PAKISTAN: Assessment report reveals far reaching damage to livelihoods

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MUZAFFARABAD, 24 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Shopkeepers, small businesses and farmers who have lost land and livestock have been left most vulnerable by the 8 October earthquake in northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, according to a recent assessment report by the UK-based charity Save the Children.

The damage has had a knock-on affect on the region's poorest survivors - farmers whose small plots of land do not yield enough produce to sustain them throughout the year and so depend on shopkeepers for credit.

Now that the network of available credit has been destroyed rural families are struggling to survive and shopkeepers have not only lost their livelihoods but also money owed to them.

"Many of the families living in the poor and very poor wealth groups rely on credit from local shopkeepers to sustain them through the winter period. This support has not been possible this year. Support to restart this system is needed now," said Rosie Jackson, livelihoods project manager with Save the Children UK.

According to the report, 99 percent of survivors were not working due to lost land or livestock, destroyed businesses or new priorities, such as finding shelter. However, the assessment reveals that some survivors are simply waiting in their villages for more aid rather than returning to work and risking being overlooked.

The January report highlights two groups of survivors who face long-term livelihood problems: households who have lost a male breadwinner and rural households who have lost their land in the quake.

Many families rely on remittances from work in other cities and overseas, mostly as casual labourers, skilled labourers or government workers. Between 30 – 40 percent of the overall income of Pakistani-administered Kashmir is generated this way. But the earthquake disrupted seasonal labour migration, resulting in the loss of this chunk of income.

Forty percent of agricultural land has been lost to landslides and at least a third of livestock has been killed, including prized buffalos, which can cost between US $600 - 900.

"When the average monthly salary is 2-4,000 rupees [$33 – 66], it takes a long time to replace one [buffalo]," said Jackson.

This marks yet another loss of income for families who sell buffalo milk. The milk also provides essential nutrition for children.

To compound the situation, since the earthquake the cost of flour, dhal [a type of lentil] and rice has risen to between 120 - 200 percent and the cost of transport has increased to around 180 percent in most areas.

Many survivors talk of marginalisation, either due to class or tribal and clan loyalties, claiming that this has affected distribution of aid.

Children have been affected by the loss of livelihoods in many ways and some children are being held back from school to help with chores.

In the village of Mirjali in the Jhelum Valley, only a few girls attend the local school as most must now help their families who are struggling to survive. Twelve-year old Sumeera lost four sisters in the earthquake and her family lost livestock and precious agricultural land. Sumeera spends the day fetching water from a source two km away, as well as cleaning the family shelter and taking care of the remaining livestock.

"We're hoping the cash transfer programme will assist families in sending some children who have been pulled out of school back [to classrooms]," said Jackson.

"We also have a concern in terms of child protection and want to avoid young children being sent to work in the cities," she said.

To aid the recovery process of those whose livelihoods have been most affected, Save the Children has launched a cash injection programme which aims to give cash transfers of around $333 to 375 shop keepers, as well as transfers of around $166 to 5,100 of the poorest families across Bagh and Muzaffarabad districts.

[ENDS]