[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 149 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7874-H7879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEVASTATION IN PAKISTAN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this is a devastating time for the
people of Pakistan.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to share this with my colleagues and to ensure
that their story is in the public eye because it is a story that
addresses devastation like you have never seen before. I guess the
story that is so devastating is the 600,000 women who are on the verge
of giving birth in conditions that are so devastating.
The week of September 2, members of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus
made their way as quickly as they could to the rain-torn, flood-torn
region of Pakistan. We arrived on Sunday morning and immediately were
able to secure a transport into the flooded areas.
As the government indicated, this is not overflowing rivers, this is
sheer rain that generated into flooding. In the Sindh region,
Balochistan, the southwestern region--sheer rain turned into floods
that were unspeakable.
The water was unspeakable, it was of biblical proportion. The size
and the width and the depth was unspeakable. It was a monstrosity. We
took an aerial survey. You could not see land. It was only water as far
as the eye could see.
In fact, tragically and unfortunately, we could imagine that whole
communities were covered with water, that bodies are yet unfound. Even
though the death toll is upwards of 1200 to 1300, with one-third or
more of those being children. Can you imagine seeing the video of the
currents rushing and tearing children away from desperate parents'
hands or families being caught in the current and children being pulled
away by the rushing waters?
We saw, as was displayed by the government, whole buildings and
hotels coming down to the ground. There were 200 bridges destroyed and
water going through those bridges. We could, of course, see that it was
irreparable harm. Even as we were surveying we saw a bridge that was
breached, which divided people that were on that one little line of
bridge as their safety net because they were surrounded by water, and
then they were separated because the bridge broke in half because the
water was so powerful.
In the midst of that, we got a report that military forces had to
flood towns of 250,000 people. They had to flood towns so that a city
of 1.1 million people could survive. We landed in the city of Dadu, and
there are now 400,000 homeless people in Dadu. Overwhelmed. There are
600,000-plus homeless people in Pakistan.
I know that America is a Nation that has always extended its generous
arm. If there is ever a moment--as we have done around the world in
earthquakes--Pakistan's earthquake of 2005 and floods of 2010--as we
have done around the world when the nations around the world have
fallen upon disastrous times.
As a Member of Congress, I went into that horrific tsunami that
impacted Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, you could not recognize
those nations. The tsunami had come and taken out all of the coastal
land. People were drawn into the sea, and you never saw them again.
Houses were destroyed. The United States joined with the United Nations
and was there to help.
The United States has helped when there have been issues of national
health crisis, we have been there. We became the leading guardians of
fighting HIV/AIDS, particularly on the continent of Africa.
I do want to applaud the Biden administration on being the first
donor of the United Nation's call for help for Pakistan, $30 million.
Just as we were leaving--after we had petitioned the Federal
Government--they came with an extra $20 million.
More importantly, as I left to go to Pakistan, writing President
Biden about the issue of shelter and tents, the United States military
dropped or delivered 300,000 tents on Wednesday or Thursday of last
week to be delivered to homeless and helpless persons.
The Pakistani-American community have been outstanding, working with
consul generals across America and the Ambassador. They are now raising
funds, upwards of millions of dollars. But it is not enough.
First, Pakistan probably has $10 billion in damages and destruction,
but that number has been characterized as low because the water has not
been able to drain because there is no drainage. That means that that
water not being able to drain that damage will be caused and go on and
on and on. I am afraid of dengue fever, waterborne diseases, hepatitis,
malaria, with no medications.
While we were there we met a family that had just been plucked out of
the waters. Their dad had a kidney transplant, who had not yet received
his medicine--everything lost. We were able to press upon the
military's generosity and good heart to get him his medicine and get it
to where he is--out in an area where I saw no medical facilities.
I want the Record to know that even though this country is many miles
away, we are connected by its democratic beginnings. This is the 75th
anniversary of its independence. It has by and large had peaceful
transfers of government, a frequent government, but a democratic
government. The founding father, Dr. Jinnah, established this country--
as India was established by Gandhi in its independence--that it should
have as its form of government democracy.
I am fearful of the loss of life and children and disease will set
this country back for many, many, many years.
Let me share with you this story.
The hospital has nothing. Pakistani floods put pregnant women in
danger. Just 2 days ago this article from the Guardian came out. A
third of the country is under water, and a U.N. fund says almost
650,000 women in affected areas need maternity services. That should
give you an amazing level of fear--650,000.
