Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Multan (Agenzia Fides) – The mission of the Camillian Task Force (CTF) in Pakistan continues (see Fides 14/10/2010). Mustaq Anjum, a Pakistani-born member of the Order, currently on a mission on behalf of the CTF, has sent Fides an account of his recent visit to a Hindu-dominated community. "A few days ago - says Mustaq – in the company of Fr. Aris Miranda, MI and a member of the local Caritas, we stopped in several IDP camps in the city of Muzaffar Garh, in the Diocese of Multan. We have seen many people, especially women and children, in the camps made by tarpaulins. The day was very hot, with dust being blown about everywhere by the wind. As we approached to collect photographic evidence, the people began running toward us. All of them have lost their homes.
I was approached by a woman, a mother of five children, the eldest of whom was only 10 years old. She is a widow. All I can see is despair in her eyes. I followed her into the tent. There is nothing inside. No food or supplies, no clothing or even tools. Nothing! Only a piece of fabric, a sack they are sitting on. This is just one of the thousands of victims!
We continue our journey and arrive at Kot Addu, Muzzafargarh. The Hindu community is composed of 35/40 families. They had been alerted the night when the flood occurred. They abandoned their homes around midnight. When we arrived, the men gathered around us. When asked whether they received aid from the government or Muslim groups, the answer is a resounding "no." They are Hindus! They have not even received any certificate to withdraw their food rations, while their Muslim neighbors receive aid. Their children are discriminated against in school; the highest grade they are allowed to reach is the second year of high school. For the rest, only primary school or even illiteracy. Sometimes they have succeeded in reaching a medical station, but at best they have received the prescriptions but no treatment.
They complain that their children are suffering from gastroenteritis, malaria, fevers... Meanwhile, the harvest of sugar cane, cotton, and rice has been lost. They still have to pay their debts. The only aid received are from Christian groups: Caritas and other organizations. The impending arrival of winter scares them: they have no warm clothes. And even the next harvest season is cause for concern: the earth is not plowed and there is no money for fertilizers. Meanwhile, they began to rebuild their homes, collecting bricks here and there." (AP) (Agenzia Fides 19/10/2010)
