Earthquake in Pakistan- My Thoughts

Hello friends,

As days pass by, I get a clearer and better understanding of the scale of the devastation that the earthquake has caused to my home country of Pakistan. I watched President Musharraf's speech to the nation last night, and somehow I have a deep admiration for him now, for the way he handled the disaster and coordinated the relief efforts.

The earthquake struck Saturday morning, 8th October 2005, at 7:55am local time, with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. It shook all the villages in the Northern Areas in Pakistan, as well as the major cities of Islamabad and Lahore. My extended fmaily members, including my grandparents live in Lahore, and thankfully everyone I know are all right. But, I feel ever so strongly for all the people who had to endure and suffer the devastating impact of the quake.

As I hear more and more stories from the survivors, my heart sinks deeper and deeper. Why them? Why did so many school children have to die? What fault was it of theirs? The latest official figure stands at 21,000 dead, and more than 50,000 injured. When I think about that figure, 21,000, I cannot fathom the sheer immensity of that number. 21,000 men, women and children. Some of the villages, that have been nested away deep into the mountainous areas have been eaten up by the earth. It's as if someone came with a bulldozer and razed everything to the ground. Some villages have lost an entire generation. There are school children buried under their school. There are tourists buried under the hotel they were staying at. There are families, parents, grandparents who were caught under the debris.

There are men crying over the deaths of their children, which I think is one of the hardest thing a parent has to bear: to bury their own children. To see bodies being wrapped in white cloths, ready for burial serves a stark reminder that death can strike anytime. I don't know if anyone else feels the same impact in their hearts, but really for the first time in my life, I feel so much of the pain and anguish all my countrymen and women are going through. I just start weeping watching all these people, caught up in the mountains, with no relief aid in sight, begging for a single drop of water. I simply wish I had the power to airlift all of these people.

According to President Musharraf, the sole reason for the delay for the aid to reach the smaller villages that were cut off were because of a shortage of helicopters, and blockages of roads due to landslides. But aid is slowly pouring in, but as everyone is saying, it's the case of Too Little, Too Late. It hurts to see people die this way. It hurts to see that more lives could have been prevented had action been taken quicker.

However, despite all the gloomy situation, the huge number of deaths, there have also been some miracles. A mother and daughter were rescued four days after the quake. Another women and her mother were rescued as well. An old man survived drinking rainwater that was trickling down through the debris. It's sheer miracles that there are still people being found alive five days after the quake. Hope is indeed a great thing, and it must be given an opportunity to float.

International aid is pouring in, and still more is needed. Money, food, blankets, medicines, tents and other materials are coming in large numbers. I am so proud to see the Pakistanis act in a unified manner, where everone has dropped their differences and are united to help one another, because deep down in our hearts, we know we are Pakistanis and there is an invisible brotherhood that links us all. The Pakistani community outside of Pakistan have performed tremendously well. Large numbers of expatriates Pakistanis have flown into the country, to volunteer and to help out with the relief work. Large numbers of doctors, nurses and psychiatrists are flying to the country. International rescue teams were there within the first 24 hours.

Having said that, the only issue they are facing now is not knowing where to channelise these people who are coming in to help out. While their action is truly commendable, there have been some problems of delegating the work, so now it has been suggested that people travel to the Northern Areas if they are registered with a governmental or a non-governmental organizations. With better organization, the efforts of the volunteers can be better utilized to the maximum efficiency. Even my reaction initially was to catch the first flight to Pakistan, but I realized that for me to just get there and not know what to do next would only add to the problem. There are loads of people there, and these people know how to do their jobs. They are trained to handle such kind of crisis situation.

The sole focus now is on Resuce and Relief. The survivors are being resuced, and others are being treated. They are being airlifted from the hill top areas to the bigger cities to be hospitalized. It is truly heart-wrenching to see young children with severe injuries and broken arms and legs. What have the children done to deserve this? The second phase involves Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, which includes the re-location of the survivors and the rebuilding of the damaged villages. It will be a long and ardous task for everyone involved.

A lot of people were initially talking about the earthquake as a message from God to the Pakistani people. Certain people are saying that the earthquake was sent as a punishment to the people to repent and turn away from their sins. I have a huge issue with this, because I want to know what the 500+ children, mothers, fathers, grandparents living in mostly conservative Muslim dominated areas had to repent for? No doubt this is a "test for the nation," and indeed our whole life is a test. This is a trying time for everyone directly and indirectly affected by the quake, because it seems incomprehensible to us. How do we make sense of an earthquake like this? How do we make sense of an earthquake targetting a part of the world that is full of conservative Muslims, including the Afghanis?

One important thing I think we need to realize is to not let our emotions get the better off us. It is very easy for us to get emotional and live in fear that God is punishing the Pakistanis. I watched the scientific and environmentalists talk and debate about this earthquake. According to the the United States Geological Survey, there are approximately 15,000 earthquakes ranging from 4 to 9 on the Richter scale each year. Scientists had also predicted that Pakistan and Indian are on a the Indo-Eurasian geographic plates that was ripe for a major quake. This quake in Pakistan was long over due. So, when we know there are 15,000 earthquakes each year, are we to assume that God is sending a message 15,000 times to the world?

I have always maintained my belief that God is control of the world, and everything that happens on this planet happens by His leave. That is very comforting to know because with God, everything is perfect. He has a plan for each one of us on this planet, and He sees the bigger scheme of things.I believe that we are experiencing these changes in the climate of this earth because of the demographics of the world: over-population, pollution in all forms, deforestation, desertification, global warming, rising ocean waters, melting ice caps and so on. We are ruining this planet that we think we own, but in reality has only been loaned to us, which we have to pass to the following generations that come after us.

May God continue to watch over the affected areas in Pakistan, continue to shower His grace, mercy and love to each of the survivor who are facing this intense test of life. May God continue to give them encouragement, and support. May the aid reaches everyone as fast as it can. May no more innocent lives be perished. May God also give strength and energy to all the people who are volunteering, who are aiding in the relief work. May God bless the nation of Pakistan.

Mansur