Lahore, 12th
October 2005 (Fifth Day)
8th October
2005, a normal bright Saturday morning. Suddenly, at 8.52 a.m. my office began
to shake and shudder, the whole building began to sway - an experience quite
different from previous earthquakes. It was quite prolonged too, it seemed like
two terrifying minutes. With unsteady steps I made my way out to the verandah
and saw the birds flying in alarm. All my office staff ran out, numbed and
dazed.
Soon the TV began to give
the breaking news that a massive earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale
had happened, with its epicenter in Azad Kashmir, just 80 km north of
Islamabad. The four towns worst hit were: Muzzafarabad (75% destroyed) (capital
of Azad Kashmir) Abbotabad (40%), Mansehra (50%) and Balakot (90%)
Scores of villages were
wiped off the map by landslides. One 12-storey luxury apartment block in
Islamabad collapsed like a house of cards – hundreds including a few local
Christians perished in it.
Indian Kashmir was also
affected but so far only 1300 casualties reported.
After four days the death
toll has risen to 33,000, mostly from the above towns. I fear that it will
cross over 40,000. Four catholic victims were buried in Islamabad – there is a
report of a few Protestants killed in Abbotabad.
Tragically many schools
near the epicenter collapsed and hundreds of children were buried. As one
commentator said “The next generation has been wiped out”. Many of the men folk had gone to work in the
fields and were saved from death.
The number of injured is 51,000. Since the roads
were blocked, the only means of evacuation to Islamabad hospital was by
helicopters, which could only transport a few at a time. Thus, several died for
lack of medical attention. The hospital in Muzzafarabad collapsed killing the
200 patients as well as doctors and nurses. Only one-wing remains standing Ayub
Hospital in Abbotabad was not destroyed but it soon ran out of medicines and
drugs.
The number of homeless
people is over one million. Many of these spent the first two nights in the
open, chilly weather, without any blankets. To make matters worse there was
heavy rain on Sunday and Tuesday.
Rapid rescue teams from England, France and Turkey arrived and managed to use their equipment to save several lives, some even after four days. But today is the fifth day and all hope is dying out for those buried in the debris. There is fear of an epidemic breaking out because of the many dead bodies lying around.
Christians were among the
first to reach the stricken people of Balakot, they were members of the Swedish
Evangelical Mission who have a house in nearby Garhi Habibullah.
On the first day,
President Musharraf made an urgent appeal for help. As President of the Catholic
Bishops Conference, I sent a letter to the President assuring him of our
support in the relief efforts. I called upon the Christians to give one’s
salary to the relief fund. I myself donated Rs 500,000 to the President’s
Relief Fund on behalf of the Catholic Church in Pakistan.
Caritas is our main
Catholic organ for emergency relief in times of calamities. Lahore Caritas
office has set up six relief camps to collect blankets, dry rations, medicines
and other goods. They have sent a team of three doctors in Islamabad who will
work in coordination with Catholic Relief Services (U.S) in providing
assistance to the earthquake victims.
Our Justice and Peace Office, Lahore, has also been
busy and collected a truckload of relief goods which they sent by road to
Islamabad on October 12, to a camp run by NGO.s.
In Rawalpindi, an
Ecumenical Relief operation is getting organized and they were due to hold
their meeting today (Oct 12) at Christian Study Centre.
Our schools and convents are taking up collections and sending them to relief camps. Relief goods from all over the world are pouring in – it will be a giant task to deliver these goods to the remote mountain areas, because although the road was cleared by Monday, the recent rainfall has caused more mudslides and cut off the roads again.
DAMAGE
TO CHRISTIANS:
In Rawalpindi diocese,
Bishop Lobo reported that so far only four Catholics are known to have died in
Islamabad. But there has been extensive damage to the Church in Peshawar Cant,
the Presentation Convent, Rawalpindi, and the Rectory in Abbotabad
Lahore Archdiocese has
some areas that are near the border of Kashmir (e.g. Sialkot) and we have got
reports that many mud houses belonging to Catholics were badly damaged. Also
some school buildings in Lahore have big cracks in them. St. Joseph’s School,
Gujranwala has been severely damaged and the children are afraid of studying in
the classrooms. Many people have been sleeping in the open for fear of further
tremors. Indeed for the first two days we did feel many tremors but after that
they have died down. Altogether 150 families have been affected in Lahore
Archdiocese, according to a survey made by Caritas Lahore.
On Tuesday, Oct 11, in
response to an appeal by the President, the Archbishop of Lahore offered a
special Mass at Lahore Cathedral, remembering the deceased and praying for
courage and strength for the surviving injured.
President Pervez Musharraf has called this a national disaster and a real “test for the country”. We Christians are resolved to do our part in facing this disaster with courage and fortitude.
The best form of help is
money, which can then be used to buy commodities needed by the affected people.
Any monetary help from our friends abroad will be very welcome and will surely
be channeled to specific relief and rehabilitation works, as decided by our
National Caritas office and our International partners. Caritas is a registered
charity in Pakistan. We will inform you about their plan of action as it unfolds.
Meanwhile, you can go ahead with your fund raising. Keep in touch.
God bless you for helping us in our hour of need!
Lawrence J. Saldanha
Archbishop of Lahore
&
President of Pakistan
Catholic Bishop’s Conference
Tel:
0092-42-6366137
Fax:
0092-42-6368336
E Mail: fr_larry@hotmail.com
The bank details for
transfer of financial help for earthquake victims is as follows:
Bank : Standard
Chartered Bank Ltd
Main
Branch, The Mall,
Lahore-54000,
PAKISTAN.
Account Number : 05 4421787-79 (US$)
Account Holder : Archdiocese of Lahore
Swift
Code : SCBL PKKX