{time} 1800
I visit hospitals because I am an advocate for hospitals,
particularly in rural areas. And they tell me, well, we have delivered
3,000 births in a month, and I applaud that. That is a high number here
in the United States.
But I want to say this again. The U.N. says almost 650,000 women in
affected areas need maternity services to have healthy babies.
Crying, vomiting, and 8 months pregnant--I know that wives and
Members of Congress, women Members of Congress, women across America,
can understand the fragility of a woman during her pregnancy. The young
woman walked in labor pains for an hour in search of an ambulance. She
wasn't driven. She wasn't on a bicycle. She wasn't on a cart. She
wasn't on any form of scooter, any form of transportation.
When Naseeba, 23, eventually found one, she had to beg the driver to
take her. Pakistan floods had left the roads damaged and gridlocked,
making what is usually a 2-hour journey to the provincial capital of
Quetta a punishing 12-hour drive; 2 hours to 12 hours.
She left her flood-ravaged home in Nasirabad district in Balochistan
province in the morning and reached Quetta at night.
During this time, I didn't know what has happening around me;
struggling to speak. When I finally reached the hospital, the doctors
said I would not survive if they didn't operate immediately.
Complications with labor, including severe high blood pressure, meant
doctors had to rush to deliver the baby.
I would venture to say that this was a circumstance of life and
death.
Complications with the labor continued. And Naseeba said she gave
birth to a baby boy 2 days ago, but the doctors told her that the baby
requires to be incubated, but there were no incubators available, so we
had to take her baby to my mother's place, she said. I haven't seen my
baby yet.
We can only hope that that baby survived, and that the help at home
might have helped that baby breathe.
Naseeba is one of the thousands of pregnant women, according to the
United Nations Population Fund, who will bear the brunt of the worst
floods in Pakistan and are in desperate need of maternal health
services.
And so I will be asking USAID and the head of that agency, who I am
very gratified, was visiting Pakistan as we were visiting--as we were
leaving, USAID was coming on the ground. As
[[Page H7875]]
we were there, we received a briefing from USAID, and the very schools
that USAID, our humanitarian arm of the State Department, built in that
region, became the shelters for people. But that means the children are
not in school.
More than a dozen women who were interviewed in this story, were
pregnant, or had already given birth in the worst flood-affected
provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, women who said they have been
abandoned without healthcare, food, and clean drinking water to meet
their nutritional needs.
We should be very clear. A third of Pakistan is under water, with
1,400 dead, most children, and 33 million people affected, as the
country has been ravaged by monsoon-triggered floods, coming at a
totally unique time. In our briefings, they said, we have dealt with
monsoons. These are like we have never seen.
The impact on climate change should not be lost. This is clear
evidence of how stark it is. UNFPA said 73,000 women were expected to
give birth this month--that is this month of September--who need
skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support. It estimates, as I
said, that 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas require
maternal health.
Again, people living in plastic tents or camps on roadsides, near
flood waters, and the homes of millions of people have been swept away.
It is well-known that the health facilities across Pakistan are
affected; 432 are fully damaged; 1,228 are partially damaged.
Another woman, Rubina, who is 8 months pregnant, in this Guardian
story, and currently lives in a tent on a roadside, said she had
pregnancy-related complications that included body aches and anemia.
She said medications prescribed by doctors were not available, and she
could not afford to buy them from a private hospital. They did whatever
they could for her, her husband and brother.
They have lost their source of earnings and cannot provide us with
anything else; and the government hospital has nothing.
This is the story of thousands. This is not a story that is going to
end. It is a story that is going to continue.
Another woman had delivered on her way as she was walking to the
hospital, and the infant was brought into the hospital via ambulance,
but the woman couldn't come because of the high level of water.
Many women could not even come to the hospital, and midwives had to
be called.
We are doing all that we can.
And this is a call out to our American humanitarian agencies, as I
indicated. Healthcare is the most crucial, along with food, and it is
clearly an urgent emergency condition.
One young woman left her home after it was submerged in flood water
in the Sindh province. And as I said, many people are living in schools
built by the United States. This young woman gave birth to a baby girl
named Shamma, which means light. We get food sometimes, but not at
other times. I am unable to feed my infant because I am so weak. And
so, baby formula is needed because women are not able to breastfeed.
