The United Nations has warned of large scale deaths due to hunger in Sindh as the currently available food stocks for rain- and flood-affected people is expected to exhaust by October 10.
Briefing journalists at the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) relief camp in Sanjhoro, Sanghar, programme head Fawad Hussain said that 5.44 million people in the province have become homeless due to the recent monsoon downpours. “The UN is providing food to 50,000 people but the food stock will exhaust on October 10 due to the minimal flow of funding and donations by UN member states in the past few days.”
“After the appeal from President Asif Ali Zardari, the UN asked its member states for $367 million aid for flood relief. But due to the slow response, only six percent of the required aid was realised,” Hussain said. The UN has been engaged in relief and rescue operations since September 7 after President Zardari’s appeal to UN Secretary General. Describing reasons behind the poor response, he said that the country was experiencing back-to-back natural disasters since the 2005 earthquake but the most important reason is the provincial government’s failure to work on loopholes in the irrigation system identified by the last year’s flood commission.
Last year, the Indus River’s right bank was affected due to riverine flooding, but this year the left bank had been affected due to heavy rains, he said. “It has become difficult for the UN to justify funding due to the Pakistani government’s snail-paced efforts in coping up with disasters.” Like previous years, China, Turkey and UAE have come forward to support Pakistan this time again.
Sanghar is among the eight worst-affected districts of the province with up to eight feet of water submerging crops and houses, but it was not given priority like Badin and Benazirabad districts due to political interferences. The provincial government has announced commencement of educational activities from October 10 but another problem would arise for sheltering the displaced people. The stagnant water is resulting in skin diseases, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and malaria in the population that has emerged as a new challenge for the UN.
“We have no laboratory facilities to differentiate malaria from dengue fever. Unavailability of safe drinking water is causing diarrhoea and gastroenteritis and there is an immediate need for provision of potable water. Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are trying to set up hand pumps in the areas.” The OCHA programme head claimed that the water purification tablets distributed by the provincial government among the affected people not also proved ineffective but also caused a mess in medical camps as many people felt headaches after consuming them.
The World Health Organisation has been informed about the health issues. NGOs, basic health units and district administrations need to be provided with medicines and laboratory facilities for treatment of flood affectees. Hussain alleged that political interference in the entire province is hindering relief activities. “Moreover, NGOs engaged in relief work have reported hijacking of their vehicles on way to relief camps at gunpoint. The NGOs need security to carry on relief work.”
My heart aches for these people who will all starve to death in 10 days. What are they doing about sleeping? Is it illegal to be homeless in Pakistan? I am seeing tents in the photos so I guess it is not ilegal to be homeless in Pakistan. The article says over 5 million people are homeless which has led to hunger, illness, and after the 10th, of October, starvation. I am guessing unless this is a planned genocide then our government and W.H.O. are not really worried about where people fall asleep or if they lay down and no one is handing out citations to appear in court and pay a big fine, like here in the USA, where you can be assessed as labor worthy or disabled or too old and toss you back into the river of humanity. It is nice to know another country isn't arresting homeless people, I hope there is more than one country who is not arresting their homeless people or their nomatic people and making it against the law to set up a tent even. I support decriminalizing sleep,here in the USA Today if not tomarrow. It is something Prez Obama could do. It should not be illegal to set up a tent to fall asleep if that is your only choice. but it is sad to know they will be starving to death, starting in 10 days. This will lead to violence over food fights. As Jackson Browne said in one of his songs. "People fighting over little things, a little rice a little beans" Can't or should I say won't someone fly an airplane, drone, or even a helicopter over them and drop packages of essential supplies like soap and shoes ( flip flops) along with rice and beans which will save them.? Also air mattresses have saved many a family or grandma in the south here in the USA while we are having our floods and own homeless people who no doubt have been ticketed or arrested by now. Good thing they don't live here in my American town cause if they tried to cook the rice and beans by their illegal tent, they would be in double trouble and have to go to jail hungry, and hang out with all the felons who are worthless in the labor camps, so who are being moved to county jails so the privatized state prisons are more effective with their labor pool pumping out glasses, licence plates, .and any other thing you need to keep hidden. I have a question. I ponder if the privatized prisons in this country are the labor camps we are supposed to be on a lookout for? And if they catch you homeless, or illegal use of a fire pit say to stay warm rather than to cook your rice and beans, does the age and physical strength and wellness have anything to do with if you beat your case or if you end up in county jail or on home arrest? Opps I forgot no homes. Oh well, I need to think upon this some more cause like a water pill to purify the water, I am getting a headache and will wander over to the medical tent, unless of course that has been shut down too due to a illegal camping violation.and sanitation issues.
Here in the USA, Bottom Line 4 me. : Decriminalize Sleep Now.. Bottom like for starving homeless Pakastani's facing a genocide in 10 days. Someone needs to be the man and drop some food and supplies directly into the camps and the people cause obviously giving money to the creepazoids who are running this Pakistani mess are not nice people. However I do not include in that package the WHO's and the NGO's but I do include the talibanis big wigs and other folks who are preventing the money, food, tents, firewood or a way to cook from arriving to those who desperately need it. Stop Genocidal Now. You get me some drones or planes or helicoptors and we here will work on collecting food, ( NOT CASH) you can't eat money. Also vouchers or purple thumbs like voting to pick up the food.
The homeless in America got that way due to poverty, no jobs, no family who will help, mental illness or simply aging out of the foster system. We are looking at our future straight in the face as young healthy homeless gather enough citations to get a room at the grey bar hotel and once desperate enough to eat food or feed some drug habit to kill the pain causes them to rob a store or something then they can be assessed if they make good slave labor material, boot em on up to the privitized labor camps, er prisons. If you can think of a better idea, tell me! I will post it on my Be The Peace website on face book. http://www.facebook.com/BeThePeace Lets get this discussion rolling, find a commitment from someone with planes and educate the public to gather up their rice and beans and take them to places set up to be flown over there. This send cash cause it requires no shipping fees is a load of crap.
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