For survivors, it seemed a major challenge to return to their
normal lives so soon after the disaster, but continuous efforts by
the government and humanitarian agencies have made possible for
most people to overcome harsh weather conditions and inhospitable
terrain to return home, start rebuilding their homes and resume
their livelihoods.



In the Muzaffarabad district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir more
than hundred families who migrated to the eastern province of
Punjab immediately after the earthquake returned to Khanian village
in the Neelum Valley at the end of July 2006.



IOM helped them to leave the town of Fateh Jang in Punjab and
return the 150 kilometres to Khanian. It provided medical screening
and transport first to Chattar Kalas camp, on the outskirts of
Muzaffarabad city, and then on to the village in the Neelum Valley.




“It was very difficult to take care of my kids in the camp,
where we had to live for nearly a year. I am happy that I have
returned to my village and I have built a temporary shelter for my
family. My children are going to school and I have started to work
as a tailor again,” says Younas Khan Awan, whose family
returned home with IOM.



Younas, who had tailoring business in Karachi and then in Lahore
before the earthquake, had to leave his job and rush home to help
his family in Khanian after the quake. His father, who was looking
after his family in his absence, died in the disaster. His wife and
five children survived, but sustained minor injuries.



“I have a feeling of great satisfaction that I am living in
my village again, where my father and forefathers are buried.
It’s now almost seven months since I returned to the village
and I am getting enough work here to support my family,” says
Younas.



Besides providing transport assistance to returnees last year,
IOM’s Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), funded by American
International Group Disaster Relief Fund (AIG DRF), also provided
medical and evacuation assistance to Khanian villagers suffering
serious cases of diarrhoea and pneumonia during the winter, saving
several lives.



Younas’s five children were among 90 children screened and
given medication during the health scare. Seven severe cases were
moved to the AIMS Hospital in Muzaffarabad.



The RRTs also distributed blankets, warm clothing and hygiene kits
donated by UNICEF to families in the village.



In Khanian, most of the village’s 500 families are now living
in shelters made from corrugated tin sheet (CGI). Many have started
building permanent houses using a first compensation payment from
the government to buy concrete and steel reinforcement wire for the
outer walls.



But transporting the materials to the village is expensive.
“It costs Rs 3,000 per vehicle to move any construction
material to this village, which is 15 kilometres from Muzaffarabad.
How can we afford enough construction materials if we have to pay
half the compensation money for transportation?” asks Younas.




“If it is like this for us, living a few kilometres away from
a main urban area, what can it be like for people in remote
villages which are only accessible by mule train? They must be
paying twice as much,” he observes.



Often described as “a logistical nightmare”, the
cracked, mountainous landscape of the earthquake zone is subject to
severe, Himalayan winter weather including snow and heavy rain,
resulting in landslides and blocked roads.



But over time, the continuous efforts of the government and the
humanitarian community to help families affected by the worst
natural disaster in Pakistan’s history, seem to be paying
off. Life in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and North West Frontier
Province seems to be gradually returning to normal.