Pakistani Flood Victims Return to Devastated Homes
- 14 years ago
And in Pakistan, residents of villages in Sindh Province are heading back to their hometowns, some still three feet deep in water after the worst flooding to hit the country in a hundred years. And what they found was devastation.
When residents of Karampur in Pakistan's Sindh Province heard that water was receding from their hometown, they decided to head back to their inundated homes.
On Wednesday, hundreds of people were trying to make it home for the first time since the floods turned their world upside down.
Many, who could not afford transportation, walked through knee-deep, muddy water, carrying their meager belongings, hoping to find shelter after days of living in the open.
What used to be home is now essentially a river, with their mud houses absorbed by it. Even the mosque was submerged in three feet of water.
Those who had stayed back to guard their houses against looters say no aid has reached them in the past ten days.
"We have nothing to eat. We just sit here and wait. Sometimes we get food, sometimes not. Even when it comes it is a small amount in a small bag. We are sitting under the hot sun."
Others said there was one airdrop but the food missed its mark and landed in the dirty floodwater.
"No rescue staff, no government official has come here. You can see our situation for yourself, yet no one has come to ask about us, about our children, about our homes, about what happened to us. All those who can, are getting out of here on their own."
Aid agencies fear disease, food shortages and malnutrition may create a new crisis, as people head back to their towns and villages to rebuild their homes and lives.
When residents of Karampur in Pakistan's Sindh Province heard that water was receding from their hometown, they decided to head back to their inundated homes.
On Wednesday, hundreds of people were trying to make it home for the first time since the floods turned their world upside down.
Many, who could not afford transportation, walked through knee-deep, muddy water, carrying their meager belongings, hoping to find shelter after days of living in the open.
What used to be home is now essentially a river, with their mud houses absorbed by it. Even the mosque was submerged in three feet of water.
Those who had stayed back to guard their houses against looters say no aid has reached them in the past ten days.
"We have nothing to eat. We just sit here and wait. Sometimes we get food, sometimes not. Even when it comes it is a small amount in a small bag. We are sitting under the hot sun."
Others said there was one airdrop but the food missed its mark and landed in the dirty floodwater.
"No rescue staff, no government official has come here. You can see our situation for yourself, yet no one has come to ask about us, about our children, about our homes, about what happened to us. All those who can, are getting out of here on their own."
Aid agencies fear disease, food shortages and malnutrition may create a new crisis, as people head back to their towns and villages to rebuild their homes and lives.