Salvation Army team in Pakistan begins distributing tents
Watched by Salvation Army Captain Macdonald Chandi (right), Pakistan military personnel assist in the distribution of tents brought by The Salvation Army to house homeless families in the Balakot area
The Salvation Army earthquake relief team in Pakistan – including Lieut-Colonel Cedric Sharp (Chief Secretary, Pakistan Territory) and International Emergency Services representatives Captain Macdonald Chandi and Major David Wakefield – left Islamabad on Friday 14 October to head for the northern town of Abbotabad. They took with them two fully-laden trucks carrying 92 tents, 250 family packs which included a week's dry rations for a family of two adults and eight children, plates, glasses, spoons, cooking utensils, water, 300 blankets and numerous other relief items.
Once in Abbotabad a local representative briefed the team on the current situation. He expressed deep concern about the lack of effective relief work, particularly in the Balakot area where he said there was a desperate need for 200,000 tents. Some tented camps had been set up but nowhere near enough had been done. Many areas had not yet been reached.
After lengthy discussions it was decided that The Salvation Army would provide a tented camp in the Balakot area for 92 selected families, providing them with immediate shelter, blankets, cooking equipment and food to last for a week. Also, the provision of relief supplies would continue for at least three/four months when our contact indicated that rehabilitation and reconstruction might begin to be considered.
A full week on since the first earthquake there was evidence of massive devastation, with so many people killed and injured and the badly affected areas so difficult to get into that there are still many dead bodies under the rubble. The local contact indicated that it could be months before all the bodies are recovered and the rehabilitation and reconstruction stage can begin.
Saturday began with a short shock of 5.1 on the Richter Scale being felt in Abbotabad, where the team was spending the night, followed by another, smaller shock. At about the time of the second shock a violent storm of torrential rain, thunder and lightning started, not letting up for about two hours.
'The first impression of Balakot,' writes Major Wakefield, 'was of utter destruction, confusion and chaos. There is hardly a building standing or any space between what was a structure and what might have been a road or lane. There was no evidence of the major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) ... apart from the Red Cross, which had established a field hospital just outside Balakot.'
It was impossible to locate the contact the team had gone to meet and, even after extensive enquiries, no one seemed able to say where he might be.
Discussions with a military officer in charge led to a decision to work with the Pakistan Army in the initial distribution of supplies. It was agreed that the military will transport the relief material to the furthest point that can be reached by road, from where it will be manhandled or packed on mules to be carried the remaining five kilometres into the areas already controlled and surveyed by the military.
Ninety-two families who have already been surveyed and considered as being in the greatest need were allocated to The Salvation Army, with distribution completed by team members who were to accompany the military personnel in to the area.
The following morning, Sunday, the team left Abbotabad at 0400 heading for Balakot in torrential rain. Of the three trucks containing relief supplies, only the one containing the tents was taken. Four team members stayed at the army camp with the remaining two vehicles which had to unload their contents into the army store because it would have been impossible for all these supplies to have been manhandled over extremely difficult terrain and distributed in one day.
Some team members were able to visit the planned recipients’ area to see for themselves the devastation caused by the earthquake. Every member of the team was shocked and moved by the plight of the people.
'The area is totally devastated,' reports team leader Captain Macdonald Chandi. 'Many houses have dropped below the level of the road or into their own land. Cars have been trapped underneath collapsed buildings and not all the remains of people who died have been removed. Masks have to be worn and spraying is going on constantly.'
The military major the Salvation Army team is working closely with showed the location of a proposed tent village where food, water, sanitation and medical provisions would be provided until reconstruction could be undertaken. He explained that the people offered places there had declined because their home and belongings were at the old site – even though nothing of any use was left.
After some discussion Captain Macdonald, together with the military, decided that the goods would be distributed by the military who had chosen the people and who had issued a signed chit which they could authenticate before the tent was given. This worked out extremely speedily and efficiently.
The remainder of the provisions on the truck were taken back to the military camp and stored in their area to be distributed later. The whole operation was completed by mid-afternoon and the team returned to Abbotabad.
Major Wakefield reports: 'The military have given us full support since we first made contact. They have shown total commitment to looking after the affected, they have been patient with the hundreds of people who approach them for help almost every minute of the day and they have shown the greatest of courtesies to all the team members. We cannot speak highly enough of their help and cooperation – they are a real credit to Pakistan.'
It has been decided that all Salvation Army relief work in the foreseeable future will be in conjunction with the military in the Balakot region. They have already surveyed the most badly-affected areas and already know who the neediest people are. The people receiving tents and other essentials will need ongoing assistance and aid for many months and can easily be followed up through the military network.
Plans are in place for 100 tents to be distributed on Thursday 19 October, with a further 100 the next day. A total of 500 tents have been ordered
Any consideration of long-term development proposals would be premature. The military officials are not expecting any long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation to begin until the roads are clear and secure. This may not happen for another six months.