Sep
2
As desperation grows, Jolie makes plea for flood aid
Desperation persists among the millions of flood victims in Pakistan, where many continue to struggle to find basic necessities, including food and shelter, according to Reuters.
Almost 5 million people are homeless and many suffer from diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses, with little or no help:
CHARSADDA, Pakistan, Sept 2 (Reuter) – Day after day, Afshan Bibi, a mother of 11, trudges to the U.N. distribution center to get relief supplies to help her cope with the aftermath of Pakistan’s devastating floods.
A month later, housed in a tent encampment, she still comes away with nothing.
“I’ve come here every day for a whole month, but I haven’t received anything,” she said.
Only those producing a small paper token are entitled to any of the daily handouts at the sugar refinery housing the center run by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Bibi and others are told to come back tomorrow.
She is one of about 600 people — mostly men — from a nearby tent settlement who gather from 6 a.m. at the center in the hope of getting blankets, mats, buckets, mosquito netting, soap or other supplies.
By noon, they are hot, frustrated and often angry.
Kifayat Ullah, a UNHCR official, pleads with them to calm down and queue up.
“For God’s sake, make a line,” he yells into the crowd. “Then you will be able to get something. Otherwise we will not be able to distribute anything.”
Anger is fueled by unrelenting misery one month after their lives were washed away by floodwaters.
“They’re very desperate,” Ullah said.
Amid the growing frustration in Pakistan, actress Angelina Jolie posted a video Wednesday, urging viewers and fans to contribute toward flood relief.
