The Plight of Pakistan Continues

Crisis in Pakistan increases as millions remain homeless and unemployed as the possiblity of improvements in the near future continue looking grim.

The devastating floods that hit Pakistan three weeks ago have caused an economic catastrophe, damaging billions of dollars worth of farmland and infrastructure which could set back the country’s growth for years to come.

The floods in Pakistan are the worst humanitarian disaster in the country’s history, ravaging an area that is approximately the size of England according to an article in Yahoo! News. 

One of the flood victims, Morio Pahore, stated “Its like an unending path of misery.”  Pahore, who was once a homeowner and farmer of livestock and agriculture, spoke of his concerns from a tent off the side of a local highway.  This is just one of the millions of stories of people across the country who have lost everything and are now living in extreme poverty.

20% of Pakistan’s gross income is generated from Agriculture; fixing this problem within the next two years is going to be close to impossible.

The most damage done by the flooding has been on housing, roads, irrigation and agriculture that in turn could lead to more government borrowing.  This ultimately could be the cause of a crumbling economy for Pakistan.

As efforts of support for Pakistan are looking very grim, experts are urging the Pakistani Government to avoid a prolonged solution to the problem because of the fear of this tragedy causing extreme unemployment, which could cause social unrest and skyrocket the crime rate.  

For civilians who don’t find support almost immediately, they very well may become desperate enough to turn to crime to support themselves and their families.  The amount of people that could reach this alternative is in the millions.

2010 has provided some of the worst natural disasters one right after the other and is definitely making us all question the stability of our environment.  With the year only half way over, we can’t help but ask ourselves what will happen next?