Disasters irrespective of their origins cannot be managed and mitigated through rhetoric and insubstantial donations. The emergency responses by different provincial governments and allied organizations are failing to match the magnitude of the damages. The passionate verbosity of many revered and popular political figures only reflects their command of different languages, effective articulation, and confident personas, which may be good fodder for the media but are irrelevant to the shelter-less and traumatized populations of concerns. The apathy of our current and former legislators is nothing new to us the people. Ensuring well-timed, safety, security, and rehabilitation of the flood affectees cannot be achieved by clutter and clamour on different social media forums. Some bold and timely actions to address some specific gender needs like the distribution of sanitary pads, maternity kits etc. by seasoned and young entrepreneurs can only be marked as noble deeds. Our army, navy, and air force have once again assumed the heroic role of frontline volunteers in rescue and recovery operations. The efforts of many good-hearted individuals and established charities must not be undervalued. However, some hostile realities cannot be brushed away. Overall, there is negligible, if any, regard for the practical and strategic gender needs of adolescent girls, women of childbearing age, young mothers, and older women by most donor-funded nonprofits and other agencies.
What is happening in our homeland cannot be read by listening to the news bulletins, current affairs show or scanning twitter that appears ecstatic about the violence selling Pakistani films, arrest or release of any high-profile person and stuff like these. Bloomberg’s Faisal Mangi reported on 19 October 2022 that flood losses that were previously estimated to be around $30billion are now estimated at $40 billion. The World Health Organization has already warned that Pakistan is on the verge of a public health disaster. According to UNICEF Pakistan, almost 10 million out of 16 million flood-affected children are in need of immediate, lifesaving support. They are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition. Needless to remind ourselves that even outside of humanitarian settings, our poor kids suffer from high rates of malnutrition and pitiable access to water and sanitation.
There is negligible, if any, regard for the practical and strategic gender needs of adolescent girls, women of childbearing age, young mothers, and older women.
The routine state of our health, education, infrastructures, water, and sanitation are no secrets. Current floods have ravaged whatsoever existing water supply systems and sanitation facilities. Resultantly, for 5.5 million displaced people or so, gaining access to safe drinking water will be out of the question.
Amidst this largely bleak scenario, many social development practitioners like myself have wondered and pondered what could be worse than the devastating floods. I am not alone in guessing that lack of coordination and coordinated responses with an informed understanding of different stages and phases of this emergency are the coinciding catastrophe. While looking at the commitments of different authorities I have started doubting if these floods are embraced as an emergency. While the death toll, damages to the properties, mental health, and self-esteem of the marginalized affectees will keep on rising it is relevant and honest not to forget that we are not in this together. Disasters treat the wretched of the earth disproportionately.
Those unfortunate, who are about to experience the invincible winters are, by no means sinners but the sufferers of a preventable disaster. Assistance must be extended to each one of them no matter how far they are geographic without any further bureaucratic delay. These people of Pakistan that are men, women, boys, girls, neonates, infants, and transgender having different cultural, ethnic and or faith identities must be treated equally and respectfully. Our more than 33 million people with distinct requirements, visible disabilities, poverty of income, power, and opportunities, who are hit by the floods, are citizens and have some rights that must be exercised in their best interests. Our vibrant but not-so-independent media and other civil society organizations have to constantly keep the issues of these people alive and remain vigilant on the volume of the aid that is pouring in, aid-delivery methods and the capacity of the public departments. Even though pieces like this would not cause any disruption in the carved-into-stone kind of elite capture and trademark cruel inequalities of our systems and societies it is worth attempting to extend certain reminders to some concerned quarters.
The writer can be reached on Twitter via @Kafekaam