Twice-displaced still waiting for government help

Quake victims who once lived along the line of control (LoC) separating Pakistani- and Indian-administered Kashmir - displaced first by political tension and again by the 2005 earthquake - have appealed to the government for assistance.

“We need land. We need help too,” Mohammad Din, a 39-year-old father of six told IRIN outside his tent at the Hattian displaced persons camp, home to 38 families, just a stone’s throw from the Jheleem river and about 40km east of Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

More than 75,000 people were killed and 3.5 million rendered homeless by the 7.6 magnitude quake that ripped through northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir on 8 October 2005.

“The government has forgotten us. So has the international community,” 35-year-old Mir Hussein, another camp resident said.

Two years on, most quake survivors who lost their homes are now in the process of rebuilding them - particularly in rural areas - while the plight of those who once lived near the LoC remains unresolved.

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

Mohammad Din, 39, married with six children, and who once lived close to the line of control between Pakistan and India, says the government should do more for those displaced from their homes near the LoC

There are 250 families or about 1,250 people like Din and Hussein - most of whom migrated from 10 villages on the Pakistani side of the LoC, described by many as the de-facto border between India and Pakistan, at the height of the 1999 Kargil conflict.

Of this number, 200 families settled in 10 makeshift displaced persons camps inside Pakistani-administered Kashmir, while the remainder moved in with relatives nearby.

Yet after the 2005 disaster, many (of the latter) were forced to seek shelter elsewhere after the homes they were staying in were destroyed by the quake, resulting in another four displaced persons camps being erected for this group.

Hattian once housed 118 quake-affected families - most of whom have since returned to their villages in the area, helped by a government compensation scheme to assist homeowners with more than US$3,000 in building assistance.

But for those who once lived closer to the LoC, such assistance - more than two years after the disaster - remains as elusive as ever.

Many of these homes were not actually destroyed by the quake, but the military does not allow people to return to their land given its proximity to the LoC.

“If they had land it has since been occupied by the army,” one local official told IRIN, adding that they cannot go back as some of the land has since been mined.

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

A Kashmiri girl at the Hattian displaced persons camp, east of Muzaffarabad, the capital of quake-devastated Pakistani-administered Kashmir

Din, who lived in the village of Nalie in Pandu sector, just 100m from the LoC, had been staying with relatives after the Kargil conflict when the quake struck.

“When our relatives’ home was destroyed, they didn’t have a place for themselves, much less us. We had no choice but to come here,” he said, gesturing to the camp around him, which continues to lack adequate education facilities, as well as water access.

“Where are we supposed to go? Where is our assistance?” he asked.

Today he describes himself as a refugee in his own country and like most of the camp’s other residents, ekes out a living as a day labourer when possible - all the time waiting for help.

“The government says we cannot return so we are left waiting here,” said Hussein.

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