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UNHCR boosts winterisation campaign in relief camps
21 December 2005
ISLAMABAD, December 21 (UNHCR) – In the continuing battle against the cold in
northern Pakistan’s quake zone, the UN refugee agency is stepping up its
winterization campaign in relief camps by starting a new round of blanket
distribution and exploring ways to keep quake survivors warm while minimising
the risk of tent fires.
On Monday, UNHCR staff started the third round of distribution to camps in
Mansehra and Muzaffarabad to supplement earlier dispatches of aid. “We’re
providing each person with three blankets, and each tent with four mattresses,
two plastic sheets and one stove,” said UNHCR’s emergency coordinator for
earthquake relief in Pakistan, Indrika Ratwatte. “Many relief items have already
been distributed in the last few weeks, and this latest round of distribution is
to fill gaps to make sure everyone receives the full package needed to help them
cope with winter.”
The blankets and mattresses provide personal insulation, while the plastic
sheets are used to cover the tents’ roof and ground for additional warmth.
Muslim Hands camp in Mansehra on Monday received 3,741 blankets and 734
mattresses, while four camps in Muzaffarabad received 7,550 blankets and 570
plastic sheets. In total, UNHCR will distribute more than 77,000 plastic sheets,
250,000 blankets and 29,000 stoves in this round of distribution.
The issue of heating stoves is a sensitive one, with fears of fires starting in
tents. To address this challenge, UNHCR is tapping on the expertise of Afghan
refugees who survived their first winters in Pakistan under similar conditions.
“When I first arrived in 1979, I lived in a tent and had to find a way to keep
warm in the winter,” said Abdul Munaf, a refugee from Afghanistan’s Laghman
province. “Stoves were not safe because the tent could easily catch fire. So my
friends and I built a mud brick structure inside the tent and placed the stove
under it, keeping the flames away from the tent’s walls. There’s also an outlet
for the smoke.”
Abdul now lives in a mud house in Mansehra’s Barary camp, and has no need for a
firewall. But he is still building them, travelling from camp to camp to
demonstrate to earthquake survivors how they, too, can keep warm in tents while
minimizing the risk of fire.
These “model” tents, which are pitched in a pit about 2 feet deep to stay close
to the earth’s warmth, are currently being discussed with the Pakistan army that
is running many of the relief camps. As an added precaution, the military has
placed several fire stops in each camp with fire safety tips, fire extinguishers
and pails filled with sand.
As lead agency of the camp management cluster, the UN refugee agency is
providing material and technical support to the Pakistan authorities and
non-government organisations in 36 planned camps. The agency is also improving
living conditions in an increasing number of self-settled camps by sending its
technical mobile teams to build latrines, communal kitchens and other
infrastructure to provide basic services in these camps.
Media Contact: Vivian Tan, Mobile: 0300 500 1133
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