Jalalabad Park Affectees Left Homeless, Without Answers

MUZAFFARABAD—I laughed with Saikah Kazmi and her cousins, Saira and Mayra, as we returned home on a rickshaw after shopping for shawls and having dinner. All appeared normal, until I remembered that it was a public park we were entering.

Jalalabad Park used to be a large leisure area for residents of Muzaffarabad, a large hub city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Now it has become home to 165 families whose homes were destroyed in last year’s earthquake. The fallen trees, uncut grass, and dirtied fountain are eerie reminders of the normality that once was.

Saikah’s family has been living here since their large home in Muzaffarabad city crumbled, killing Saira and Mayra’s mother. The joint family of three brothers share several tents in the camp.

“We cannot rebuild our home because the government says the land is very dangerous,” said Saira Kazmi. “We are waiting to see if they will give us another piece of land to build a home upon.”

For now, Saira is choosing bedroom furniture and sewing cushions for her bed, which will be placed inside a new relief tent the family has received. Their largest tent serves as a living area, kitchen, dining room, and bedroom for her father and his new wife.

Last night, the family gathered to watch a cricket match between Pakistan and England on the small TV set inside the tent. Saira served me dinner and we looked at pictures before going to bed. The children talked of going to school tomorrow morning, and some family members prepared for work. All seemed eerily normal, as if nobody but me noticed that we were under tents and in a park.

The tent village is fairly independent, and there is little NGO presence. A bulldozer regularly lifts rubble out of the area, but there is no other sign that anything will change for the park dwellers in the coming months.

“We have been granted stay in this park until March 2007,” said Saira, reminding me of the harsh winter they will have to endure for another year. “After that we’re not sure where we will go.”