earthquake in pakistan/DG members ok?

pebble
How are you, please inform us about the situation....... we all are praying for you.
Many miracles are observed, 18 months old baby rescued after seven days, 17 years old girl after 8 days and 11 year old boy after 9 days.
Kaleem

Kaleem, so glad to hear of these miracles. I'm praying there will be many more still to come. Have you heard from any of your friends? Pebble, we're praying for your safety, also.

Oh, no, Turkey, too? Praying!

I received call from these friends they are okay and thier families are also. Only Amjid is affected badly, his one year old son is died and mother, father , brothers and sister of his DW are also died, fourteen members of his LAWS are died. This is very bad and sad news for me.
Saleem
Amjid
Tariq
Shahzaad.
Following are still missing.
Mazhar
Younis
I am praying for them.
Today morning earth quake hit twice. Intensity was 5.6 and 5.1
Kaleem

Ohhh, so sorry about Amjid's son and the family of his wife. I'm praying with you for your missing friends.

Kaleem, I'm praying for you this morning for the loss of your friends and also for their families. May the God of hope be with all of you, and may you feel the love and compassion of your many friends that are here at DG praying for your country. Blessings ... Elaine

Kaleem,

I am so sorry for the losses Amjid and his family have suffered; especially the loss of his son. My prayers are with Amjid, and also with you.

Jody

Oh, Kaleem. I am so sorry for Amjid and his wife. This is terrible news and adds to your grief. To lose a child is the most horrible thing I can imagine. I hope you hear from more of your friends soon.
More aftershocks? This, too, is terrible news.
I am trying to keep up with the news from Pakistan by reading newspapers from that part of the world in English. Is there any particular one you know to be accurate?

I am also praying for your country and all those affected.

Peoples of the affected area are much better now,
I never saw this before in my life.......people of all the world send food and money for the affected peoples .
If we respect others round the year , helps others and understand others round the clock then this world will be the most beautiful place for living. After this incident every one is willing to help the victims.
You all cannot belive how much we all are thankful of all the peoples of the world who took part to rebuild us again.
This world is so beautiful, if we all think same for others. DG is the best , not for trading only also sharing the souls of others. Also teaching us to work for the peace.
Kaleem

Your post brought tears to my eyes, Kaleem. I wish that everyone would realize that there are good people in every nation on this earth. Our love goes out to you.

Kaleem, I'm in tears right now reading your post. All we need is to understand that we are all one big human family. Some day that will happen. Keeping you, your friends and the rest in my thoughts.
All we need is love... like the John Lennon song.

Kaleem - I'm new to this forum - but have been following this thread. Your post was so impactful - you are so right. It brought tears to my eyes also. My thoughts and prayers for you and those affected join those of everyone else on this thread. Karen

Kaleem
I remember a song I was taught when I was about 13 or 14. The words are even more true now than ever before. I don't remember who wrote this song, maybe someone else on this forum will remember it:

Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father,
brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brothers
in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me,
this is the moment now.
With every step I take,
let this be my solemn vow,
To take each moment and live each moment
in peace, eternally.
Let there be Peace on Earth,
and let it begin with me.


I don't remember where I learned this song, but I think it was in school. I wonder if they are teaching this song in school now? If not, they should be.

that song rings a belll, but i cant exactly place it, love it though!

you know they couldn't teach THAT in school in our country any longer, maybe some day... :-(

Hugs to you ... Caleem. Still here praying. Elaine

Kaleem, Yasir, Pebble, you are all in our hearts and minds and we continue to send out our best wishes and heartfelt concerns to you and your countrymen. Has anyone heard from Pebble? Still no word by d-mail since latest quake in Turkey. debi

Pixydish - I also learned that song many years ago at school and it continues to be one of my favorites. At church, often when we sing it we all stand in a huge circle and hold hands with those standing next to us as we sing it.

This is so beautiful and heart loving poem, If we remember this and do the same in our daily life then there will be no need of Heaven because this world will be a Heaven and no body will wish for the other.
Any news from Pebble?

