It has taken weeks for the trail of destruction in mountain villages to be starkly revealed, writes MARY FITZGERALDForeign Affairs Correspondent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
NESTLED AMID the fabled Karakoram range of the greater Himalaya, Kohistan has long been home to one of the most remote communities in Pakistan. Late last month, when the mighty Indus, bloated from weeks of torrential rain, coursed through the region’s valleys, it left a trail of destruction that rendered the place whose name means Land of Mountains even more isolated.
Last week Concern, through its local partner organisation Saibaan, was one of the first aid agencies to access flood victims languishing in Kohistan and nearby Shangla, both of which lie in the northernmost reaches of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in northwest Pakistan which has been one of the hardest-hit in the catastrophic flooding.
With roads, bridges and other infrastructure destroyed, Saibaan personnel had no other choice but to trek for hours through the peaks to reach those in need. Video taken of the journey shows the aid workers scaling mountainsides on rope ladders.
What they found was devastated promontory villages where homes had been washed away and food had dwindled to dangerously low levels. “These people are on the brink,” says Mubashir Ahmed, Concern’s assistant country director in Pakistan. “These were among the worst hit in the disaster but the rains and flooded roads held us back, and even the government couldn’t get there at first . . . Now that we are there we can began to bring in food and relief items that will literally save lives.”
Information about the extent of desperation in these areas is trickling out slowly due to difficulties of access. Local landlines and mobile phone networks are down so aid workers must hike back to the nearest road, get into cars and travel long distances to find working phones with which to report back the levels of need.
After weeks of trying to get an idea of how badly stricken Kohistan was, Concern finally received a phone call last week from one of the Saibaan workers who had reached the area.
“Food is the most urgent need – any that was available has been consumed in the last two weeks, and we are worried about acute food shortage and resultant malnutrition among women and children there,” says Ahmed.
The Pakistani army and the Red Cross have carried out food drops in the area but this is just a dent in what is required. Reports have appeared in the Pakistani media claiming at least five children have died of starvation in the Kandia valley area of Kohistan, though this has been disputed by some local officials.
“The needs are staggering,” says Ahmed. “There’s nothing left there.” Concern has started food distributions in the nearby Swat valley region in recent days, and supplies are also being dispatched to Kohistan and Shangla.
Given the logistical challenges, Concern’s long-standing partnerships with local NGOs such as Saibaan have proved vital – because they are based deep within the affected areas, they can mobilise swiftly. “These partners are our arms and legs on a daily basis,” says Ahmed.
As the waters begin to recede in other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province ravaged by the rise of militants in recent years, aid agencies like Concern are turning their attention to recovery efforts, including what Ahmed calls the “massive task” of clearing debris from homes still standing after the deluge. “At their peak, waters reached the roof level of homes, leaving behind 2 or 3 foot of polluted silt that has to be removed urgently.
“We are giving families debris kits, which include shovels, so they can begin clearing their homes and streets,” he says. After that the focus will turn to the mammoth challenge of helping restore livelihoods and bringing some semblance of normality to communities turned upside down by the flooding. Considering the vast damage to infrastructure and livelihoods, agriculture and crops, the task at hand will be enormous,” says Ahmed.