The villages that were
Most of the stricken population is living in straw shacks that are part of the local architecture.
Rebuilding another kaccha house would cost Rs200,000. The price rose as we moved further away from the Awaran union council. PHOTO: AFP
AWARAN:
The damage is of epic proportions. Villages and small villages – called bazaar in Balochi – have been reduced to rubble. Instead of houses lie heaps of rock with straw roofs.
After visiting four union councils and nine villages, The Express Tribune saw the ‘villages that were’. Houses, mosques, schools and madrassahs in these nine villages are gone. The few that are left are not habitable.
Most of the stricken population is living in straw shacks that are part of the local architecture. In one area, they have a small boundary wall, 6-10 ‘houses’ comprising one room and a straw shack, which is usually their kitchen.
Now these shacks are their homes, with 30-50 people, depending on the size of their family, only have that as their shelter.
Rebuilding another kaccha house would cost Rs200,000. The price rose as we moved further away from the Awaran union council. Some said it would take between Rs300,000 and Rs400,000.
They would have to get building material from Karachi, while the mud used for the houses can only be gathered in the rain. There is only dust and gravel during this arid season and soaring temperatures.
Wahid believed he would have to make the house himself. “We can’t wait for the government to come. They never will anyway,” he says.
He lives in Teertij union council, a village of around 2,500 people – situated 10 kilometres from Awaran union council. Until Saturday, 25 people had lost their lives in a fresh quake, while over 250 were injured.
Asaa Khan, another resident, lost six members of his family. Syeda had lost seven.
Except for one house that was filled with cracks, nothing else stands in the village.
Separately, all of the 12 villages of Malar have been destroyed. As we drove through the area, our Baloch guide pointed to the barren, flat land and said, “This was a bazaar.” A little ahead, he did the same, “This was a village.” But we saw nothing. Only earth and rock, at places dotted with shrubs.
The five villages we visited in Malar had between 15 and 25 people killed. Schools in nearly every village had collapsed. So had the wells.
In the village of Cherimalar, all one could see were ochre skeletons of homes and blue or green doors under the grey rock that made up the ground. “We’ve gone 50 years behind,” yelled Abida Naseer, the only woman who knew Urdu in the village.
However, in Gishkaur, we saw the damage of concrete buildings. An examination hall’s cemented structure was completely razed to the ground. Rafiq and his family lost all their wealth. “We have suffered a loss of Rs15 million. Six of our shops in the Gishkaur bazaar are completely destroyed.” The shops were filled with the stock, which is all buried under the rubble, he said. Around 5,000 litres of diesel stored in one of our shops just drained, he added. “The earthquake took away all that we earned and saved in our lifetime.”
We crossed by the markets in Gishkaur. We passed makeshift shops on logs, broken down shops and others that were flattened. The number of damaged shops was around 100.
Therefore, the economies of areas have also suffered. Businessmen lost their major source of earning and people who had easy access to food and other household goods disappeared.
Much more than we know
Obaid, a resident, told The Express Tribune that there are several other remote villages affected by the massive earthquake. He listed the devastated areas from Gishkaur towards the border of the Makran coast: the bazaars of Sundom, Ghazi, Jalab, Jalal, Lala Jan, Garari, Sahar and Dadar.
From Gishkaur to Awaran, towards the north, union council Nokjo, Asad Bazaar, Mir Jan Bazaar and Murad Bazaar have also been severely damaged in the earthquake.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2013.
The damage is of epic proportions. Villages and small villages – called bazaar in Balochi – have been reduced to rubble. Instead of houses lie heaps of rock with straw roofs.
After visiting four union councils and nine villages, The Express Tribune saw the ‘villages that were’. Houses, mosques, schools and madrassahs in these nine villages are gone. The few that are left are not habitable.
Most of the stricken population is living in straw shacks that are part of the local architecture. In one area, they have a small boundary wall, 6-10 ‘houses’ comprising one room and a straw shack, which is usually their kitchen.
Now these shacks are their homes, with 30-50 people, depending on the size of their family, only have that as their shelter.
Rebuilding another kaccha house would cost Rs200,000. The price rose as we moved further away from the Awaran union council. Some said it would take between Rs300,000 and Rs400,000.
They would have to get building material from Karachi, while the mud used for the houses can only be gathered in the rain. There is only dust and gravel during this arid season and soaring temperatures.
Wahid believed he would have to make the house himself. “We can’t wait for the government to come. They never will anyway,” he says.
He lives in Teertij union council, a village of around 2,500 people – situated 10 kilometres from Awaran union council. Until Saturday, 25 people had lost their lives in a fresh quake, while over 250 were injured.
Asaa Khan, another resident, lost six members of his family. Syeda had lost seven.
Except for one house that was filled with cracks, nothing else stands in the village.
Separately, all of the 12 villages of Malar have been destroyed. As we drove through the area, our Baloch guide pointed to the barren, flat land and said, “This was a bazaar.” A little ahead, he did the same, “This was a village.” But we saw nothing. Only earth and rock, at places dotted with shrubs.
The five villages we visited in Malar had between 15 and 25 people killed. Schools in nearly every village had collapsed. So had the wells.
In the village of Cherimalar, all one could see were ochre skeletons of homes and blue or green doors under the grey rock that made up the ground. “We’ve gone 50 years behind,” yelled Abida Naseer, the only woman who knew Urdu in the village.
However, in Gishkaur, we saw the damage of concrete buildings. An examination hall’s cemented structure was completely razed to the ground. Rafiq and his family lost all their wealth. “We have suffered a loss of Rs15 million. Six of our shops in the Gishkaur bazaar are completely destroyed.” The shops were filled with the stock, which is all buried under the rubble, he said. Around 5,000 litres of diesel stored in one of our shops just drained, he added. “The earthquake took away all that we earned and saved in our lifetime.”
We crossed by the markets in Gishkaur. We passed makeshift shops on logs, broken down shops and others that were flattened. The number of damaged shops was around 100.
Therefore, the economies of areas have also suffered. Businessmen lost their major source of earning and people who had easy access to food and other household goods disappeared.
Much more than we know
Obaid, a resident, told The Express Tribune that there are several other remote villages affected by the massive earthquake. He listed the devastated areas from Gishkaur towards the border of the Makran coast: the bazaars of Sundom, Ghazi, Jalab, Jalal, Lala Jan, Garari, Sahar and Dadar.
From Gishkaur to Awaran, towards the north, union council Nokjo, Asad Bazaar, Mir Jan Bazaar and Murad Bazaar have also been severely damaged in the earthquake.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2013.