Roshan, another displaced woman who had given birth a month ago:
Everyone is falling sick here. I feel faint. I have constant headaches.
Our children do not have clothes. There is only one piece of cloth for
my newborn that I wash every day to use again.
And UNFPA has warned that many women and girls are at increased risk
of gender-based violence as almost one million houses were damaged in
the catastrophic floods. I am convinced that that is another crisis.
As Samina, who took refuge, along with thousands of other pregnant
women, in Larkana said, there can be no greater pain than having to
leave your home. I cannot tell you how difficult it was to leave. I am
expecting a baby soon, but in a state of homelessness.
The government is working very hard to try and reach these persons
but, in the midst, they face a financial crisis which they are working
very hard to try to cure with work with the World Bank and, of course,
with the International Monetary Fund. But it is not going to be enough.
And so, our visit, we are grateful, highlighted the crisis which is
being faced. It was a visit covered with a desire to be as quick on
humanitarian aid as we could, and to bring the story forward as to what
is transpiring.
In addition, we wanted to make sure that those who could not get back
to their province and are here in the United States could secure a
temporary protected status because of the devastation of their country.
We hope, joined with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, that our request will
be given reasonable consideration.
As I indicated, as I started, we are dealing with an extreme climate
change, horrible exhibition of the devastation that could come about.
It is extreme. The reasons for the flooding are linked to climate
change and the resulting extreme weather.
It is important to note that Pakistan produces only about 1 percent
of the pollution, the carbon footprint linked to global warming; while
we, in the United States, produce 11 percent; China, 27 percent; India
produces 6.6 percent, and the EU, 6.4 percent.
But researchers say the catastrophe probably started with
unprecedented heat waves because, in April and May, temperatures
reached above 104 degrees in Pakistan for sustained periods in many
places in the region.
In fact, when we were briefed by the head of the climate agency, they
said that temperatures went up as high as 127 degrees Fahrenheit. Those
are killing temperatures. On one sweltering day in May, the city,
Jacobabad, topped 123.8 degrees. This is not normal. This area is not
accustomed to heat like this. And recorded as the hottest place on
Earth was in Pakistan.
The intense heat also melted glaciers in the northern mountainous
regions. And now many would wonder, glaciers? Yes.
One of the other places in the world where glaciers are are the
mountains in Pakistan. And so when those glaciers, those northern
mountainous regions, increasing the amount of water flowing into
tributaries that eventually made their way into the Indus River,
compounded by the rain--the Indus is Pakistan's largest river and runs
the country's length, from north to south, feeding towns, cities, and
large swatches of agricultural land along the way.
But let me add something else because Pakistan is an agricultural
country, and the largest percentage of work in Pakistan is agriculture.
The region where the flooding took place was where they grew one of
their most bountiful products, and that is wheat.
The farmers managed to gather their wheat and to store them in their
homes, preparing for the market, or preparing for next year. But the
floods came and wiped away their homes and their food source and the
moneys that they would get from selling. But even more devastating,
this may go on for years because they lost their seeds.
So imagine that: Mighty waters flowing down from the glaciers,
melting because of this unusual heat, this out-of-the-world heat; then
rivers overflow, but then add to the monsoon or monsoons, and then, of
course, the flooding that has taken away millions of homes, impacted 33
million people, and taken away their food.
We, as Americans, have faced our levels of disaster. Our heart goes
out to the people in Eastern Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Eastern
Kentucky; Central Mississippi; Dallas, Texas; Death Valley, California;
and this does not include the thousand-year flood events that impacted,
in recent years, New York and New Jersey.
We should be well-aware of the impact of climate change. And I am
very gratified that I have seen my constituents in the energy industry
face up to this and realize that the carbon footprint must come down,
down, down. I want to continue to work with them as they recognize that
it will be a disaster if we do not work, both nationally and
internationally, on stopping the carbon footprint and addressing the
question internationally and nationally of the question of climate
change.
The rains in Pakistan have resulted in unimaginable changes in the
landscape. Reports are backed up by new images taken by NASA's MODIS.
Satellite sensors show the result of heavy rain and an overflowing
Indus River that has formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh province where
there was farmland. In this region, the monsoon rainfall has been 500
percent over average.
