Aftermath

The other day when I posted the news on earthquake in Islamabad, I had sketchy information. It was some fifteen minutes past nine when i first learnt of the 7.6 tremors and the collapse of a building in Islamabad. Logging onto newsites, most reports were focussing on the devastation in Kashmir, Islamabad/R.Pindi and some of that information i started putting up in comments.
At that time all media had on hands was information from the capital and from the media's point of view, the collapsed Margalla Towers made great footage, any experts that they called in were from the Met office whoe went on about the kinds of quakes and its magnitude this time round.
and then reports started coming in and i went in a freeze.
if i thought islamabad was badly hit, it was nothing compared to waht happened up north.
I have an album from my trip with Uni to the Northern Areas in the summer 0f 2000. We went to Balakot, the same hamlet where 400 school children died. and that too was nothing. We were stopped on the trecherous mountain raods by random landslides, trapped on raod for more than six hours. the FWO was quick, they had dyanamite to blow up the landsliding. and that took six hours. the northern areas of Pakistan are essentially cut off from the country. just one road snakes through the mountain ranges. waht would be the speed of relief operations reaching the place is a disturbing thought. at least the nation has woken up and is responding to aid pleas.
and so is teh world chipping in. Its disturbing TV and newspapers. Mom's so upset that we are thinking of banning her from watching any more TV.
What's happened has happened. What is important is the rescue and rehabilitation work.
And prayers. Humans have an amazing coping up mechanism. if rescue teams can reach in time, those buried under the rubble can still come out live.
i have to stop thinking on what has happened and work on what can be done.
and pray that money raking bastards who remain so irrespective of what hits their cities/villages refrain from their activities for just a while. those profiteers...i am not even sure of what kind of help is needed. Monetary? try paying a mother who's lost all her kids in the school collapse. food packets? clothes? medicines? I just wish I were a doctor or even strong enough to fly up north and do my bit. life sitting here and paying token lip service sucks.