KARACHI, May 17: Mushkbar Fatima, the only survivor of the Keenjhar Lake tragedy (June 1 2003), will turn two on May 27. On the anniversary of the disaster in her life, she and her other relatives, along with all well-wishers
, will be remembering 26 members, most of them women and children, of her family and close relatives who had drowned in the lake.
Either to prove its sincerity and sympathy with the shocked clan or to fulfil a formality, the government had announced, instantly after the trauma, that the bereaved would be paid compensation 'soon'. However, this promise has remained unfulfilled one year on.
Mushkbar's father Syed Mustafa Kazmi, who had lost his wife, son and two daughters in the tragic incident, had handed over the surviving girl to his brother living in Khairpur so that she could get herself adjusted in the company of her cousins of her age-group.
Travelling in a small boat, the passengers, residents of Jaffar-i-Tayyar Society (Malir) and F. B. Area, had met the accident when their boat capsized. While 26 passengers drowned, Mushkbar had miraculously survived.
He father recalls: "Mushkbar had survived after being tossed out of water by her drowning mother. A fisherman caught hold of the child and brought her to a small island in the lake.
Mr Kazmi, lives alone in his Ghazi Town home where large portraits of his wife and children are seen hanged on walls. After chehlum of the victims, he approached the offices of the city government and provincial home department in the hope of getting the compensation as announced by the government.
He then frequented the concerned offices in the coming months trying his best to make the officials there remember the promise made by the city nazim and the then provincial minister for tourism and culture.
"But soon after initiating the process, I had begun realizing that the announcement made by politicians and government functionaries at the time of the victims' burial was nothing more than lip-service," the dejected bereaved remarked.
"If the government is not in a position to pay the compensation or cannot oblige the bereaved for any other reason, why do these people make such announcements?" Syed Zulfiqar Haider, father of another 11-year-old victim, questioned with utter disappointment.
The minister, Mr Shabbir Qaimkhani, had categorically stated that Rs100,000 for each of the dead would be paid as compensation, recalled Mr Haider. The city nazim, while visiting the Jaffar-i-Tayyar Society, had announced Rs2.5 million as compensation on behalf of the city government as the immediate report had put the death toll at 25.
After a lot of correspondents and visits over the amount of compensation, we were told that the cheques on this account would be distributed on Sept 20, 2003 for which a ceremony would be held at the Central Road in the Jaffar-i-Tayyar Society, said Mr Haider.
"However, we requested the Nazim of Malir Town, Mr Azam Ali, who has since passed away, that the ceremony be held at the office of the town administration. The request was accepted," he added.
Despite repeated assurances, the city government has failed to hold the ceremony for a reason best known to it, said Mr Kazmi. Later, the officials came out with a novel idea under which they reduced the amount of compensation for those under 18 years of age from Rs100,000 to Rs30,000.
"None of the 12 bereaved families did agree with the idea and decided not to pursue the matter anymore," he said. What hurts us most is people's remarks we hear often, such as: "You have hit the jackpot..." and "How much money you have received from the government?" said a member of a bereaved family.
The affected families pointed out that as far as the Sindh government was concerned, a section officer was kind enough to listen to our grievances. Since his transfer, no one had bothered to look into the matter, they added.
Even, the October 10, 2003 letter addressed to the chief minister for his intervention into the affair appeared unanswered. Finally, the bereaved approached President Musharraf through a letter on Feb 24 this year as a last resort for a positive response.
