In pictures: Earthquake Hits Pakistan-India Border

last SG · 2005-10-09T00:54:56+00:00

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AP - Thu Nov 3,12:42 AM ET
An elderly Pakistani man makes the most of the morning sun to get his head shaved in preparation for Eid al-Fitr, a major Muslim holiday, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. Pakistan's official earthquake death toll jumped by 16,000 to reach 73,000, and officials warned that it is likely to rise further as relief supplies fail to reach thousands of victims stranded in remote parts of the Himalayas. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

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The rainbow house

Fiery past

Meet Mohammed Akram, once a fighter with the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. He came to Pakistan-administered Kashmir in 1995 as a fiery 21-year-old to fight Indian rule in Kashmir.

But life was not what he had expected. "People from across the Line of Control were not really trusted."

He was tempted to quit many times but there were no jobs. The Hizb would pay them $55 a month.

Words and photos: Aamer Ahmed Khan

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Weaned away

A distant cousin, Kulsoom, weaned Akram from the Hizb in 2001. "It took me a while. There was so much fire and anger in him." They married in 2003 and their son Omar was born the next year. Akram looked for a job but with no luck.

"It was only after my son was born that I realised that I was good for nothing. I had no skill, no education and no contacts. I just wasn't fit for normal life," he says.

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Lucky outing

When the quake struck two years later, Akram was out with his family, which is probably why they are still alive. Their entire neighbourhood was reduced to rubble.

This was all the couple could salvage from the ruins of their home. To his shock, he saw his outsider status count against him. "Even my neighbours were telling the relief workers who visited the camp that they were locals and had first right to relief goods. We were second priority."

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Getting ready

For three weeks, Akram tried to secure a tent for his family. He was desperate. "I walked into Neelum stadium [a medical relief helicopter base] two days ago and walked away with whatever plastic sheets I could lay my hands on," he says.

Another trip to his ruined house produced some bamboo sticks, iron rods and pieces of wood. A pair of pliers was taken from a wrecked car. Akram was now ready to build his own shelter.

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'Useless clothing'

Work starts at sunrise. Four hours later, a bare structure is in place. None of the wooden pieces he has collected are long enough. They have to be tied with rope he makes from tearing strips out of the useless "aid clothing" which now litters Muzaffarabad.

Kulsoom keeps needling him throughout. "He is a bit of a perfectionist. For all we know, he may pull down the entire thing tomorrow and start again."

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Sore thumb

The hardest part for Akram is handling the materials. Bamboo is one of the toughest things for DIY. And most of the nails he is using were pulled from pieces of wood and hammered straight with the pliers.

"Shut up," he growls, when he nicks his thumb for the umpteenth time - as predicted by Kulsoom - and she giggles. They keep teasing each other and laughing as the shelter starts to take shape.

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Tricky task

It is time to pull the roof on. "Couldn't you have found something thinner?" Kulsoom laughs. This is indeed tricky. The slightest mishandling could tear the thin plastic sheet and it is the only one large enough. It takes two hours.

So how was this struggle different from the one he crossed the LoC for? "That was fun, this is a pain," he says.

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Bit by bit

With the roof up, it is time to raise the walls. Akram finds two long sheets woven in straw. They have to be stitched together. But even so, they can only cover three sides. For the fourth, a separate sheet is employed.

"I told Kulsoom when we got married I was very poor and we would have to put together our life bit by bit," he says.

"I couldn't have imagined that the bits he was talking about would be these," Kulsoom says.

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Perfect timing

Akram's timing turns out to be perfect. The shack is up and running 45 minutes before it is time to break fast.

It is Kulsoom's turn to take over. Within 30 minutes, she has their few belongings neatly tucked away inside what she calls their "rainbow house" because of the colourful materials that have been used.

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No going back

Akram says he thought of going back to the Indian side when they lost everything in the quake. "But how do I do that?"

What about the opening up of the LoC? "I came here illegally," he says. "I don't think I qualify among those who will be picked to cross the border."

He says life could be much better on the other side but now he has a family and "won't do anything to jeopardise their safety".

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Nice little house

"At least we have a shelter now," says Kulsoom when asked what she thought of her new home. Looking at Akram teasingly, she adds: "A very nice little house I must say - at least till the rains come."

She picks up little Omar. "He is just not taking to powdered milk which was the only kind we could get from relief camps.

"Come one, young man," she says. "Grow up. Don't make life any more difficult than it already is."

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 2:53 AM ET
Pakistani army personnel work on reconstructing a road connecting India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir after the road was washed away due to the October 8 earthquake, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:06 AM ET
Pakistani army personnel work on reconstructing a road connecting India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir after the road was washed away due to the October 8 earthquake, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:11 AM ET
Pakistani army personnel remove boulders under a sign as they rebuild a road connecting India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was washed away due to the October 8 earthquake, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:22 AM ET
Indian army soldiers demonstrate how they check for landmines to the media on a road, which connects India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, that was washed away due to the October 8 earthquake, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:33 AM ET
A view of a collapsed bridge connecting India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:36 AM ET
A Kashmiri girl is washed by her mother in preparation for the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday or festival of breaking the fast to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan at a makeshift tent camp in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, about 130 km (80 miles) north of Islamabad, November 3, 2005. Sickness is increasing among Pakistani earthquake survivors, a U.N. official said on Thursday, after the government dramatically increased the death toll from the disaster. The government said on Wednesday the toll had jumped to 73,276 dead from a figure of 57,600 given a day earlier. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:37 AM ET
Kashmiri earthquake survivors examine fruits and vegetables when shopping to prepare for the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday or festival of breaking the fast to celebrate the end of holy-month of Ramadan in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, about 130 km (80 miles) north of Islamabad, November 3, 2005. Sickness is increasing among Pakistani earthquake survivors, a U.N. official said on Thursday, after the government dramatically increased the death toll from the disaster. The government said on Wednesday the toll had jumped to 73,276 dead from a figure of 57,600 given a day earlier. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama

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Reuters - Thu Nov 3, 3:39 AM ET
Pakistani army personnel work on reconstructing a road connecting India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir after the road was washed away due to the October 8 earthquake, in Kaman Post, 118 km (73 miles) west of Srinagar, November 3, 2005. The Indian army said on Thursday it has completed repairs of its side of the mountain highway connecting divided Kashmir after it was damaged in last month's devastating earthquake. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli

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