ABC Four Corners - After the Deluge (Pakistan) (2010)

After the Deluge (Pakistan)

Reporter: Liz Jackson

Broadcast: 09/09/2010

It began with heavy rain that turned into a rolling wall of water destroying everything in its path. Now reporter Liz Jackson retraces the progress of Pakistan's devastating floods. She meets the people whose lives have been forever altered; talks to key national leaders about what this means for the country; and asks what's next for the millions of people displaced by the water.

"Even people like us did not know what was happening, because we thought it was just, you know, a little area affected. And then gradually over a week you began to realise the number of people that were going to be affected- 20 million people." Imran Khan

High in the Swat Valley sits what once was the town of Kalam. Until last year the area around the town had been the centre of bitter fighting between Government and Taliban forces. When the Pakistan Army finally regained control 18 months ago, many in the town hoped they could re-establish the region as a tourist destination. But torrential rain and flooding have changed all that. As the rain fell and the rivers rose, buildings and houses were swept away, farms were inundated and people killed.

Although the area has been a no-go zone for Westerners, reporter Liz Jackson and cameraman Matt Leiper - with help from aid agencies - travel to the region to retrace the path of the flood. They discover that few people across the province realised just how potent the rainstorm would be. It's now clear that authorities were also taken by surprise, and that very few preparations had been made.

As they move around the valley they talk to people who survived the deluge and the resulting destruction. They meet farmers who lost all their crops, as well as an old man who walked three hours to trade his ration card for a bag of flour. The ration card came with a price though - to get it, he has been enlisted to rebuild the road into town:

"It is tiring but we have no choice. We build the road down there and they give us a card to get some rations for ourselves, so we've walked here to get the rations."

As they travel further south and the terrain flattens out, they see the full impact of the flood waters taking over thousands of kilometres of land. One family tells how they were forced to leave their house with just the clothes they wore:

"We got no prior warning. The water came on us suddenly. We left our houses bare foot. We did not even wear burqas, we just saved the children. The men said let's go and we left everything in the house."

When they enter the Punjab it's clear that almost all of Pakistan's food-producing land is beneath water. The people there are desperate; many are living perched on the top of levy banks. Adults are sick and injured, but small children are most at risk. Consequently, families will accept any form of assistance from any organisation that is willing to help them. Four Corners finds that groups with clear links to terrorist organisations are working in this area, providing aid to the needy. These groups work co-operatively with the military. No one is in a position to refuse their assistance, but there is a concern these groups may work to radicalize sections of the community once the flood waters recede.

"This is what happens repeatedly. These groups are banned. They change their name, they continue to operate, they're banned again, after another terror attack... the Government should say, look, any group that's been banned under any name, if it re-emerges under any name, we're not going to allow it to operate. They need to put their foot down. But can they, is another issue." Samina Ahmed, International Crisis Group

Four Corners reveals the true extent of this disaster. It's estimated that 21 million people have been affected; at least 10 million are without shelter; 1.2 million homes have been destroyed or damaged; and 160,000 square kilometres of land are under water. Flood waters are continuing to threaten towns in the Sindh Province . Tens of thousands of people are sick, many of them children. Some describe the situation as a disaster unfolding in slow motion.

How can the millions of displaced people be clothed, fed and given medical attention so they can recover and participate in the reconstruction of the country? As people on the ground see it, there is no easy answer. What's certain is that without help many people will suffer and die, leaving Pakistan even more unstable than it was.

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