Local Pakistanis want more help for countrymen

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Having grown up in the fertile Punjab region of Pakistan, Zia Mian is familiar with the deadly impact of the annual monsoon season. But even he has been shocked by the devastation caused by the recent flooding in his homeland.

"The area is the food basket of Pakistan, so there's always been a lot of rain, but I've never seen anything like this," said Mian, director general of the Officeof Utilities Regulation.

The United Nations (UN) estimates that more than 2,000 persons have died in the floods, which started in July, the beginning of the traditional monsoon season which affects several Asian countries. More than two million homes have also been demo-lished, the agency reported.

Mian told The Gleaner yesterday that his brother and two sisters still live in the Punjab area, which has been hardest hit. He says his relatives suffered some damage, but it was not serious enough for them to be relocated.

However, the former UN worker believes the response by relief agencies has been inadequate.

"Giving money to the government is neither here nor there because it's not reaching the people," Mian said. "They need to mobilise local organisations because the army is occupied with other issues."

Mian, who is in his 60s, first came to Jamaica during the 1970s as an adviser for the UN. He is an elder in the small local Pakistani community, which also includes Tariq Malik, a 50-year-old car dealer from Lahore.

Malik says most of his family reside in the city of Noshera. Among them is his brother-in-law, a general in the Pakistani army whose home was destroyed by the floods.

"That shows no matter who you are, you can be affected. He's all right, but his house was totally demolished," said Malik, who operates the Pakjam Motors Limited company in Kingston.

More needs to be done

The 50-year-old Malik says he keeps up to date with the situation back home through regular telephone calls and tuning into Pakistan state television daily. He agrees with Mian that not enough is being done to help his countrymen.

Malik said an international thrust, similar to what took place following the massive earthquake that destroyed sections of Haiti in January, should took place in Pakistan.

"With the global economy as it is, maybe that's asking too much. But from what I'm hearing coming through from Pakistan, is that more needs to be done," he said.

The UN reports that a fifth of Pakistan's land area has been saturated by the floods which have also affected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan regions. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described the floods as the worst he has seen, and initially requested US$460 million in emergency relief.

According to the World Health Organisation, the floods in Pakistan have resulted in widespread epidemic. It says more than 10 million people have been forced to drink unsafe water.