By Nisah Allauddin

Map of flooding in Balochistan and Sindh. Image courtesy of The Economist.

Water has been flooding the southern regions of Pakistan since June, leaving one-third of the country sunken and daily life disrupted. Pakistan is estimated to have thirty-three million people displaced and thousands of people stranded in the floodwaters, worried about drowning in the current.

In July, what started as a few glaciers melting in the summer sun ended up drowning the Sindh and Balochistan provinces of the country by early August. Along with the melting glaciers, Pakistan’s monsoons have been burdensome and are occurring more often. It is expected that this year Pakistan’s monsoon season will end in late October, when it typically ends in September. The country will also have received six times the usual rainfall. With water wiping out Balochistan and Sindh, people in Pakistan are currently starting to go hungry. The question that everyone is asking is if Pakistan will successfully emerge from this crisis.

Kids in Pakistan sitting on a board looking for land. Photo credit: Fida Hussain / AFP – Getty Images.

Pakistan was already a struggling country before this summer’s floods, with widespread malnutrition, limited sanitization, and a poor economy. With the current flooding, Pakistan is literally drowning and has yet to feel the full effect the floods will leave behind. Additionally, the majority of the thirty-three million people displaced are still in need of aid, and at least 1500 people have drowned.

Deep waters and crumbled houses have left many people homeless. The government has been providing tents for some people, but the condition of these tents provide only temporary shelter. Because there are not enough resources and space for all of the displaced people, citizens are struggling. With limited resources, often 3-4 families have to live in tents together. Living in the tents makes people miserable, from Pakistan’s sweltering heat, mosquitos that cause malaria, little food, and life in cramped spaces.

In a video on the Pakistani Net Geo News Channel, one victim said, “Pakistan is clinging on with its weak health. These tents are so disgusting too, trash is everywhere, and I’ve been getting pushed around being all alone here, and this place is disgusting. I’ve been getting pushed around every time I try to get some of the morning chai.” In the video, children plead for blankets, shoes, and clothes. The woman then turns to the reporter again and weeps about the mosquito bites that cover her.

On top of the large number of displaced people, Pakistan’s agricultural life is crumbling. Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif claims 45 percent of the country’s agricultural land is destroyed. It is estimated that 65 percent of the crops in Pakistan have been washed away. The primary concern is that 70 percent of the country’s rice is gone, and wheat is also becoming limited. Without rice, Pakistan’s economy will continue to sink. Rice is exported from Pakistan, and with less food to export, imports will increase, and the country’s economy will gradually decline. The second crop, wheat, is a significant part of about 90 percent of Pakistani families’ pantries, because it is used to make the traditional bread, roti, that Pakistanis eat with every meal.

The catastrophes in Pakistan aren’t to be blamed on the Pakistanis, but instead on worldwide carbon production. The increase of carbon emissions is causing global warming, and Pakistan’s northern glaciers are melting. Pakistan is paying the price for other countries’ heavy carbon emissions. Pakistan’s population is less than 1 percent of the world, and their carbon emissions contribute to a little less than 2 percent. Comparatively, America’s population is almost 3 percent of the world, and it creates 30 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

My parents were born in Pakistan, so my friends and family are particularly concerned with our houses back there. We have a house in Karachi right next to a mosque and plenty of mango trees, none of which we know whether they are still standing today. People around the world are worried, and there have been attempts to help. The UN has promised 40 million dollars to Sharif. At a recent prayer service at my local mosque, Tri City Islamic Center, the Imam began to cry when speaking during the Jummah prayer about Pakistan. He urged people to donate to those who are suffering there, and he lamented the fact that the West often neglects tragedies in the Middle East. The Imam said that despite problems in the Middle East being recognized, the western world does not always take action to help the people there.