Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce vice-president Nasir Awan was reduced to tears when he returned to his homeland to see the devastating impact of flooding that brought a living nightmare to Pakistan.
As chair of Islamic Relief Pakistan – one of 40 overseas arms of the Birmingham-based aid charity - Nasir made two emotionally-charged visits to view at first hand the terrible aftermath of monsoons which left a third of the country underwater, killing nearly 3,000, including more than 640 children.
He said: “I would phone my wife and she would say ‘how was your day’ and I would burst into tears. It was very emotionally draining. I saw two or three families sharing a tent with little access to clean drinking water. I saw some children aged six with no shoes, very little clothing on their backs living in very unhygienic conditions.
“I have grandchildren of that age and I could see my own grandchildren in their faces. It really upset me. These are people’s children and grandchildren and they clearly have no future – they are just relying on aid.”
The Birmingham businessman and boss of wholesalers Awan Marketing was able to see the attempts to help families left with little more than their clothes after torrential downpours last June turned daily existence into a living nightmare for around 33 million people.
He said: “Something like eight or nine months of rain fell in a matter of hours. The UN described it as a climate catastrophe. The floods happened at the peak of summer. It was unprecedented. This was an extended monsoon that had never happened before.
“The waters were of such force, a lot of houses made of coarse materials like mud and clay were just washed away. The vast majority of people affected managed to escape but went, just with their clothes on their backs, to higher ground. But they were out in the open, at the mercy of the elements. They were facing extreme temperatures of 50 degrees and the water was not drinkable.
“The people had food and water shortages and shelter shortages. The people in the areas affected would grow their own food so they would never have issues with food. But all the crops were washed away and many of the fields were still underwater, so they couldn’t grow anything.
“They were just relying on food parcels delivered by aid agencies, such as Islamic Relief. The Army were dropping food parcels and clean water to them by helicopter because some areas were not accessible. They are still waiting for handouts or charity organisations to give them food.”
Nasir first visited the worst flood-hit regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north of the country last year before returning to the Middle East state earlier this year to view the flood-hit regions of Balochistan and Sindh in the south, paying on both occasions out of his own pocket.
Nasir, who was awarded an MBE for services to business and international trade in 2016, is planning to return to Pakistan in the autumn.
He is calling for concerted action on climate change in the wake of the floods: “If you think about the changes in climate and temperatures where you don’t have the facilities to make yourself comfortable or to cope with those drastic changes, these are real people affected and it is only then you realise the effect of climate change…you have got extreme weather all over the world.
“I came away with memories of seeing how helpless I am, or we are, as individuals. We cannot alleviate or help so many. At the same time we should not give up – if you can help a few, it is better than not helping any.”
