Pakistan Emergency
“The human suffering is immense.”
-UN Secretary General
Situation Facts:
-Over 2.86 million displaced, and counting
-Average of 126,000 people register as IDPs every day
-About 80% of those displaced are women and children
-90% of IDPs have no clothes, food, water, or utensils
-60-70% of the children are traumatized
Current Situation (June 2, 2009):
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northwest Pakistan has reached nearly 3 million people and is continuing to grow everyday, according to the latest Pakistani government estimates.
Suffering is widespread amongst the IDPs as resources are running very low, food and clean water are scarce, electricity and running water are mostly cut off, temperatures are topping 110 degrees Fahrenheit and more than 126,000 people fleeing their homes daily, according to UN figures.
Islamic Relief aid workers, who have been delivering aid on the ground and constructing ‘Mercy Centers’ to assist the displaced, are very concerned with the wellbeing of the IDPs, as about 80 percent of them are women and children.
Thousands of pregnant women are in need of medical care, with nearly 5,000 due to give birth this month with no adequate facilities or supervision of medical professionals, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Cases of polio, malaria, diarrhea and scabies are surfacing everyday, especially amongst the children. Health experts are fearing the worst.
“The human suffering is immense,” UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon told the UN General Assembly on June 1.
The UN estimates about 90 percent of those displaced are not staying in camps, but with host families or rented accommodations.
“What concerns us is not just those numbers, but the fact that they’re still increasing,” said a UN emergency relief coordinator.
There are still many who are stranded in the conflict zone and waiting for a lull in the violence to escape.
“Some families who arrived in Sugar Mill yesterday told our teams that they had been living in their basement for a month,” UN spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters on June 1.
“One family said they ate spinach and bread for 25 days before they were finally able to leave their home for safety,” Redmond added.
Due to the rapidity and magnitude of the displacement, even after escaping families are not finding comfort.
“The displaced cited shortages of food and medicine as major problems for those who remain stranded in the conflict zone,” Redmond said.
Islamic Relief’s Response
Islamic Relief USA responded to the intensified crisis by upping its initial fundraising appeal of $750,000 to $1 million.
So far, Islamic Relief has completed two ‘Mercy Centers’ with a third and fourth center expected to be completed by the end of this week.
‘Mercy Centers’ aim to provide food, shelter, basic medical care, psychosocial counseling, and other vital services to needy families in the camps and host communities.
Registration at the two centers is under way and medical treatments by trained doctors have begun.
In addition, Islamic Relief is currently working in the Kacha Garhi and Benazir camps, providing non-food items for displaced families.
Thanks to our donors, so far Islamic Relief has provided emergency aid for 2,684 families (about 16,000 people). Aid has included:
-Kitchen sets
-Hygiene kits
-Household kits
-Shawls
-Mosquito nets
Help Islamic Relief provide food and shelter for a displaced family. Donate today. Your donation could save lives.Immediate needs for those displaced include:
-Electric fans
-Plastic sheets
-Baby formula
-Food and clean water
-Tents
-Mosquito nets
-Medicines
Case Study: Struggling for Survival
Noor Bibi was having what she called a “normal” day at home with her six children when fighting erupted in her village in Swat, Pakistan.
“It was so sudden I did not know what to do,” Bibi, 35, told an Islamic Relief field worker. “My main concern was my children.”
Carrying her infant son, Bibi gathered her family members and fled, with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.
In the commotion, a piece of shrapnel struck Bibi's leg, injuring it severely.
“It started to bleed badly, but there was no way I could get any medical treatment,” Bibi recalled.
Neighbors helped Bibi and her children reach a government-run camp in the neighboring village where she received medical attention, but Bibi noticed that her family was not complete.
Her husband and nine-year-old daughter, Shakira, were unaccounted for.
She informed camp officials who told her that her husband had registered and was safe in the same camp. Her daughter was still missing.
“We have no idea where and in what condition she is,” Bibi told an Islamic Relief field worker. “I can't wait to see her, not having her around is more painful than the injury.”
“There is nothing like home and we cannot wait to be back home where we can live the way we used to,” Bibi said. “This way of life is very tough and we are not comfortable with it at all.”
There are many stories just like Bibi's being told in Pakistan today.
Habib Malik, an Islamic Relief staff member who was visiting the camps, reported: “One 10-year-old boy I met was in the camp on his own. He had been separated from his family in the chaos as everyone fled from his village and has not seen them since.”
“Unfortunately, his story is not unique,” Malik said.
Facts on Pakistan:
• Over 73% of the population lives below $2 a day
• 24% of the population is undernourished
• 38% of children are underweight
Islamic Relief in Pakistan:
Islamic Relief has been working in Pakistan since 1992 and previously worked in the Jelozai camp in North West Frontier Province until April 2009.
Work in the camp included providing campsite development, water and sanitation facilities, and basic health and hygiene care.
Islamic Relief also provided essential emergency aid after the 2005 earthquake, raising over $70 million worth of aid worldwide, $20 million of which came from US donors.
In addition, Islamic Relief provided over $1 million of aid which benefited over 90,000 victims of the June 2007 cyclone in Baluchistan.