The disaster in Pakistan is unprecedented and over 14 million people are struggling to survive as a result of the floods. I thought I would share a brief report from ActionAid’s Communciations Manager in Pakistan, Javeria Malik, on her recent visit to to Punjab Province to give a sense of the devastation facing the people of Pakistan.
“Abdul Qayyum was crying as he told me his story. Previously a prosperous owner of a grocery shop, he had seen all his hard work and family’s wealth washed away when floods hit the Punjabi city of Kot Addu.
Like millions of others, he despaired at the government’s lack of help.
‘We’ve been totally on our own,’ he said. ‘Now we’re going back home – and God knows how long it will take us to repair.’
Abdul’s story has been repeated many times in the three weeks I’ve travelled across Pakistan, visiting the badly hit areas, meeting families escaping the flood waters. At first I saw people stranded in upper Swat due to washed away bridges and roads, and more recently met those returning to their collapsed homes in Southern Punjab, who were attempting to recover at least some of their belongings.
