Pakistan’s mountain tsunami

beatriz

Pakistan’s mountain tsunami
Maruf Khwaja
11 - 10 - 2005

“As usual, God is being unjustly blamed for tragedies that are the consequence in large part of human failure.” Maruf Khwaja weighs the balance of cosmic justice and earthly negligence revealed by the Kashmir earthquake.

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The human stain

It’s a wonder then, and a demonstration of the strength of their faith, that so many Muslims still retain their penchant for simple explanations of complex things. As one TV mullah said today: the will of God doesn’t need explaining.

But what does perhaps need explaining is the part played by human neglect, ignorance and corruption in this calamity. As usual, God is being unjustly blamed for tragedies that are the consequence in large part of human failure. Many informed observers close to the shattered ground believe that at least half of the deaths can be attributed to the collapse of houses constructed of inappropriate materials and in violation of planning rules and regulations – where they exist at all.

The qualification is needed. For in many parts of Pakistan, but especially in poorly governed areas like Azad “Free” (that is, Pakistan-controlled) Kashmir, planning laws barely exist, and where they do are rarely applied. Building inspectors are easily bought out by those determined to bend rules or circumvent them completely. Moreover, in mountainous areas prone to earthquakes, existing building regulations hardly ever take into account the instability of the land and the suitability of heavy building materials like steel and concrete lintels and slabs.

The level of ignorance about the susceptibility of this area to violent earthquakes, even in the higher echelons of government, is staggering.
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find this article at Opendemocracy: http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-india_pakistan/earthquake_2912.jsp