We left Islamabad yesterday to travel to Ghari Dupatta. The bus was comfortable, the ride was not. The roads are extremely treacherous, particularly when we get into Azad Kashmir. We were riding along the Jhelum river through a few different provinces. The exciting part was when we came to a pass where three different regions of Pakistan. Behind us was Punjab, ahead of us was Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and across the river was Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). Azad Kashmir is the free part of the Jammu/Kashmir region that belongs to Pakistan. It is only a small portion of the entire Jammu/Kashmir region, most of which is disputed. Once we crossed over the river into AJK, the devastation due to the earthquake became apparent. Pieces of the road had broken off and fell into the river. Remnants of land slides were still on the road and driving through or over them was interesting, to say the least. The road we traveled on has the river on one side and the mountains on the other. One surprising thing was that there were some big buildings along the river-side of the road and were built on pillars which were still intact. However, there is an overwhelming fear amongst the people of buildings and using them as shelters. There is so much to experience and such colorful people who are merely trying to survive at this point.

As the journey continued, we experienced small towns that run on either side of the road and disappear as soon as they appear. Adults and children alike carry small baskets with pieces of coconut and roasted corn to sell to travelers passing through to make a living. Older women with disabilities approach cars to beg for change. One is almost forced to have a heavy heart and say no to beggars because if one beggar gets change, three others will also flock to you for handouts.

The next stop we made was in Muzzafarabad, the capital of AJK. We had lunch at a river-side hotel with was under reconstruction. Of the four-stories, most of the two bottom stories and the veranda overlooking the valley has broken away and fell into the river. It was an interesting experience to see this sort of construction effort compared to what I would see later on that day. As we arrived in Ghari Dupatta an hour later, we began to see a lot more piles of rubbles where buildings once stood. Across the valley, we began to see where people had established their homes across the steep slopes. We began to hear anecdotes of the relief efforts and what factors made this one of the tougher, if not the toughest relief efforts in civilized human history. International relief organizations, recon and medical teams from developed nations and the locals explain that due to the vastness of the region, lack of quick, real-time information, and the mountainous areas made this a very difficult area to provide relief to. However, the efficiency and quickness with which relief and supplies were distributed to the people is surpassed by none other. One American gentleman, who served as the chief of operations for Operation Heartbeat since October 16 th, commented that after his experiences in NYC after 9/11 and New Orleans after Katrina, the relief efforts in Pakistan were the best executed out of all these disasters. He is still working in this area and has started his own relief organization, CDRS, based out of Chikar, which is the next big town north of Ghari Dupatta along the only highway that runs through Jhelum valley towards Srinagar, India. Another example is the effort by Pakistani Army Engineers. They were able to clear the debris on the highway which was blocked due to landslides in three weeks when the estimated timeframe was seven weeks. Quickness in clearing the roadway proved to be instrumental in getting the required aid and supplies to the earthquake affected regions.

Ghari Dupatta, although a very small town of approx. 1300 people, became the base of operations for the relief efforts. Two factors that led to this decision were that this was the first town north of Muzzafarabad and the first one that supplies were delivered to and secondly, the largest open, flat area in AJK is in Ghari Dupatta where helicopters could land to deliver goods and pick up critical patients that needed to be airlifted to hospitals in Islamabad. Our base camp is right on the edge of this field. Chinooks have since left, now the children congregate there to play cricket, volleyball and soccer. Even though they are disconnected from the events at the World Cup, the enthusiasm with which the children play soccer is unwavering!

Our base camp has a building that has been transformed into a clinic and pharmacy. The staff members and volunteers live in tents around the compound. Although our accommodations are extremely basic, they are adequate and quite comfortable. My heart warms due to the hospitality with which the locals of AJK treat us guests and have opened their hearts and homes to accept us as one of them. There are anecdotes about their hospitality and my personal anecdotes that I will share the next time around. Cell phone networks are not very accessible here and the closest internet café is forty minutes away. I will try to post pictures and share some of my experiences with the locals soon!