I cannot find any news of the earthquakes in Turkey. Does anyone have a link to any news report? CNN reported the after shocks in Pakistan, but did not report damage. Here is a link to an English language newspaper form Pakistan:
www.dawn.com
Kaleem, do you know if this newspaper has accurate reporting? They are sponsoring some villages that were destroyed in the earthquake and are gathering together teams of people to go in an rebuild them. This is excellent!

Hello guys, thanks for your concern. Kaleem, i was sad to read about Amjid's son and inlaws. My heart goes out to you.
There have been earthquakes here on the west coast, but mostly in Izmir. And oddly enough, we had to go up there. This is what happend.
my MIL was visiting me, but then my DH took her home on friday morning, and Saturday SBARR came to visit me. Sbarr from Ireland, she is a member here.
Anyway, then the earthquakes started, my sister and brother in law live in a high rise as do most people in the cities, and my mil was staying with them, because she had caught a cold or something. I think she got confused and didnt take her blood pressure medication. anyway, so the earthquakes were nerve wrecking, as the buildings sway quite a bit, they were 5.9 in magnitude, which isnt much unless you are ina highrise and then there is a lot of swaying. anyway, they deided to evacuate to cesme, another resort town wheere they have a summer house. as they were leaving, MIL passed out, so they bundled her into the car and took her to hospital in cesme (about 1 hour away from izmir) then they called us and said she was very bad of. so we left bodrum and came to cesme, in the meantime I had to leave SBARR at home, but she had planned on taking a 2 day trip to ephesus and pamukkal. then MIL was released from the hospital and went to the summer house. so we stayed in Cesme. We had to go buy blankets and clothes cause it was colder there. then yesterday we brought her back to izmir, and as we were in izmir, there were tremors, but we decided that we would stay there anyway.
So then, we had a doctor come out and look at MIL and he said she is fine. so then we drove back to bodrum. (3-1/2 hour drve)
so thats why i havent been on line to see whats going on.

but, anyway, we are fine. the earthquakes here are just scary, i ont think any major damage so far.

thanks for your concern, it is a good feeling to know that miles away, people are thinking of us.

great news that pebble is safe. i got a d-mail this morning and now pebble has checked in here. continued good thoughts going out to all. debi

At last ... good news! Pebble, so glad to know you're safe. Caleem, I'm still praying for you and your country. Blessings ... Elaine

My heart is so sad for everyone there. Such a terrible loss, and there will be many more months of recovery and sadness. The emotional toll is not something that shows on the outside or on the news.

Diane

Great news that Pebble and her country are fine! Diane, it's so true that the emotional toll from the earthquakes in Pakistan will be dramatic. It is heartwarming to know that so many countries are helping in the recovery.

Nice to see you Pebbel.
Yes Dawn is most athentic and popular news paper inm the Pakistan, Elder brother of my friend is reporter of Dawn from Muzafarbad, and here is a cutting of an article pblished in Dawn by Tariq Naqash.
MUZAFFARABAD: “SAVE me, Abbu, Ammi. Please help me come out.” As long as I am alive, these painful words uttered by Umair Maqbool, the brilliant 18-year-old son of my maternal uncle, will continue to haunt me. Umair was shouting from beneath the huge concrete mass of his house that had collapsed moments after the earthquake struck Muzaffarabad and adjoining areas on Oct 8.

Umair was not alone; his elder brother Junaid was also trapped in an adjacent room. On top of the rubble were my uncle and aunt, who were shouting for help which was nowhere in sight. With a small pickaxe, the couple started to dig.

Back in my neighbourhood — Madina Market — the scene was not different. I was in my bedroom on the third floor of my two- marla house when an unusually horrible sound awoke me from deep sleep. I saw my airconditioner had fallen out; the ceiling fan was swinging wildly and the walls creaking.

