Out of sight, out of mind

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Out of sight, out of mind, seems to be an apt proverb for the woes of the people of Dera Ismail Khan (DIK), where around 800,000 people are grappling with the horrors of the devastating floods. Malik Aslam Awan, a local journalist, said that, according to authorities, 32,000 houses have been destroyed, with 160 villages washed away and thrice the number partially damaged.  But the sluggish response of the authorities had managed to distribute only about 7,500 tents to the survivors.

Its destruction, occurring about 300 kilometres away from Peshawar, has been absent from the headlines and the media gaze in general. Many parts of its district are still inundated by water several feet deep, yet aid remains severely inadequate and late in coming. The village of Kech in DIK has been almost completely destroyed, with around 700 houses razed and only a seminary surviving the catastrophe. Arif Mahmood, a local at the food distribution point set up by an international relief agency, told The Express Tribune that they have yet to receive any aid from the government.  Government officials have not even bothered to enquire about their problems, he added. Mahmood said that skin diseases, especially of feet, are fast spreading in the area.  Snake bites are an additional threat and a woman and a child have already died because of them. The village has been inundated for a month now, but the government is nowhere to be seen.

The Kachcha area on the eastern bank of River Indus is also one of worst hit by the floods. Ahmed, a resident of the area who now lives in a tent, said that houses belonging to his four sons have all been washed away by the floods. He said that diseases of skin, dysentery and eyes were widespread among the children. The area has been under water for four days now, but the government has yet to send any aid.  “Homelessness during Ramazan is particularly painful, especially when nothing is being done to alleviate our miseries,” he said.

The situation is the same in Paroa and Naivela areas, situated on Dera Ghazi Khan Road.  Tents have been pitched on high ground, amid pools of standing water.  According to locals, rain lashing the tents in the past few days is aggravating their problems.

Mohammad Ayaz, a resident of Naivela area, told The Express Tribune that his house had been completely destroyed, but the authorities have yet to give him even a tent. He alleged that political leaders were distributing relief items to their supporters only. The Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, who had been elected by them, had done nothing, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2010.