Kashmir Earthquake: Looking back at the 2005 Kashmir quake by Zahir Janmohamed

One year ago, a devastating earthquake struck Kashmir, killing nearly 75,000 and leaving nearly 3.3 million homeless. While many efforts were made to alleviate the immediate humanitarian disaster, the work is still unfinished. alt.muslim's associate editor Zahir Janmohamed recently interviewed his sister Shenaaz, a graduate student at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work, to talk about her experiences in helping the victims of last year's South Asia earthquake, and what remains to be done.

Describe the work you have done since the earthquake in South Asia.

I traveled throughout much of northern Pakistan in the summer of 2005. After I heard about the devastating earthquake that happened on October 8, 2005, I worked with some colleagues to start a drive to raise money to purchase tents for the displaced victims in Pakistan.

I returned in December 2005 and again this summer for a Photovoice project. Photovoice is a participatory arts methodology whereby local citizens - in this case children - are equipped with cameras and photography lessons. They are then given the opportunity to explore these tools as a means of capturing and documenting their environment and experiences.

I paired up with the Aga Khan Development Network and focused our project in the Chakama Valley of Pakistan controlled Kashmir during August of 2006.

To conclude the project, the youth presented their photographs, artwork, and performances for community and family members.

A year after the earthquake, how are the conditions in Pakistan?

Conditions in northern Pakistan vary dramatically depending on where you are located. This past summer while I was working in Kashmir, I expected to see a certain level of advancement in recovery - mostly because I was comparing the ground situation to that of Mansehra, where I was based in December. However in Kashmir - especially very near the "Line of Control" - the people only received aid this past April. That is over six months after the initial earthquake!

In larger cities like Muzaffarbad and Mansehra, there is still a large presence of international NGOs. However, it seemed to me that there was an increasing involvement by local Pakistani NGOs who are trying to move away from a model international dependency towards more self-sustainability.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, the 7.6 earthquake killed 80,000 people and displaced 3 million. The paper reports that "Many of the 2,000 children who lost limbs, fingers or toes in the earthquake or its aftermath are still waiting for prosthetics, and funding is scarce." Over 300,000 people still live in makeshift shelter. Both the government and the international community need to do more to respond to these needs.

What is your assessment of the government of Pakistan's response to the victims of the earthquake? What about the international community's response?

The Pakistani response has been mediocre, at best. It is true that much of the infrastructure was not in place to support the level of aid and services needed to respond to the earthquake. That being said, the Pakistani government still insists on dedicating a majority of their spending on military and defense, instead of investing in the people. People affected "received" an arbitrary monetary check as a means to recover their losses, when they need resources and development, not money in which they have no capacity and access to use.

Much of the frustration still lingers today. Most recently, for example, protests were staged in Islamabad the day before the one-year anniversary㤥anding justice and an end to corruption.

The international community has also had their share of mishaps. I saw many international NGOs treat people with a lack of dignity. Many adopted a colonialist perspective of "saving" those affected. Many of these groups did not promote citizen participation or value the voices of the Pakistani people as legitimate agents of change. Nor did I see these NGOs use this opportunity to help communities become more sustainable.

What are some of the key issues that you saw in dealing with the survivors?

I saw a lack of participation. The centralization of power by a military dictator is inherently problematic. This domination affects all aspects of life - even how people respond to disasters. It takes time to break norms and to create an environment where peoples' voices are truly valued and incorporated as legitimate sources of knowledge.

For example, some Muslim clerics in part of earthquake-hit Pakistani Kashmir have told aid agencies to fire all local women employees or face violent protests because many conservative Muslims did not want local women working with international workers.

So on many levels, it's going to take time to heal the affected areas.

What was your experience like working with some of the children?

The children were incredibly resilient and strong. At the same time, this experience deeply affected their psyche - their sense of confidence was diminished and their sense of personal safety was shattered. I saw them approach everything with urgency, as there is a fear that tomorrow will never come.

What lessons can be learned about the response to the earthquake?

There needs to be more attention on Pakistan as a viable country with possibilities, instead of constantly looking at it through the lens of terrorism, madrassas etc. As long as certain political actors - both Pakistani and non-Pakistani - continue to concern themselves only with Pakistan's security problems, people in the villages and in rural areas will continue to suffer. The Kashmiris, for example, have not been able to enjoy any sense of security for many years now.

What can be done to help out?

We need to remember that the earthquake is not a problem of the past. A year later, nearly 300,000 remain displaced while Pakistan's military continues to grow. We need to continue to talk about the earthquake and to talk about Pakistan critically. People tend to become very defense of Pakistan, which is partially understandable as it is constantly misrepresented. However unless we engage in critical dialogue about the government and the countrys' development challenges, Pakistan's status quo will remain.

And the earthquake has shown us that the status quo is not working.