First letter from Kashmir
– 7 May 2006
Muzaffarabad, capital of AJK – Azad
(Independent) Jammu and Kashmir
– but in UN politically-correct language PAK (Pakistan-administered Kashmir). The
population of Muzaffarabad city before the earthquake of 8 October was 98,000, the district was about 740,000 and
AJK was 3.6 million. Now, there are approximately 40,000 IDPs still in the
district of Muzaffarabad – was is referred to as the “residual case load” –
those that cannot return to their places of origin for a variety of reasons:
they may have become landless as a result of the earthquake, their villages
buried under landslides; or their villages may be inaccessible -- roads are
still blocked; or they have become extremely vulnerable – a widow, an orphan,
disabled; and there are many from the city whose houses were destroyed and are
not able to rebuild.
The policy of the government has been/is to
have the IDP camps emptied and people returned to their places of origin as
quickly as possible. There is a logic to this. The govt does not want to create
a culture of dependency, or IDP camps that remain indefinitely. But it is not
that simple. So there will have to be camps for that terrible expression “the
residual case load”. While I was in Islamabad
– a week – I visited the camps in and around the capital. The camps were
rapidly emptied through a push factor – the government had announced that, as
of end March, there would be no more food distributions in the camps and the
water and electricity would be turned off; and pull factors – the compensation
being given to enable people to rebuild their homes was being given only at
their places of origin (so to get compensation, you had to get back home); and
that free transportation back to the villages would end by 1 May. So, while no
force was used, the return was not necessarily what we might call completely
voluntary. But – by and large, and when compared against other experiences, the
government (more particularly, the army) has performed exceedingly well. There
are comparatively speaking very few cases of deliberate human rights violations
(no rapes or attacks against IDPs). But there are and will be protection issues
around people getting the compensation they are entitled to, and land and
property rights (women whose husbands died in the earthquake will have a hard
time getting land back, as the law does not recognize women’s rights to inherit
land).
My ‘job’ – or part of it, is to head up the
“Protection Cluster” (all the UN agencies as well as NGOs) in Muzaffarabad, as
well as in a neighbouring district of Bagh; and possibly also to help with
coordination of protection issues in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) –
especially the district of Mansehra. I came to Muzaffarabad on Monday, went to
visit Bagh on Tuesday – so I am really just getting on top of the concerns. One
major issue looming on the horizon is a recent announcement that 17 villages in
the district of Muzaffarabad (a total of between 20,000-30,000 people) may need
to be evacuated to the camps which have been emptied out because of the dangers
of further landslides with the onset of the monsoon rains expected in the next
two to three weeks. If that does happen, it will be necessary to monitor how
the evacuation is done and how what conditions will be like in the camps – and
what services provided – as it is likely that as many as 60,000 will have to be
in the camps over the coming winter.
So --- that is what is on my work agenda.
What is it like here? Muzaffarabad is quite
beautiful – on the confluence of two rivers, the Neelum and the Jehlum. They
are huge and very fast flowing rivers – exceedingly cold I am told, with the
run off from the snow-capped mountains. But at the present, they are murky grey
with the mud and rubble of the earthquake – slashed with white streaks from the
current. In the winter, they say the water is crystal blue. (Sadly, as in Montenegro and
in so many other places that could be paradise, the garbage and the untreated
waste of the cities is simply dumped into the rivers.)
Muzaffarabad is in a valley – surrounded by
mountains. They are not the jagged, hard, black mountains of Montenegro –
rather, they are rounded on top green – heavily wooded. Except that the
earthquake has sheered off huge slabs of mountain – which is now bald faced and
white. Yet, what struck me as I was driven by car on Tuesday from Muzaffarabad
to Bagh, climbing hairpin turns and following the winding course of the river,
was the lushness of the pine forests. There are apparently harsh laws against
illegal cutting of trees – and if they are enforced, I can only say amen. (Though
I not naive enough to imagine that no one manages to make out very well from
the forest industry, which is a multi-million dollar business for AJK.)
Despite the fact that we are in the
mountains, it is hot – burning hot in the daytime. The temperature reaches into
the high 30s, low 40’s and I am told it will get
hotter yet. By 8 a.m. it is really warm. By noon, unbearably hot outside. I made the mistake of taking
a shower at midday yesterday – the water was burning hot
though unheated -- a sauna if it were drier. Indeed, when I left the shower and
went into the outside (temperature in the high 30s), it actually felt cool
outside. I now continue my practice of showering either before 8:00 or after 16.00.
Our offices – like our accommodations – are
in tents. Fortunately, UNICEF’s tent, where I work – and the only one in the compound – is
air-conditioned. (The others make do somehow with fans, though I would wilt
entirely.) Luckily, however, it cools down very in the evening. By five o’clock, it begins to be
reasonable and you can actually wear a sweater – or shawl as is the case here –
in the evening. At night, you need a blanket – even two – which is great.
Because you can get a good night’s sleep.
Livingwise, it is a strange situation for
me here – rather like summer camp. (I must say, I always did like summer camp,
and I am quite enjoying it.) There are
about 250 people in the camp – 20 are women. Everyone sleeps in tents. Ours are
partitioned, so you have a little tent within a tent – which gives you some
privacy – but it is a tiny cubicle – enough for a cot and a small shelf, with
room for a suitcase under the cot, one on the floor beside the bed. The showers
and toilets are communal. So are the eating arrangements. Breakfast is from 6:30-8:00, lunch from 12.00-1:00 and
dinner from 6:00-7:00 – and
the cooks are the Swedes (Remember the Swedish chef. I will not comment further
on the cuisine.) And, if you are not there on time, there is no food. On base,
there is no shop where you can buy snacks – not a cold drink, not a pack of
cigarettes (thank God I don’t smoke anymore, but I have to go scouting around
to stock up on chewing gum). You can, of course, go into town to get supplies,
but it is a bit of a hike and in the heat, there is little incentive to do so.
What you can not get – sadly – is wine or alcohol. Boy, do I miss my
Montenegrin Cabarnet.
In town, there is one “good” restaurant at
the Sangram Hotel, on the river, and I have been there twice. Actually, on
Friday night, we were sitting on the patio having just ordered our food when
they started playing music – Silent Night and Jingle Bells!!! There is also a market, and I ventured there
yesterday – Saturday -- braving the
heat. It is quite large – and I have only started exploring it – but, I of
course have, already, managed to acquire some cloth I do not need, some cushion
covers I certainly don’t need and some shawls I do need but resist wearing. I
have not yet bought any carpets. You see, I have been good. I am not so good
with the clothes. On base, you can wear t-shirts. But once you go off the base,
you need long sleeved shirts and shirts that go down to the knees or below,
plus a shawl to cover your breasts. I just have a hard time with that. So I
improvise. At least you are not forced to cover your head. I am managing.
OK – time to call it a night. I will mail
this tomorrow morning – as I need to put together my mailing list.
When all is said and done, I am delighted
to be here and enjoying every minute of it.
Kashmir. Wow!!!
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