While I was debating about whether to go out or remain indoors, my younger brother, Asif, came upstairs, shouting that I should leave the room instantly. I went down to the living room on the second floor where my mother, my younger sister and our six-year old nephew were huddled together. Suddenly, there was a big bang. A house on our right collapsed, burying several pedestrians. We decided that we should stay inside.

As the severity of the jolts subsided, we decided to go out. But another problem awaited us on the first floor where my youngest brother Zeeshan was locked inside the sitting room as the doors had jammed. Frustrated, we started hitting the door, and it swung open after five or six kicks. We went out on the street only to see the sprawling commercial hub of the AJK metropolis reduced to nothing. Every building on both sides of the street had crashed. Our house did not collapse, but wide cracks had developed in it.

The whole market, from one end to the other, echoed with painful screams and moans. A young neighbour of mine was lying dead in a pool of blood, crushed by a concrete slab. Another neighbour stood with bleeding wounds. He was in bed when the quake struck, pulling down the house, but miraculously he fell on the road with his 14-month old daughter tightly held in his arms. However, he could not save his wife who was hit by a big concrete slab. His mother was missing and there was no clue as to where she had disappeared under the rubble. Another neighbour’s elder son was recovered alive after seven hours, but a younger one who had returned from Srinagar by the trans-LoC bus only two days ago could not be traced for the next four days.

Our house had tilted to the right. It was the house which we had constructed six years ago by pooling all our savings. Homelessness which had haunted my late father for several years after his migration to this part of Kashmir from Srinagar in 1956 seemed to be our lot again.

But our personal trauma paled into insignificance after watching the magnitude of losses suffered by other residents of the town. After taking my family to an open field, we brothers rushed to our uncle’s house to check if everything was all right there. We heard Umair’s shouts, but could do nothing to help. Another nephew who was rescued with his left foot crushed and profusely bleeding. We removed him to the Combined Military Hospital which itself was devastated. There was no doctor. Some paramedics were present but they were unable to cope with the complex injuries. Medicines were also missing. We took him to the army stadium at around 4 pm in an official four-wheeler which was forcibly stopped. However, the army stadium also presented chaotic scenes as it lacked qualified doctors.

Back at his devastated house, hopes of recovering his brother Umair alive had faded, and as darkness spread amid aftershocks, his parents were also taken to the open field. The nephew’s body was retrieved the following morning after some labourers were hired by his father. There were tens of hundreds of such cases in every nook and corner of the town. Take, for instance, Tufail Ganai, studying aeronautical engineering at the PAF academy. He had arrived home for a day, but met the fate of my nephew. A brother of five sisters, Ganai had remained alive for 24 hours and, when all hope of getting out had vanished, he had asked his family to leave the area for their own safety.

On the first day of the tragedy, as I moved around in the old city, everyone who knew I was a journalist rushed towards me asking why the army had not come to their rescue. I had no answer to the questions. However, two days later, the army rose to the situation and launched a relief and rescue drive on a massive scale, which was continuing when these lines were written.

In those hours of grief and agony, one thing which evoked every Muzaffarabad resident’s wrath was the poor telecommunication system thrust upon the people of the region by the Pakistan Army’s subsidiary, the Special Communications Organization (SCO) against their will. The utility’s mobile phone network, SCOM, which has a coverage of only five kilometres in Muzaffarabad, failed to provide any relief to the quake-stricken families whose relatives and well-wishers across the world were desperate to learn of their welfare. Since most people had to leave their houses, the only option available was mobile phones, but these worked erratically. The service lacks SMS facility. Had the government allowed multinational mobile phone companies operating in Pakistan to launch their services in this part of Kashmir as well, at least this problem could have been averted.

Kaleem

Whew... makes my heart ache. So sorry, Kaleem.

This is a story of one family whose no body die but there are lots of famililes who are finished and hundereds are those who lost their family members. Every home have his own gravyard, every one is victim. You can count on fingers the families saved completely.
Kaleem

Oh, Kaleem, I am so sorry for your people.

