Capital under wicked clutches of corruption mafia
Quake victims fall prey to exploiters
By Uzma Zafar

For a human to stay alive, food, water, shelter and clothing formulate the basic needs. However, for an individual to exist as a healthy member of any society and support his family accordingly, one has to set a course in life that could lead him to an effective earning of a likelihood, which could in turn take care of his basic needs as a human being. This was the basic mistake that was made back in around 1979 under the able regime of Gen.Zia-ul-Haq as our country allowed in the citizens of war-trodden Afghanistan to seek refuge in within our piece of land, especially Capital.
As the Afghans were just given refuge in tents but with the fear that they might snatch away the Pakistan’s right on bread, they were not given any jobs or proper housing as their refuge was always considered temporary. The resultant remained that they, in order to exist, set up their french-fries stands and got engaged in similar professions while few women, unable to support their families otherwise, got engaged in certain objectionable professions that no doubt our social bees, the NGOs drove them into, cooing softly in their ears that it was the only way to exist around while fuming in hate for the authorities within the refugees’ very hearts. A similar scenario is emerging again, this time in face of the earthquake with our own people.
Since 8th October, earthquake victims from AJK are being brought in the Capital and the small city is being flooded with quake affectees. The victims of the tragic earthquake as, have no alternate means of earning, are seen with many suspicious women roaming around the camps set up by CDA and District Administration, who entrap the bereaved women to accompany them to places where they can get wealth. Just a week ago, the ladies who wanted to earn at Community Center; Aabpara Camp, demanded things like lipsticks and cash when this correspondent approached them here this Thursday. A chat with the CDA authorities present at the camp revealed that the victims were on their own to go wherever they intended. Moreover, sources seeking anonymity confirmed that many women were seen getting out of the camp at different times of the day.
According to a survey of The Daily Mail, CDA Camp Hospital at Community Center has kept 259 quake-hit victims till now while 99 currently exist at the place, around 210 at CDA Camp Hospital at Sports Complex, 74 at Community Center G-9, around 350 at F-10 Markaz’s hospital set up by District Administration while thousands of victims are currently residing in H-11 tent village; the only one in the city right now. Sultana Foundation is providing medicines at Community Center; Aabpara, Bali Memorial Medical Centre’s volunteers are working at Sports Complex, SAHR at Community Center G-9/2, Sheltar at F-10 Markaz and World Homeopathic Awareness Committee at H-11.
Where aid is pouring in from across the world and volunteers of various NGOs are providing every possible assistance to the earthquake victims, there one should not underestimate that fact that there are not many places left in the city where we can accommodate the earthquake victims nor there are enough hands that can care for the same. Getting a bed in any local hospital has become impossible for the local medical centers are admitting only earthquake victims and thus, only they are being taken care of. At various camp hospitals, these affectees, having nowhere to go, are reported to have faked temperatures and other ailments, to remain in the space that they have been allotted. In front of the G-6 flats that were never issued by the CDA for residential purposes, there’s a public notice demanding electricity and water, by the Margalla Towers’ affectees that have forcefully entered and started living in there.
There are kind ladies like the caring wife of Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan; Shabnam Aamir, who are willing to devote an entire portion of the day in nurturing the troubled kid victims of the disastrous earthquake but the fact remains that such volunteers are even not enough. The government is thus urged that few of the quake victims be shifted to big cities and the NGOs and quake affectees be properly registered and it be ensured that nobody is allowed to take any woman or child along, without any identification, so that the chances of child abductions for beggary and use of ladies for false professions be countered, otherwise the Capital might never be able to get free off the wicked clutches of the corruption mafia that has recently taken over the city!