Fareed Ahmed married 40+ and Nasima Bibi married 25+

This interview is not from my refugee campsite; it is from a UN/Oxfam run camp site about 5 miles North-West of our campsite, which is adjacent to the Neelum River and the Muzaffarabad bus depot.

Fareed Ahmed, He wasn't sure of his age like many people (40+), has a wife, 2 boys, and 4 girls.

"I was at home leaving my room when the quake shook us and I felt as if I was being pushed around like some little boy. I thought perhaps-that a strong storm was coming. I was thinking that-maybe I should run. My kids, were at school and me and my wife ran outside. [sighs]

(He was obviously showing distress not just because of the earthquake but because he was thinking about the moment of time when he had to decide between just saving his own skin and his families.)

I was outside [pause again] and then five minutes afterwards I ran to look for them, my kids. As I was going all I saw were rocks and dead bodies. All my kids were outside safe, masha'Allah (God's Will). Then I went back to my lawn and just sat down; I stayed there. My kids were scared and I tried calming them.

I want to resettle here because this is where I work and this is what I know."


Another interview from the same campsite: Nasima Bibi who also looked older than she claimed,this is a common characteristic of Kashmiri life. Their hardship manifests in their faces and hands. She has a husband, 2 girls and one son.

"All my kids were at home and I was cutting grass. The weather was pleasant. The quake started and I grabbed onto someone nearby I dont remember and I also grabbed onto some plants. Then I ran home, it took me 30 minutes or so and there, I saw my kids. It scared me to see them. They were bloody from head to toe..."

She couldnt finish the interview because she had to tend to her family but she obviously worked on some farm while the earthquake happened and then ran to her home.

Agriculture is the main form of income in Azad Jammu Kashmir as well as in the Northern Areas, in fact it is one of the only income streams for over 80% of all of Kashmiris in these areas. Economic development should be the first priority of the government of Pakistan and NGO's in these areas. Otherwise earthquakes or not, there lives will shatter by themselves. Low-income, low-literacy rates, low-health stats, and a marginalized-isolated life; this is the story of the Kashmiris.