Quake survivors battle elements

Survivors of the 2005 earthquake fleeing the cold are struggling to secure entry permits to stay in a temporary tented camp in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

“Our tents from last year collapsed after a few snow spells in early December. We had no option but to move down [from a height of more than 5,000ft] to a valley with our families and livestock,” said Amjad Zaman, a representative of 250 families from Jaraid area of NWFP's Khaghan valley. The group is staying at the Kashtara tented camp.

Daytime temperatures across northern Pakistan have dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, according to meteorologists.

As part of the contingency plans for the winter, NWFP authorities had decided to establish a temporary camp at Kashtara in case of any significant population movement from high altitude areas.

Almost 2,000 people from mountain villages have moved to the camp in the past three weeks. However, villagers told IRIN that local authorities had been difficult.

After a lengthy procedure to obtain entry, quake survivors have to undergo another process to be able to stay in the camp over the winter.

“The district officials will visit our village to verify our claims of collapsed tents and only then will they certify us for a longer stay in this camp,” Zaman said.

Until their future is decided, they were not given access to health, water and sanitation services, quake survivors said.

“Though we’ve got water here, the latrines are located quite far away. Also, we don’t have any heating arrangements in the evening and night, since we are not allowed to have stoves inside tents because of the fire risk,” said Uzma Perveen, a 13-year-old girl, in Kashtara.

Christian World Service (CWS), an international aid organisation, is managing the camp, erecting tents and providing water and sanitation facilities.

“We were given an official notification to arrange for temporary tenting for up to 700 families in case of any large-scale movement from higher altitudes. But now the authorities are somewhat hesitant to allow lots of people in, which is also delaying our plans to provide health, water and sanitation services for these migrants,” Asim Shah, CWS manager of the Kashtara camp, said. The agency has set up six taps for 350 tents and one latrine for each row of 10-12 tents.

More than 75,000 people died and another 3.5 million were rendered homeless when the 7.6-magnitude earthquake ripped through parts of northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir on 8 October 2005. Nearly two million quake survivors were forced to live in tents and makeshift shelters throughout last winter.

Meanwhile, local officials say that the number of people descending from remote mountainous locations this winter has been less than the anticipated 20,000.

“There are only a few genuine needy people, the rest have come to the camp just to seek free rations and other services. This is why we are conscious of deciding how long this facility should stay,” said Sohail Ahmed, a member of the government’s camp management support team.

"After verification of claims of these people, the government may allow this facility [to continue] until the end of March, but a final decision has yet to be made," Ahmed said.

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