Earthquakes and aid

The earthquake that flattened large parts of Balochistan and killed at least 515 has also triggered a crisis in aid delivery. Nobody disputes the desperate need for urgent assistance, but who delivers it and to where have become contentious matters. A Baloch nationalist leader claims that the army is using aid delivery as a cover for a military operation — an allegation vehemently denied by the military — and there are reports of failures to coordinate between civil and military agencies that leave supplies prey to the inevitable looters. Civilian aid agencies have strict protocols when operating in zones of conflict. For instance, the Red Cross will not operate anywhere with armed protection as this compromises its neutrality. The UN agencies are prepared to work under a security umbrella, but are then exposed to attacks, in this case by nationalist groups that see those delivering aid as mere tools of the military. Then there are reports that some local people are happy to receive aid but only from the army, yet another twist in a situation getting more complicated and desperate by the hour.

There is no shortage of agencies that are able to provide quick and relevant aid and relief– but there is a poverty of security that makes aid delivery exceptionally difficult, particularly for international agencies that may have foreign nationals on their field teams. This makes the call for the relief operation to be handled by private or international organisations almost an irrelevance and displays an ignorance of how emergency disaster relief is delivered and managed. It requires detailed interagency planning, logistical meshing and safe corridors for delivery. All are currently absent in the context of the disaster in Balochistan. It may be possible to establish these necessary protocols, but that would be dependent on rebel groups — and there are more than one — calling a ceasefire for the duration of the operation. This is now a matter of the utmost urgency and all sides must bury their differences because many more will suffer and die if they do not.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2013.

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