The Hindu : National : Who will take care of the quake-hit children?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 16, 2005

National

National

Who will take care of the quake-hit children?

By Luv Puri

SRINAGAR: If things had been normal, six-year-old Majaz Khan with his wounds would have returned to his home with his parents. He along with his eight-year-old brother, Bilal Khan, got separated from their parents when they were rescued from Tangdhar range on October 9, a day after the earthquake.

The story of Mumtaz, 14, from the Dragad, Tangdhar, is even more touching. He escaped the tragedy as he was working on the fields when the quake struck. Mumtaz, the eldest of six siblings including a disabled sister, takes care of his family of children as his parents were killed some years back. Mumtaz worked as a daily wage labourer, ran the small family farm to make ends meet. Mumtaz is a dropout and is the lone source of income of the siblings. As there are no parents he takes most of important decisions of the family. "I am worried about my siblings who are presently at home as they are completely dependent on me," he says.

In the tragedy the boy was airlifted along with his sister, seven-year-old Rubeena who is admitted in the surgery ward of Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical sciences, where the doctors amputated her right hand after it began rotting. There is five-year-old Zafar whose father was killed in the quake and his mother is blind.

A full academic year would be wasted for thousands of children in the quake devastated areas. As both Uri and Tangdhar belong to the winter zone, the final examinations are held in the last week of October.

The crucial State Board examination for 10th and 12th normally starts in the last week of October. Already eight class board examinations of students of quake devastated areas has been postponed.

The real worry would be the future of class 12th students. Ashraf Hamid, 12th student of Uri town, says: "I was preparing for board examinations. I have no clue what would happen to my future." It seems when the first challenge is the immediate survival of life, the education of students of economically backward hilly areas would take a backseat.

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