Diane

Kaleem, there are just no words for this kind of grief. It is so hard to really imagine this. It is just overwhelming to read this and know that it is true.

I just heard that a mule train made it into a very remote area to help 200 people and that they went crazy & were fighting each other for the supplies. They've had nothing for two weeks. I feel so bad for them. Some people are going to start dying from the elements that survived the initial damage.

My prayers are for you, your family and town.
Marietta

I pray everyday for people all over this earth who are hurting and in pain. May you find peace and comfort knowing that you have friends that care. Blessings ... Elaine

Kaleem, thank you so much for keeping us posted.
I had trouble reading it out loud to my husband from all the tears.

clear water runs from some taps, barbers are sharpening their razors and shops are reopening their doors. Slowly, the stench of death is clearing from quake-ravaged Muzaffarabad.

Soldiers are now concerning themselves with controlling traffic in this Kashmiri city as the military lends a hand to the decimated police force.

Although aid workers are still struggling to reach cold and hungry survivors in far-flung villages of the Himalayas, people are trying to return life to normal in Muzaffarabad, the worst-hit city in the October 8 earthquake which killed some 50,000 people.

Electricity has been restored to 90 percent of normal service, according to local authorities.

The water treatment plant is running at 70 percent and, in the few hours it operates each day, covers 70 percent of the city, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Cranes are removing the grim sight of mounds of rubble, and the odour of decomposing bodies is gradually dissipating.

Earlier this week, the central post office reopened. With 30 out of 165 workers back on the job plus reinforcements from elsewhere in Pakistan, the post office is again handing out letters, parcels and money transfers.

"The head postmaster said we should return to work because people are suffering and need to receive money from their loved ones," said 25-year-old employee Faisal Idris.

But it's not an easy task, not only because the post office itself is badly damaged and clearly unsafe.

"When the mailmen go to distribute the letters they only find 20 percent of the intended recipients. Lots of them are dead and others have left town," Idris said.

Telephone call centres have opened up and cellphone operators are restoring service.

Small businesses have returned, and ramshackle shops sell fruits and vegetables and even sweet pastries.

One storekeeper, 38-year-old Khawaja Riaz was able to keep his stocks of rice, sugar, cooking oil and cigarettes intact. He opens for business just a few hours a day, to earn a few rupees but also as a welcome distraction.

"I lost six people in my family. Living in a tent is a pain. Coming here helps me forget about things," he said.

A few barbers have taken up their razors and scissors once again, although poor hygiene remains a concern.

In Mohammed Misken's recently opened barber shop, six customers are in line and, inevitably, the earthquake is on their minds.

"People only talk about this but sometimes we also laugh," said Mohammed Zahir, a 35-year-old worker, who hoped a haircut would make him feel better. "This puts me at ease."

The long waits are also getting shorter at gas stations, which right after the quake had nothing to offer from their pumps.

Ahmed Mustafa, 27, found it difficult to reopen the gas station owned by his father, who died in the earthquake along with 13 other family members who were buried in their home.

"It's tough but we have to forget about it. It's happened to everyone," he said. "It's a great tragedy but 12 days have passed.

They're dead and we can't do anything for them. We have to try to focus on the future."

yes, try to focus on the future, while not forgetting your passed loved ones. so hard. reminds me of the phrase, "let the dead bury the dead"

thank you for letting us know all of this Kaleem. i know it has not been easy for you either...

tf

IT's wonderful news that life is slowly returning to as much normalcy as possible. Thank you for sharing this, Kaleem.

Kaleem, thank you for passing on the feelings of some of the people. It is so sad to hear about all the tragedies happening lately. There are so many brave people out there.

Thanks for sharing this, Caleem. While I was reading this, I couldn't help but see the similarities between your country and mine. People suffering, losing their homes, their loved ones ... but most of all learning to cope, but still having hope for a new tomorrow ... and knowing that others care. I'm still here praying for everyone ... no matter what country ... no matter what disaster. Blessings ... Elaine