day of the earthquake. His home collapsed, killing his wife. His leg was smashed.

More than a year later Abdul’s leg is still healing, pinned along its length after a series of operations. But life goes on for the 38-year-old carpenter and his four children, waiting for the second winter under the canvas of a tented village at Jaba, near Balakot, in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

“The leg will be mended soon,” he insists. Doctors have told him he will walk again, perhaps before the end of the year, if he is lucky. And there is hope too his life will improve in the future, after the winter.

For now he sits and waits. Waits for his leg to heal; waits for the winter to pass. Life has come to mean waiting; measured from one food distribution to the next, praying that one day soon hope will translate into a positive outcome.

The last year has dealt him a series of bitter blows. He and his four children made the difficult journey from their mountain village to see out the first winter after the quake in the valley below in a government-run camp.

Like thousands of families they made the return to their home village in the spring. Despite appalling leg injuries Abdul was able to continue his work in the village as a carpenter.

Living among the ruins of his former home, he had started to rebuild his life when the rains came. The heavy monsoons of August swept what was left of his home away in a landslide and he and his children were lucky to escape again with their lives.

Here he is not alone. At Jaba camp more than 630 families have similar stories to tell. More than 100 households lost their land in the quake. The rest, like Abdul, were forced to seek aid at the camp following the heavy rains.

Conditions are adequate for survival. Abdul says there is enough food and he has a winterised tent with mattresses and quilts. There is a school and medical support. But the life he had known is gone.

“We just wait for better days; what else can we do?” he says with a look of resignation.

The manager at Jaba Camp, Asghar Ali Shah, says the site is already full beyond its capacity, with more families arriving by the day; last week alone 30 new families arrived, the first of those coming down to escape the harsh weather in the mountains this winter.

Since early December families have been directed to the reopened Kashtra camp in Mansehra District, with a capacity for 700 families, he said.

Meanwhile at Jaba, preparations to support families through the dark winter months are under way. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is supporting shelter needs, with additional stocks from World Vision International, to replace small or damaged tents. The World Food Programme (WFP) is supporting food requirements, while a medical facility is provided by the government.

Abdul Koayyum is prepared for the long wait until the spring. Camp manager Asghar Ali Shah is determined to offer him and the many families like his, living on the edge of despair, every possible support until the sun shines on them again.

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