*** Sorry for the long post, just really passionate about and interested in this issue ***
People lined up to receive water relief aids in Pakistan.
When Kai touched on the time people in Vancouver were urged to boil water today, I immediately thought of Pakistan - my parent’s home country. As a child and now, whenever my family would meet someone who had just returned from visiting Pakistan, the topic of boiling water was always brought up. But why and how do the people of Pakistan boil water?
A close relative of mine lives in Tennessee, but has property in Pakistan. I remember her mentioning once that when she visits Pakistan she would have her house staff (the norm in Pakistan) take enormous pots, fill them with water, boil the water and then transfer it into jugs and individual bottles that are stored in the fridge for daily use. I always wondered why people in Pakistan would put themselves in such trouble just for water (I was a child and did not know about the sanitation problems back then).
Well it all boils down to poor water sanitation. Poor water sanitation exists all over Pakistan. You would think that perhaps it’s just a problem faced by rural communities, but it’s widespread. Water in Pakistan is filled with pollutants including fecal matter, microbes, toxins, harmful drugs and factorial and household waste (a lot of factory waste!!). There are several reasons for this water crisis, with the most predominant being changes in yearly rainfall due to climate change, poor development of water structures and political structures. According to an article written in 2020, almost three million people suffer from water-borne diseases in Pakistan with the most predominant being Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Cholera. This same article also states that nearly 250,000 children in Pakistan die of waterborne illnesses
Personally, based on discussions I’ve had with family and friends living in Pakistan, I believe that the biggest initiator of the water crisis is the Pakistani government. I’m resisting the urge to go into detail about the corrupt government and prime minister of Pakistan! Essentially, the Pakistani’s government’s vision does not at all consider the most vulnerable members of the population - families living in poverty, specifically mothers and children living in poverty. The healthcare system in Pakistan is mostly private and public health resources are scarce. For instance, if a mother is trying to seek care for her sick child, hospitals and clinics will not start a file or even admit the child until a large sum of money is paid. Let’s say a child is admitted and the doctors diagnose the child with cancer and recommend chemotherapy. Even if the child is in a severe state, they will not start the chemotherapy until they receive a large, sometimes unjust amount of money. To me, that’s just inhumane!
Regardless of the intensity of the crisis, I still envision a Pakistan where there is equality and inclusion in the healthcare system. In this context, it means that when a poverty-stricken family visits a clinic, they are given the same care and respect as someone who belongs to a higher social class. I also envision a Pakistan where not only the residents, but the government take action on climate change and address the water crisis. For this to happen, the health and well-being of Pakistani people needs to be prioritized and put first above all other matters.
A possible intervention for Pakistan and any other country that is in a similar position would be to make structural changes in the federal government. Under the current Prime Minister (Shehbaz Sharif), there are 43 Ministers with only 10 belonging to the social-democratic and center-left party. With reform, Pakistan can form a diverse government that illustrates the inclusion of ethnic minorities and individuals that come from various backgrounds. This way we could perhaps have someone who grew up in poverty represent important values in public policy development and work towards action.
Phenomenal writeup on a complex issue to tackle. Government corruption can be almost impossible to overcome in the short-term, but the facts you present show that a complete overhaul of the system may be necessary for the people of Pakistan to receive the clean water they need. I thought you also did a great job of connecting two topics we discussed in class, with your write up touching not only on the water crisis but also on the marginalization of people and the necessity for diverse voices as we navigate the effects of climate change.
Government reform and corruption are difficult tasks to address in the short term. In the meantime, we should applaud the efforts of NGOs that provide aid and assistance to those who are marginalized and affected by poverty, all around the world.
Hi, Shanzeh. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We know that many undeveloped countries still have outdated facilities and can not provide fresh and clean water to citizens. The water crisis causes the severe disease to the local people and has a vast destructive impact! The government should not be greedy for money. People should be treated equally and inclusively.
Hi Shanzeh Chaudhry, your post is super insightful and heartbreaking, but unless we have open and hard conversations like this change will never ensue. Humans live with this luxury of contribution. Since somebody else knows how to make my phone and how it works, I don’t need to bother myself with its logistics and can just use it in a way that contributes in some other vertical. This thinking applies to just about everything in society. We don’t have to undergo trial and error ourselves, we can look to the failure of others and learn from them. The water crisis falls victim to these very shortcomings of society. It shouldn’t take one society to fall in order to institute actionable, and preventative change by passing on the responsibility to someone else. Your intervention is important, exercising our right to vote and elect regional and federal representatives that align with our values and vote them into office such that rectifying initiatives can mobilize top-down.
Thank you so much for this post! There is so much insight as well as time and effort that I can tell went into this post. I seriously felt like I was reading a news article in regards to how well set up this post is. The background information, the statistics, the personal experience and linkage to what we are covering in lecture had me extremely engaged. I am super grateful you shared this post with us, as it is something i am somewhat unfamiliar with. You have not only inspired me but i am sure many others to follow up with the contaminated water crisis tanking place in Pakistan.
Fantastic discussion post, Shanzeh! I think you admirably combine novel information, personal experience, and course material. I like the pun about it "all boil[ing] down to poor water sanitation". The statistic that a quarter million children in Pakistan die of waterborne illnesses every year is shocking and heartbreaking, especially after the stark contrast of pristine water sanitation in Vancouver.