[[Page H7876]]
Let me try to lay this out for you. I indicated the Indus River is
the natural river. But the leaders of government explained, it was not
the Indus River that overflowed its banks and caused the damage miles
away from its banks; though there are many Pakistanis who live on the
bank because it is the source of their food, source of their income,
source of their livelihood.
But what the NASA's MODIS showed us is that an unnatural lake was
created by the huge monsoons, the glaciers melting, and created an
unnatural lake that formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh province where
there was farmland, so where there had not been any water before.
{time} 1815
They also told us that the area that we were in, the Sindh province,
did not receive a lot of rain, which speaks to the reason why they had
no drainage. They did not have a lot of rain.
The issues of the day caused the Indus River to be an ocean. You
could see no start and stop. Then, it caused a man-made lake to occur
that would, in fact, be there enough of a time to, in fact, continue to
be devastating.
Let me give you some facts that have not been gone over. This began
in mid-June 2022, at the beginning of the monsoon season, which, as I
said, there have been monsoons, but these were a monstrosity,
unbelievable proportions.
Heavy rains began flooding areas of Pakistan. Estimates range from
double to several times the normal monsoon rain. They were just sitting
and waiting. Is it going to end? Is it going to end? Mr. Speaker, 6.4
million estimated people requiring humanitarian assistance--again, 33
million people affected: 44 percent Sindh province, 28 percent
Balochistan, 13 percent in Khyber, 50 percent in Punjab.
As of September 13, just shortly after we came and left, 1,396 people
have been killed, and, of course, 12,278 people have been injured as a
result of the flooding. We don't know if people will die of their
injuries.
More than 900,000 livestock have been killed, and there are people
today, right as we stand here, who are refusing to leave because they
have their livestock, and there is no place for them to go.
Mr. Speaker, 3.1 million people have been displaced. I have already
indicated that there are hundreds of thousands that are homeless--
650,000 people, women needing maternal services, on the verge of giving
birth, but 70,000 are giving birth this month. This is, without
question, a challenge that far surpasses the capacity of the Pakistan
Government, although willing, to be able to do this on their own.
The climate minister told a public radio interview that an area the
size of Colorado is now submerged, that 66 districts, equivalent to a
county, are underwater. According to satellite imagery, the flooding
has created, as I indicated already, this huge lake.
Pakistan is equipped with water pumps to respond to monsoons and
helicopters for rescue purposes, but there is no place to send the
resources.
Again, I do want to note that the Pakistani Government has been
working with the resources they have--147 camps for populations
displaced by the floods. Cash assistance was being organized to give to
the families.
The Pakistani Government has allocated $173 million to aid flood-
affected people. On August 30, the United Nations and the Government of
Pakistan launched a joint flood response plan, and the United States,
as I said, was the first to give the funding from all other countries.
They gathered $160 million for food security assistance, agriculture,
livestock, shelter, nonfood items, non-nutrition programs, primary
health services, water and sanitation, and shelter for displaced
persons. It is not enough, and there are people that cannot be reached.
Money is also coming from the various elected officials, like the
Prime Minister, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the World Bank,
the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission's department for
European Civil Protection, and UNICEF. Governments from around the
world have made an effort to help, but I believe it is going to be
important for the United States to raise its voice again.
As I said, the United States has always been there, and I am very
glad to say that 1.4 million pounds of USAID relief commodities were
airlifted to Pakistan by CENTCOM, $4 million in dedicated aid from the
U.S. Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
As I indicated, 300,000 tents--30 million had already been given on
the very day, August 30, that the United Nations asked for. CENTCOM has
operated nine flights transporting USAID items, including approximately
30,000 kitchen sets, 10,000 plastic tarps, 1,400 rolls of plastic
sheeting from USAID's warehouse.
Again, 300,000 tents after the Pakistan Caucus had engaged and worked
with the administration that I am very glad to say came forward. Then
an additional $20 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the
flooding was announced on September 9.
I do thank, again, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who announced
this effort, and we hope that this will continue.
As noted in The Washington Post, the ``U.S. ramps up aid for Pakistan
floods with military airlift.''
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Washington Post article of
September 9, 2022, and the article from the Guardian dealing with the
plight of a pregnant woman.
