From chaos springs hope

Published October 8, 2015
A COUPLE receive medicine from a makeshift army dispensary —White Star
A COUPLE receive medicine from a makeshift army dispensary —White Star

Najumul Saqib Iqbal was searching for a job after earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in 2005. The ambitious 20-year old wanted to work with foreigners, whom he thought were energetic and dynamic.

However, back then international organizations didn’t have a significant presence in Muzaffarabad.

Iqbal still had not found a job when Muzaffarabad was struck by the earthquake in October. And in the midst of tragedy and mayhem, the young man was able to realize his dream.

In less than three weeks of the earthquake, he clinched a job in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which opened its office in Muzaffarabad to launch rescue and relief operations.

Today he is serving in the same organisation as deputy head of Media and Public Relations.

“The earthquake devoured our town but it provided an opportunity for youngsters such as me,” he says.

Though the exact data is not available, it is believed that hundreds of educated youths got well-paid jobs in and around the places they lived, after the UN agencies and national and international humanitarian organisations rushed in to the quake-hit Kashmir.

“Opportunities are embedded in tragedies; this disaster also opened a window of opportunity for young, educated people from the area,” says Khizar Hayat Abbasi, a Muzaffarabad based media consultant.

More than men, women were able to see a new world. Before October 2005, they could only secure jobs in education or in the health sector. Their presence in other public sector organisations could be counted on one hand.

However, the earthquake broke these barriers; young women took up assignments in UN agencies and national and international non-governmental organisations.

Quratulain Zubairi, now 32, is one of them. She lost her both parents in the earthquake in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The graduate shifted to her maternal grandmother’s home in Muzaffarabad and spent the next ten months, commuting between Muzaffarabad and Balakot to work with an NGO.

She now works with an international NGO in Muzaffarabad.

Dr Bushra Shams, UN Women’s gender adviser for AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), praises UN agencies and other organizations for their contribution to capacity building and the training of youth in AJK in the wake of the earthquake.

“They helped bring a change in the working patterns vis-à-vis women and youth,” she says.

“No doubt, women were socially and financially empowered after securing jobs in national and international NGOs… by gaining control over financial resources as well as mobility, they also got a role in decision making,” says Nazneen Habib, head of the sociology department at the AJK University.

Mukhtar Javed, programme manager Sungi, an NGO, explained that in 2005 and later, women had to enter the public space because men were not around to get ration and tents as they had either died or were seriously injured.”

Mohammad Zubair, a local journalist, said that the entire region has witnessed a break from traditions.

“I now routinely come across worried or concerned parents whose child has decided to marry out of choice, outside the clan,” Zubair explained, adding that “The top three positions for matric this year were bagged by girls from Mansehra.”

The employment opportunity with NGOs, for men and for women, is what the majority of people mention when asked how society changed after the earthquake. However, when pressed for more details, other factors come forth.

Many people also attribute the affluence of some to NGOs and donor agencies as those who earned attractive salaries in the development sector built houses in Abbotabad, Mansehra and near Balakot, shifting away from their native villages.

For instance, officials say that a higher incidence of migration to Abbotabad started after mid 2000s.

The increased use of cellular technology is also linked to the post earthquake period.

Before the earthquake, the telecom sector in AJK was monopolized by Special Communications Organisation (SCO); its cellular phone service was limited and erratic. Collapse of landline telecom system and erratic cell phone coverage delayed rescue work during the earthquake.

The realization that human lives could have been saved if a reliable communication system had existed in 2005, compelled Islamabad to allow private cellular companies into AJK.

Anjum Farid Khan, a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority official in Muzaffarabad, says that cellular networks not only provided facilitated the people living in isolated areas, but also provided job opportunities.

Others point to the changes brought about due to the reconstruction work. As the badly damaged road infrastructure was repaired, it gave a tremendous boost to the tourism sector and subsequently to the local economy.

For example, Neelum valley had always been a great tourist attraction, but its dilapidated road network didn’t help matter. But after the construction of a good road to Neelum’s headquarters, the area is attracting tourists from across the country. In peak seasons, it is difficult to find accommodation there, even though over a 100 guesthouses have emerged in a short span of time.

Khawaja Owais Ahmed, a leading tour operator and hotelier, is grateful for the improved road network.

“Economic activities are rooted in a road network. Let’s hope they maintain them.”

But for some, the greatest change brought about after October 8, 2005, was at the Line of Control.

On October 29, the same year, both countries inked an agreement to open the LoC at five points. The first crossing point, linking Tetrinote with Chakan da Bagh, was opened on November 7. The Chakothi-Uri crossing point was opened two days later. Two of the remaining three points were also opened afterwards.

The frequency of cross-LoC travel also increased gradually and, according to conservative estimates, more than 30,000 people from both sides have availed themselves of the facility over the past ten years, despite complaints of bureaucratic hurdles.

Trade between the two sides was launched in October 2008. “This activity has engaged former militants, and thousands of other low paid workers,” says Muzammil Aslam, a trader.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2015

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