The Hindu : International : Balm indeed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

International

International

Balm indeed

TEHERAN, DEC.30. A year ago, it was Bam in Iran that was in need, its homes and orchards flattened and thousands of people killed by an earthquake. Today, while still struggling to recover and rebuild, the survivors are thinking of others' tragedy.

``Some school kids came to me and asked how they could help people in Southeast Asia,'' said Zohreh Safa, a primary school teacher in the historic south-eastern city, who added she was surprised by the children's concern.

The people of Bam know what's ahead for Indonesians, Sri Lankans, Indians and others after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake — even larger than the devastating 6.6 quake that killed 26,000 in Bam on December 26, 2003 — set off a Tsunami that killed more than 100,000 people across Southeast Asia.

The rebuilding will be slow. Money promised won't always come through. Grief will linger and sometimes seem as crippling as the natural disaster. But Bam presents itself as proof of man's capacity to overcome.

Ali Jewshai, a local official, described most of the townspeople visiting the graves of relatives killed in the quake on Fridays, the Muslim Sabbath. Some take drugs in hopes of finding escape from their grief.

Still heartbroken

``The town is still heartbroken,'' Mr. Jewshai said.

An estimated 10,000 people in Bam, mostly women and the young, suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The government provides counselling.

Many of the estimated 5,000 children orphaned by the quake are depressed and fearful. Most are in government care.

``I lost my wife, two children and parents in the quake,'' said Ghasem Naroui, a farmer. ``But I reconstructed both my palm garden and house to tell the people they should resist problems.''

The government has managed to restore potable water, electricity, phone lines and other utilities.

Work on a 225-kilometre railroad connecting Bam to Kerman had been interrupted by the quake, but the link started operation last week. The rest of the railroad, to south Asia, is under construction, part of a plan to restore some of Bam's ancient significance — it was a major stop on the Silk Road in medieval times, located on routes to the Indian subcontinent to the east and the Persian Gulf to the south.

Government officials have complained that of the $1.1 billion in aid promised by foreign countries and organisations, only $17.5 million has been sent. Most of the $415 million spent so far on reconstruction has come from government coffers.

Abbas Esmaili, head of the Bam city council, advised survivors in southeast Asia to persevere, and offered condolences on behalf of the people of Bam.

Mr. Esmaili, who lost his mother, sister and brother in the Bam earthquake, added he was helping to organise a fund-raising drive for the Tsunami victims.

— AP

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