[From the Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2022]
U.S. Ramps Up Aid for Pakistan Floods With Military Airlift
Dadu, Pakistan.--The United States is ramping up support
for Pakistan and beginning a days-long military airlift into
the country as it struggles to battle devastating floods that
are expected to take years to recover from.
The military began airlifting supplies into Pakistan this
week as part of the additional $20 million the Biden
administration is providing for humanitarian aid here,
Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International
Development, announced on Friday.
The announcement comes as it is increasingly clear that
Pakistan is incapable of providing even the most basic relief
to the more than 33 million people affected by the crisis.
The majority of those who have fled their homes are living in
makeshift shelters, and many report they are not receiving
food, clean drinking water or medical attention.
The airlift will establish a ``beachhead'' inside
Pakistan's flood zone, Power said during a visit to affected
areas Thursday. She said the plan is to begin staging
operations closer to those in need so humanitarian supplies
can be distributed more efficiently.
``It may go beyond this, but for now we are looking at
shelter supplies to accommodate 300,000 people,'' she said.
She admitted the number is a small fraction of those
affected, but hoped other countries would follow suit and
move operations inside Sindh province, one of the worst hit
areas.
The airlift is expected to last just over a week with two
to three U.S. C-17s--massive cargo planes--landing daily in
Sukkur, a town in Sindh province nearly encircled by
floodwaters. The planes will bring tens of thousands of
pounds of tents, field rations and kitchen sets into the
country.
While a number of countries have pledged millions of
dollars in humanitarian aid money to Pakistan, aid groups on
the ground are struggling to source the materials they need
and reach the worst-affected parts of the country.
Floodwaters moving south are cutting off key roads and
highways, turning towns into islands and blocking the
delivery of aid.
Power said she hopes the assistance will also help reset
perceptions of the United States in Pakistan.
``I think during the war in Afghanistan, there was an
impression among some Pakistanis that the U.S. saw Pakistan
only through the prism of Afghanistan,'' she said.
``Hopefully this is a chance through this cooperation [with
the Pakistani government] to strengthen the relationship
between the two countries.''
U.S.-Pakistan relations have gone through periods of
intense strain, despite decades-long humanitarian and
military ties that predate the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
The enmity that many Pakistanis feel toward the United States
was clearly visible earlier this year when former Pakistani
leader Imran Khan began to strengthen his base of support by
claiming his ouster was part of a U.S.-backed conspiracy.
Although anti-Americanism remains a popular rallying cry in
Pakistan, the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz
Sharif, who replaced Khan, has moved to improve relations
with the United States.
The U.S. military's top commander, Army Gen. Michael Erik
Kurilla, visited Pakistan in August and acknowledged the
country's ``commendable efforts in fight against terrorism''
and its ``efforts [to promote] regional peace and
stability,'' according to a Pakistani military statement.
The visit came shortly after the killing of Ayman al-
Zawahiri, the leader of alQaeda, in a U.S. drone attack on
his Kabul residence. The Taliban condemned the attack and
accused Pakistan of allowing the United States to use its
airspace to fly drones over Afghanistan. Pakistani
authorities refuted the Taliban's allegations.
``The partnership that we continue to deepen builds on
years of cooperation between
[[Page H7877]]
our two peoples and between our two countries,'' Power said
at a news conference in Islamabad Friday.
During Power's visit to the heart of Pakistan's flood zone,
she asked local officials and families affected by the floods
to estimate the disaster's long-term economic effects, in
particular those linked to the loss of crops, livestock and
infrastructure.
It is clear that recovery from these historic floods will
require a concerted effort by the donor community and
international financial institutions for the coming years,''
Power said. The support announced Friday, she continued, ``is
another mark of our long-standing commitment to the Pakistani
people.''
____
[From the Guardian, Sept. 13, 2022]
`The Hospital has Nothing': Pakistan's Floods Put Pregnant Women in
Danger
A third of the country is under water and a UN fund says
almost 650,000 women in affected areas need maternity
services.
Crying, vomiting and eight months pregnant, the young woman
walked in labour pains for an hour in search of an ambulance.
When Naseeba Ameerullah, 23, eventually found one, she had
to beg the driver to take her. Pakistan's floods had left the
roads damaged and gridlocked, making what is usually a two-
hour journey to the provincial capital of Quetta a punishing,
12-hour drive.
