It’s already been a year since our nation was rocked by a massive earthquake which left us all devastated. It was the begining of Ramadan and it struck early morning around 8 AM on 8 October 2005.
For all those who Allah had wanted to pass on to the next realm, things may have been less complicated, for those they left behind words couldn’t explain their state. The rest of the nation was surprisingly quick to react and retain its senses. Everyone from the President, PM, the armed forces’ leadership, celebrities, NGOs and the common citizen was quick to react.
The common Pakistani at first would feel gushes of blood raising his/her blood pressure, then feel goosebumps and the hair rising, yet wouldnt know what to do except stay glued to the TV and then start calling all near and dear ones situated in the affected areas.
We ought to thank our government & the armed forces for managing it as best as they could, the armed forces for cooperating with the civilian volunteers with a large heart, the celebrities for stirring emotion and a sense of responsibility by their initiatives; Fakhr-e-Alam deserves mention for his initiative at PAF Base Faisal turned out to be the country’s largest. All PAKISTANIS deserve salutes for ther aid and sacrifice. Foreign nations, friendly and those noth that friendly, their workers who stayed here for months. The media for covering it as best as possible. ARY & GEO made us proud. As did Paklinks and the concerned members who all did something or the other.
The work is still going on and life is slowly but surely returning to normal in the affected areas. Int’l aid agencies, volunteers from various countries are still working alongside our own workers. The getting back to normal would take another 5 or so years as per a recent report.
Our countrymen still need our support so let’s make sure we offer it before they can ever express the need for it, we hope foreign support and aid will also keep coming.
And let’s hope the spirit which made the nation stand tall in the worst hour; which it was said reflected how it was during September 1965 war, should stay there, making us strong and invincible.
Long live Pakistan and God bless Pakistanis!
This picture defines exactly the spirit with which our nation embraced our affected brethren.
An Army Medical Corps Lt Col on 10 Oct 2005 at PAF Base Chaklala Rwp playing with a baby survivor. Just 2 days after the havoc, this picture in Dawn stirred a miraculous wave of hope and light.
Kindly share your views, emotions, experiences or analysis, but please keep as positive as possible, we need hope and not despair, agreed nothing is perfect and a lot is left to be desired in the relief operation and their handling, but if droplets make an ocean, we do have a hose open filling up, if not an ocean already. *
All Thanks to God Almighty.