Hunza crisis: praise and the need for further relief

In this critical time, many locals in Hunza have turned into journalists, sharing information with each other in order to stay up to date. These hospitable people are also very keen to tell stories whenever they meet outsiders like me.

“Where do the relief activities stand?”

This is my question to many of them every day, and each day I expect government bashing in response. However, the response so far has been astounding. Contrary to the coverage we see of Hunza each day, the locals are all praise for the government, saying that compared to Swat Operation IDPs, the affectees of Attabad lake have been lucky because they were provided timely assistance.

However, there is still a lot that can be done for these people. Last evening I got a chance to visit the Karimabad IDP camp. Women were busy preparing Sheeshar (fried chapati with yeast and sugar) for breakfast the next day, but they complained that there was no supply of milk for the babies in that camp. On further enquiry, one man approached me and started criticising the government for hiding the relief assistance provided by the MQM and PML-N.

Politicking aside, while there are around 47 doctors in the disaster zone, gynecologists are extremely hard to find. More female doctors in the area would be a great service to the locals. Amjad, a local teacher turned journalist sums up the situation by stating that authorities have tried their best to provide relief, but nothing is perfect.