She left her flood-ravaged home in the Naseerabad district
in Balochistan province in the morning and reached Quetta at
night.
``During this time, I didn't know what was happening around
me,'' said Ameerullah, struggling to speak. ``When I finally
reached the hospital, the doctors said I would not survive if
they didn't operate immediately.''
Complications with the labour, including severe high blood
pressure, meant doctors had to rush to deliver the baby.
``I gave birth to a baby boy two days ago but the doctors
told us that the baby requires to be incubated but there were
no incubators available so we had to take my baby to my
mother's place. I haven't seen my baby yet,'' she said.
Ameerullah is one of the thousands of pregnant women,
according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), who
will bear the brunt of the worst floods in Pakistan and are
in desperate need of maternal health services.
The Guardian interviewed more than a dozen women who were
either pregnant or had already given birth in the worst
flood-affected provinces of Balochistan and Sindh; women who
said they have been abandoned without healthcare, food and
clean drinking water to meet their nutritional needs.
A third of Pakistan is under water, with at least 1,400
dead and more than 33 million people affected, as the country
has been ravaged by monsoon-triggered floods washing away
bridges, roads, livestock and people.
UNFPA said 73,000 women were expected to give birth this
month who would need skilled birth attendants, newborn care,
and support. It estimates that almost 650,000 pregnant women
in flood-affected areas require maternal health services to
ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth.
The floods have brought other health dangers as well, such
as a rise in diseases that affect young children.
On a drive from Larkana to Dadu districts in Sindh province
to Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts in Balochistan, people
could be seen living in plastic tents or camps on roadsides
near the flood waters because the homes of millions of people
had been swept away.
Across Pakistan, more than 1,460 health facilities are
affected, of which 432 are fully damaged and 1,028 are
partially damaged and access to health facilities, healthcare
workers, and essential medicines and medical supplies is
limited, according to the World Health Organization.
Rubina, a woman who is eight months pregnant and currently
lives in a tent on a roadside in Jaffarabad, said she had
pregnancy-related complications that included body aches and
anaemia.
She said medications prescribed by doctors were not
available and she could not afford to buy them from a private
hospital.
``My husband and brother did whatever was possible in their
capacity. They have lost their source of earnings and cannot
provide us with anything else and the government hospital in
Jaffarabad has nothing,'' said Rubina.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Lehri, the medical superintendent of Bolan
medical complex hospital in Quetta, said there had always
been nutritional deficiencies in pregnant women in many
districts in Balochistan, and the existing situation would
get worse because of the floods.
``If steps are not taken by the government this can turn
into a huge crisis. The government needs to work on this
issue on a war footing and reach out to women and the broader
population,'' said Lehri
He added: ``We are witnessing heavy mental toll and trauma
of the floods on women as well. We need to treat that as
well.''
Haseena, another pregnant woman who lives in a tent close
to Rubina, said she required blood because she was anaemic
and that there were many others like her.
``We don't get any medicine here and food so how can we
expect to get blood transfusions? We drink water from the
rivers where animals are dead,'' she said.
And while thousands of men and women live in tents on the
roadside, there are no toilets.
``This a tragedy which we can't even talk about,'' Haseena
said.
Dr Imran Baloch, a medical superintendent in Jaffarabad,
said a lot of women gave birth in cars and on roads, and some
on the way to the hospital because the roads were broken,
making the journey much longer. There were also cases of
premature deliveries.
``A woman had delivered on the way as she was walking to
the hospital and the infant was brought to the hospital via
ambulance but the woman couldn't come because of the high
level of water. Many women could not even come to the
hospital and midwives had to be called. We are doing what we
can.''
An official in Balochistan, requesting anonymity, said:
``We have seen a shortage of medicines in many flood-affected
regions, but I fear it may get worse if not tackled soon and
it will affect women, children and the entire population.''
The situation is almost the same in Sindh as in
Balochistan. Durnaz Soz Ali, 22, left her house after it was
submerged in floodwater in Qambar Shahdadkot in Sindh
province.
Ali, who now lives in Larkana in a school with hundreds of
displaced people, said: ``I was nine months pregnant and even
in my pregnant state, I carried some of the belongings and
walked for hours.''
Ali gave birth to a baby girl and named her Shamma, which
means light. ``We get food sometimes but not at other times.
I am unable to feed my infant because I am weak.''
