UN Secretary General Koffi Anan yesterday said that the earthquake that struck Pakistan and Kashmir two weeks ago was a worse disaster than last year’s tsunami. He warned of a second “massive wave of deaths” if international aid were not stepped up immediately. “This is a huge, huge disaster ... perhaps the biggest ever that we have seen,” he said.
The UN’s top relief official, Jan Egeland, said yesterday that, "The world is not doing enough. We thought the tsunami was bad, this is worse." Tens of thousands of people are still trapped in the mountains, many trying to reach relief camps and cities on foot, carrying wounded relatives on their backs for days. As winter begins to set in, the humanitarian disaster could be devastating, so devastating in fact that Mr. Egeland has called for a massive airlift operation, calling for a “second Berlin airlift” to save the thousands of people stranded by the quake.
Over the last few days the death toll has skyrocketed to 79,000 and could climb much higher. 3 million people have been left homeless, and many left in remote mountain areas with no food, shelter, or medical aid. Unknown numbers of people are dying due to disease and injury everyday. The UN has warned that more than 10,000 children could die from hunger, hypothermia and other illnesses in the coming weeks. Yet the response to the disaster has been slow. The UN has received just a fraction of the money promised to its emergency appeal, which contrasts with the response to last year’s tsunami when 2 weeks after the disaster the UN had received 80% of the money promised.
In total some 65,000 tents have been delivered, but hundreds of thousands, if not millions more are needed. Last week the UN was warning that the total number of tents required was more than actually existed across the world. Tents, fuel, and blankets are in short supply. Helicopters from the US, Germany, and Pakistan are bringing in supplies to some areas, but there are not enough. As temperatures drop and as snow begins to fall, many people are beginning to burn clothes as fuel to stay warm. The mountainous terrain makes it difficult to deliver supplies, in contrast to last years’ tsunami, where most of the regions affected were along the coast and supplies could be brought in by boat.
The response of the Musharraf regime and the international community have prepared the ground for a horrendous humanitarian disaster. And what exactly has been the response of Musharraf and his government? As millions die he has refused aid and assistance from India. As relief workers plead for more helicopters he has refused them from India. As millions face certain death from starvation and disease, the Line of Control separating Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir remains closed. Kashmiris are in dire need of assistance. Now we get word today that Musharraf is “considering” opening a few points along the LoC where supplies and support from India will be allowed to enter Pakistan-held Kashmir.
Of course many Kashmiris are angry. Thousands are dying because of a lack of supplies and helicopters, and yet Musharraf refuses them when they are offered. The Musharraf regime does not care at all about the suffering of the millions of people affected by the disaster. The regime only serves the interests of the ruling elite and the military clique around the President. They are only interested in maintaining their rule, increasing their power, and in finding bigger profits. The callous disregard of the Musharraf regime will come back to haunt them.
Many Kashmiris have been left to fend for themselves. In response to the chaotic, bungled response of the regime the PTUDC has organized its own medical and relief centers to help the poor and working class victims of the disaster who will receive help from nowhere else. In the aftermath of the disaster, millions of poor and working class people will see that they can only rely on themselves and their organizations to help and defend their interests.
When the dust begins to settle from this disaster, the anger of the Kashmiri and Pakistani masses will boil over. Having been abandoned and left to fend for themselves, they will realize that they have the power and ability to organize society themselves. The masses of Kashmir, Pakistan and the whole continent are instinctively coming together to aid and assist one another in this disaster. In the future they will come together in a revolutionary unity that will transform the entire subcontinent, and rid it of the poverty and misery that plagues them.