By hook[ah] or crook

Frail Sadori Mai may have survived the loss of all her possessions but she could not overcome the loss of her hookah.

KARACHI: Frail Sadori Mai may have survived the loss of all her possessions when the flood hit her hometown but she could not overcome the loss of her hookah.

All the survivors gathered at Razzaqabad relief camp in Karachi have their own grievances but Sadori is unique in her sorrows. Her family lost all their earnings in the flood but the loss of Sadori’s hookah was too much to bear for the 60-year-old.

However, her wrinkled face broke into a smile when she got a new one. “I bought this for Rs200,” boasted Sadori, pointing to her newly acquired hookah. “I can survive without roti but I cannot live without hookah,” she claimed.

According to Sadori, she has been smoking hookah ever since she can remember and cannot imagine having to live without it. Even her family is immune to the gurgle of the hookah. “We lost everything in the floods but my mother told us in Jacobabad that if she did not get a hookah she would kill herself,” recalled her son Ahsan Ali.

Over the years, Sadori has seen many tough times and she is saddened by the floods that have made her homeless. But she is hopeful that these times will pass and she will be able to return home. It is this hope that allows Sadori Mai to sit back and relax with a puff or two as she hangs out outside her tent with her neighbours and old friends from Jacobabad.

Four babies born at camp

The anxious faces broke into smiles when news spread that a baby boy was born at the Razzaqabad training camp. People shouted their greetings and hugged each other as this was the only good news they have heard since the past 15 days when they fled from their homes.

The baby boy brought joy in the life of the camp dwellers but he has a difficult life ahead as his father went missing in the flood. No one knows if he was washed away or managed to survive the torrents.

Other women present at the camp tried to convince the mother to name the child but she refused to do so until her husband is found.

Among the four pregnant women present at the camp, this was the only delivery that took place inside the camp with the help of a midwife. The remaining three women were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where they gave birth.

Land mafia surfaces

Several members of the land mafia have started taking over government land and apartments, pretending to be flood survivors.

According to officials, a couple of people took over a Worker Welfare Board flat on Sunday. When Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza found out, he reached the site and directed the relevant officials to make sure that all survivors are registered so that they are not mistaken with other residents, who may be taking advantage of their plight.

Gastroenteritis spreading

Many survivors residing in the Razzaqabad camp were inflicted with gastroenteritis and have been shifted to hospitals.

The camp doctor said that polluted water is the main reason why gastroenteritis is spreading in the camp. The medical team has provided treatment to 200 women and children in the camp while those in critical condition are shifted to hospitals, he added.

Facilities

The government has deployed local police, Sindh Reserve Police and Rangers at the relief camp established inside the Razzaqabad training centre. A generator has been installed and separate halls have been assigned for prayers and laundry. Water tankers are also present outside the camp at all times so that the survivors have access to clean drinking water.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.