Roshan, another displaced woman from Qambar Shahdadkot who
had given birth a month ago in Larkana, said: ``Everyone is
falling sick here. I feel faint and have constant headaches.
Our children do not have clothes. There is only one piece of
cloth for my newborn that I wash every day to use again.''
UNFP A has warned that many women and girls are at
increased risk of gender-based violence as almost 1 million
houses were damaged in the catastrophic floods.
Samina, in Sindh province, who took refuge along with
thousands of other pregnant women in Larkana, said: ``There
can be no greater pain than having to leave your home. I can
not tell you how difficult it was to leave. I am expecting a
baby soon but in a state of homelessness.''
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me show you what people are facing and how
people are struggling, and this is, as someone would say, with your own
eyes.
These little, small pieces here, those are human beings. This was
their refuge. This is water. This is water as far as the eye can see.
They were making a life, barely, on a bridge. That was the only dry
land.
I can see they were on both sides, but they were able to get notice
to run on this side so that they could be together, but they are
stranded as this water breaks the bridge. It breaks the bridge. Water
as far as the eye can see.
This is what we saw. These are not little bushes in a lake. These are
the tops of trees, the green that you see. Most of the land is covered.
Some people are stranded on these little patches of land. It looks like
a beautiful, blue ocean, no land, and the fear of what is under this
massive ocean.
As I said earlier, there are pumps in normal times because there is
no normal draining, but there is absolutely no ability to deal with
something as massive as this. It is speculated that it will not come
down for another 6 months--stagnant water, disease, raging across
Pakistan.
This is just to let us look at a little bit of dry land in Dadu,
working with the military, giving out food items to an elderly woman
without food resources and a little child looking up, babies in hands
who are obviously in need of resources.
It was an emotional time for the Pakistan Caucus and the Members who
were there showing our love and affection because we want people to see
the leadership that has worked to establish dry land and to try and
work without resources for their community.
The face of this little one tells it all. There are no schools. There
is not much food, and there is not much housing. You could not have a
dry eye in watching the conditions of our fellow human beings.
We gave out food, but we gave out little lollipops to the children. I
will tell you, they were clamoring for that more than anything else.
But that is what I think is our biggest concern, between mothers having
provisions for giving birth and feeding these little ones.
I asked one little boy, does he want to go to school. There are no
schools in that region. The schools that, as I said, were built by
USAID were, in fact, used to ensure that there is shelter. We need more
tents. We need more healthcare. It was interesting. The heat was
extensive and intensive while we were there.
In my conversations, it was so good to be able to maybe not speak
with language that we both understood but
[[Page H7878]]
with the gesture of welcoming and appreciating their plight as we were
giving out food gifts to people who had nothing.
It is a moment in history that I did not want our colleagues to miss,
and it is a recognition that we have work to do. I wanted our
colleagues to help me and to help us find a way to be constructive, so
I used a number of $10 billion.
We have gone way beyond that, as I indicated. The economic impact of
the floods is now estimated to be at least $30 billion as of September
13, 2022--just the difference from when we went at the beginning of
September of $10 billion and even as we were in meetings, all the
government officials were surmising that it had to be more. You can't
displace 33 million and it is only $10 billion. An estimated 2 billion
of crops and livestock could be lost due to flooding.
{time} 1830
Remember what I said. The region is a lifeline for Pakistan and for
their product that they might be able to provide to other destinations.
They lost 30 percent of their rice crop and 70 percent of their cotton
crop, the country's third largest export, making up 11.8 percent of the
country's total export. That is income; that is opportunity. Ten
percent of the sugarcane, lost. Estimates show that 800 million in
textile exports would be lost, 3.6 million acres of crops have been
affected, according to Pakistan authorities, and 735,000 livestock have
perished. These are numbers coming from Pakistan.
Food is still needed. This is going to be a long, long journey. It is
difficult to see this, but let me try and bring this to the attention
of my colleagues.
The red area says 4 million children are under 5 years old, and this
red that you can see shows that these are severely impacted areas. This
takes up a very large part of the country. Seven hundred thousand
people 65 and older are impacted. Five hundred thousand women are
currently pregnant. Those numbers have gone up, I know.
Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record the Pakistan Floods Report
from September 2022.
