Once again, Pakistan’s monsoon flooding is causing devastation for millions. In the southern province of Sindh an estimated seven million people have been caught up in the disaster; homes have been destroyed, vast tracts of farm land inundated with water, and vital community facilities such as health clinics severely damaged. More than 500,000 men, women and children have now fled to relief camps, and thousands more are camped out along roadsides facing the risk of deadly diseases from stagnant water, filled with human waste and decomposing animals.
But in the face of this massive catastrophe, there has been an ominous silence in the media when it comes to conveying to the rest of the world the severity of what is happening to the people of Pakistan. The nature of “slow onset” disasters such as flooding is working against the people of Sindh province. Without a key flash-point –an earthquake or volcanic eruption – to grab the media’s attention, it is difficult to galvanise public reaction. But in reality the humanitarian impact of slow moving disasters is often more wide-reaching than rapid onset disasters like tsunamis.
The true situation in Pakistan is stark – four out of five people affected by the floods in Sindh are dependent on agriculture, but nearly three quarters of crops and more than two thirds of food stocks have been damaged or destroyed. The cumulative effect of such losses is that thousands of people are destitute, and without immediate aid could be driven deeper into an intractable cycle of poverty and debt.
These are staggering numbers. But despite the desperateness of the situation the floods are struggling to find space in an already packed news agenda.
Geo-politics are also working against the people of Sindh. Diplomats warn that Pakistan is a “bad brand”, and there is concern that the country’s government did not do enough to support those hit by last year’s floods. But this perception should not be a reason to consign millions of innocent Pakistanis to a cruel fate.
The people of Sindh must not be punished for a situation that is way beyond their control. They should not be damned because their homes were destroyed by a slow-moving disaster, during a busy news cycle, in a country with a “bad brand”.
The international community should be asking itself what it can do right now to prevent further loss of life and alleviate the miserable conditions that ordinary people have found themselves in. The longer we wait, the worse the impact will be; whereas quick action will help put people in a position where they can start to take control of their own recovery, and begin rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. Helping Pakistan’s flood victims, despite the difficulties, is about demonstrating our shared humanity, and reaching out to support people in their time of greatest need.
