The Head of Communication of HANDS – a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Maaz Tanveer elaborated on the status of relief activities in the flood-affected areas of Sindh province.
He posted a Twitter thread to provide the details of the status of relief activities in Sindh being carried by welfare organisations and the government.
Maaz Tanveer said, “Now that I’m back in Karachi and got some time to reflect, I feel ready to write about my experience in the flood affected districts. One thing stood out everywhere, our response as a country has been poor. From the government to the relief organisations, everyone.”
“Everywhere I went I saw absolute hopelessness. In Dadu near Kali Mori the displaced people welcomed us with knives and sticks because they thought we were the govt trying to do another breach. They were scared angry and hopeless. Some were taking boats back to their flooded house.”
“The question stuck in my head was and still is that how will these communities bounce back. The scale of this, the magnitude. The seismic loss. Mental, emotional and physical trauma. How do you come back from all this? Water will stay there for some time and then the salinity.”
Now that I’m back in Karachi and got some time to reflect, I feel ready to write about my experience in the flood affected districts. One thing stood out everywhere, our response as a country has been poor. From the government to the relief organisations, everyone. pic.twitter.com/oQEQhoHHAM
— Maaz Tanveer (@Maaztanveer91) September 4, 2022
“It’s a gut punch. My privileged self felt gutted. And we’ll all shed a few tears and then move on, these people won’t ever have the life they once did. This is as apocalyptic as it gets. And no amount of social media can make you feel what its actually like.”
He added, “Guns being pointed at these people who’re already on the fringes just because a gora comes to visit their tent city. “Hum jaanwar tou nahi, hum bas yehi chaahtay hain k baat karo, humari suno. Khaayen gai nahi”, said one IDP. And I was just mute. How to console.”
“The only sort of semblance of hope throughout all this has been my work, my ideology of at least doing something. Even if it’s just a tiny effort, it’s something. You don’t know how to help? Make a dua. Dua can sometimes weigh more than what tangible effort can do. Pray for all these people. Pray for all the suffering. #FloodsInPakistan2022”
A netizen said, “It is not that response is poor, damages are done largely beyond our imaginations and access to reach disconnected affected areas is not possible by road.”
Tanveer replied, “I agree with you on scale but this is where preparedness comes in. And all these areas I’m talking about are accessible by road and then by boats!”