Lingering Floodwaters Create 'Humiliating' Conditions In Pakistan
The floodwaters that submerged nearly one-third of Pakistan last summer and killed more than 1,700 people have still not entirely receded, leaving many feeling abandoned in inadequate camps, The Guardian Reports. “There is no food or help. We have been given no blankets. We’re having a harsh winter, and have been living in camps without any facilities," Hawwa, who lives with her family on an embankment in Dadu, Sindh Province. "We are poor. We can’t afford to rent another home, otherwise we could have done it to leave this humiliating life.” Some have been able to return to their homes, but stagnant water still covers local cotton fields, and financial desperation has fueled an increase in crime in the area. “People don’t have money. Most of the area is dependent on farming, and people have lost their fields and agricultural crops so they can’t afford to make ends meet,” said local shopkeeper Mushtaq Ahmed. Pakistan, responsible for a proportionally negligible amount of historic climate pollution, has already endured blackouts due to skyrocketing methane gas prices and is to some extent at the mercy of European weather patterns, which could dramatically impact the cost of methane gas next summer.
(The Guardian; Gas prices: OilPrice)
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