Poster: A snowHead
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Impending snow and exposure in earthquake-devastated Kashmir are demanding rapid transport of food and shelter. Three Chinook helicopters, lent by the British Department for International Development, have just completed an aid drop of 165 metric tonnes per day, involving the expertise of 90 RAF crew.
This article from Relief Web describes the methods used.
On the ground, relief workers are helping desperate local people prepare for a winter that could deliver 1-4 metres of snow and temperatures of -10C to -15C, with impassable roads.
Simon Roughneed, who works for Dublin-based humanitarian organisation GOAL, describes the urgent work being done despite under-funding, in this report for Reuters AlertNet.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 24-11-05 15:30; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I wonder why there was such a good response to the Tsunami and such a bad one to this dreadful earthquake. The needs of the people here are surely even greater?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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easiski, I suspect more people, snowHeads excepted, can relate to lying on a tropical beach than life in remote mountains.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Despite the above efforts, the huge scale of the disaster and threat to those still alive and exposed to the snow and cold remains real.
This report from The Independent is headlined "Pakistan earthquake: A tragedy the world forgot"
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hopefully this cold weather will highlight the inconvenience of living in unheated tents in sub zero temperatures. It needs to be back in the media spotlight.
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When the Pakistani President refused the help of Indian helicopters on Day 1 I think he did his people a great disservice and perhaps turned off potential donors / helpers. Did the Pakistani army and construction industry really mobilise every bit of earthmoving equipment in the country to open up access to the remote regions? Somehow, and sadly, I fear not. Looks better on TV to hold fancy donor conferences and get pledges of > 5 Billion in grants and soft loans.
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kuwait_ian, I was speaking to somone last week who'd been out in Pakistan helpin with the relief efforts, from what he said I got the impression that he thought they were using every piece of equipment they could, unfortunately they don't have all that much equipment especially in the countryside and they were having real problems prioritising where to send it, e.g did they leave it in the cities to help remove the concrete structures and recover the dead to stop disease or send it down poorly maintained and severely damaged roads to help in outlying villages where in many cases they don't have fuel. Bear in mind that much of the construction in the villages and almost all in the mountains is traditionally done by manual labour as they cannot afford heavy machinery
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