Have a heart; have a truce!

NASA has released a picture taken from space showing a new lake which is hundreds of kilometres wide formed in Sindh

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres came to Pakistan to see with his own eyes the devastation of floods. After seeing the scale of flood waters, he was shocked. “I have seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but I have never seen climate carnage on this scale. I have simply no words to describe what I have seen today: a flooded area that is three times the total area of my own country, Portugal,” he remarked. The same day, the Army Chief after visiting flood affected areas called for long term measures to prevent and survive future floods due to climate change.

Still on the same day, former PM Imran Khan addressing thousands in a rally in Gujranwala lambasted “imported government”, “neutrals”, and the election commission for not listening to the public and told the audience to wait for his call for protests and long march coming soon. The government is also not being seen as putting all priorities for the flood relief work. Where at least government leaders have tried to visit flood affected areas, I am not seeing it on top of their agenda. Deteriorating economic crisis has taken their most attention and remaining time is being consumed by ever increasing threat of a PTI onslaught on Islamabad. Instead of focusing on flood relief work, government officials are seen criticising opposition for hours on national media.

After hurricane Katrina, I was deployed for public health activities to New Orleans which was devastated by floods. Hurricane Katrina was one of the biggest natural calamities which the US has faced in recent history. More than 1,500 lives were lost, and billions of dollars of property was damaged. As it was major news on all US TV channels, I was watching all the devastation and had built a picture in my mind. But once I arrived in New Orleans which was still an abandoned city, I realised how wrong I was about the scale of devastation. Though water had receded, destruction was still there all around me. I remember standing close to a spot where one of the levees was breached and just looked around. For miles I could see no one but destruction. Even though I expected to see the damage, TV screens were not able to convey the scale which only a human eye could absorb. I was dumbfounded for some time. I saw someone’s picture close to a destroyed house, not knowing if she survived or not; I picked the picture and put it back on the front of that house.

Our job was to inspect houses and see if they are free of medical hazards including dangerous funguses so that the population could start coming back. That allowed me to travel in a vast area and see the damage caused by waters. I still remember seeing big fishes two meters above the ground plastered on walls due to ferocity of water waves. Helicopters and small planes hanging on trees and houses moved hundreds of meters from their original place. There I realised that unless you come to a disaster area you can’t even imagine the scale of an issue. Same feeling I experienced in Pakistan’s historic floods of 2010.

Our floods in 2022 are no small matter. NASA has released a picture taken from space showing a new lake which is hundreds of kilometers wide formed in Sindh. One hundred and forty thousand women have to give birth in this month in flood affected populations. Dengue is on the upswing and reports of deaths due to gastroenteritis have already started coming.

Warring armies have made truce for Christmas, Eid or even polio vaccinations. Why could not the patriotic politicians of Pakistan (both government and opposition) have truce for a few months for the sake of very same population which they claim to serve or like to serve in future? If they still think that at this moment Pakistan should have some other priorities, then my advice to them is to just visit some flood affected areas and maybe stay there for just one night with the displaced population. I am sure they will change their mind. Please have a heart and have a truce!

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2022.

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