Case Study 16: Fear and Mystery in Young Eyes

A young girl who survived the October 8 earthquake is now living in a "tent city" supported by CWS/ACT outside the devastated town of Balakot. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT-CWS

Name: Fariza Rubbani
Place: CWS Tent Village Shohal Najaf

Walking through the lanes within the CWS tent village in Shohal Najaf, one of the female CWS team members came across a beautiful girl who was busy washing dishes. Her eyes were deep and she looked very mysterious. She wasn’t feeling comfortable at all and didn’t communicate a single word with the CWS team member. Walking away from the girl, the team member bumped into another girl, Fariza Rubbani, who was carrying her school bag and was returning to her tent, her temporary home.

CWS in collaboration with UNICEF has also initiated a school within the tent village where children are provided with school bags and books.

Fariza seemed very happy and willingly to talk and quickly asked, "How are you? Where are you from?" Upon being asked, she told the CWS team member that she had been living in the tent along with eight family members for more than a month. Her home was way back in Jaril, in the beautiful Kaghan Valley.

Fariza’s father had gone further up to the Northern Areas in search of livelihood. After the earthquake, he came back to search for his family only to discover his second wife, a son, and a daughter had lost their lives in the overwhelming earthquake. He brought the rest of his family down to the tent village via a helicopter and when he was satisfied with the facilities provided there, he went back to his work in the Northern Areas.

Turning towards her beautiful little sister, Fariza said that she doesn’t talk very much any more. The younger sibling was extremely attached to the sister who had lost her life, and she had not recovered from the trauma. She wasn't going to school and was simply staying at home to do household chores.

Fariza seemed to adjust much better than her sibling. She said that she regularly goes to school and is in the 3rd grade. She loves the teachers and the children who are in the school. She has made many new friends. The only thing that scares Fariza is that she might have to move again and start a new process once their home is rebuilt.

This is just one story of two little girls, but there are many more similar stories that are hidden. Some of these innocent children may never be able to recover from the trauma caused by the devastation that they have witnessed. However, there are others that are already prepared to face the future with hope. CWS is working to help preserve their innocence and recover from the trauma they have experienced.

Church World Service is working to provide shelter kits (family-sized tent, ground sheet, plastic sheet, two iron poles, and four blankets), as well as family food packages, to 20,000 of the worst-affected families.

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