[From SKT Welfare, Sept. 2022]
Pakistan Floods Report
According to the government of Pakistan, a third of the
country--equivalent to an area the size of the UK--is under
water, in what the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has
called a ``climate catastrophe''. Whole villages have been
cut off, with rescuers struggling to reach them. At least
1,300 people have been killed and 12,703 injured.
The people of Pakistan are in dire need of food, clean
water, makeshift shelter and non-food items such as hygiene
kits. SKT Welfare is on the ground, trying its best to reach
those affected by the floods.
More than half a million more houses in Pakistan were
reported damaged or destroyed in the past week, with the
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reporting more
than 1.17 million damaged houses and nearly 566,000 destroyed
houses as of 8 September. By nearly all available metrics,
Sindh has been most affected by the heavy rains and flooding
that have swept the country this monsoon season--particularly
notable given that Sindh and Balochistan are historically
drought prone areas. Nearly 88 per cent of all damaged or
destroyed houses--over 1.52 million houses--are in Sindh, and
the province has also recorded the highest number of human
casualties: 577 people killed and 8,321 people injured, out
of a total of nearly 1,400 deaths and more than 12,700
injuries, including at least 496 children killed and nearly
4,000 children injured across Pakistan. Gender-based violence
(GBV) as well as child protection and other protection
concerns have reportedly more than doubled since the pre-
monsoon period, according to the Protection Sector.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me draw upon these final efforts
and words so that you can know that now, after we have come back, the
clarion call of crisis is out.
``U.N. chief calls for massive help as Pakistan puts flood losses at
$30 billion.''
The U.N. Secretary General called for massive help as he visited the
country last Friday. Record monsoon rains and glacier melt created this
catastrophe. He is now calling on the international community, and we
do need it. The country is enormously dependent on our help. It has
been, in many instances, helpful during the Afghan evacuation of recent
time, and most people are unaware of the military lives lost of the
Pakistani military in fighting terrorism.
The very fact that this dam has been seen by NASA, this lake, shows
that this damage is going to be far reaching. Pakistan must reach out
to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, to be able to
address this tragedy.
My friends, this is not normal. If I can leave you with anything
here, it is that we are, in fact, our brothers' and sisters' keeper and
that as we see the clear evidence of a climate catastrophe, a mountain
of horror, unspeakable devastation, it brings your mind back to the
floods of the Biblical times.
As we stand here today, children are not rescued, and 33 million
people are in the eye of the disaster. Again, we are waiting,
tragically, for the potential of massive disease that will shut
Pakistan down.
I cannot conclude without acknowledging my great appreciation to the
Pakistani-American community diaspora, some of whom traveled to
Pakistan. The doctors, businesspersons, and people preparing now to
take huge amounts of goods or dollars to be able to help.
But as I speak about that, let me tell you what UNICEF has said. With
1.1 million houses washed away and vital infrastructure destroyed, such
as schools, UNICEF's representative in Pakistan, Mr. Fadil, explained
that 18,000 schools have been destroyed and thousands of schools are
now fully shuttered. That means children who have lost education for 2
years are also losing learning opportunities.
These are the things that cannot be fixed immediately, nor can they
be fixed with only emergency help.
That is why I ask for the following: One, a major focus and research
on dissecting the climate catastrophe that occurred that would generate
the kinds of monsoons that caused 33 million people to be displaced.
The State of Texas is about 29 million. That would mean the wiping out
of an entire State, 33 million displaced. There are towns that are not
as large as 650,000. Equal that to the women that are pregnant without
medical care.
We can all imagine and know what 1,300 dead are and more possibly
being found. And we can also understand when the Army Chief of Staff
reminds us in his story of the mother who came holding the infant that
was hungry and said: ``Here, I cannot feed my baby.''
The government is fearful of a food security crisis. I have already
said to you that cotton is gone, wheat is gone, income is gone, and
therefore what is next.
This is what we need. International funding that will be complemented
by Pakistani funding from the Pakistani diaspora. I believe we need a
massive infusion of tents, the quality of which the United States has
begun to bring and drop into Karachi. More need to come. I also believe
that food goods are going to have to be airlifted into hard-to-reach
areas and into the camps that have been established.
Then, of course, I am begging for the international medical
community, the World Health Organization, to airlift medical facilities
into the region. They have got to set them up on levels of dry land,
with the ability to treat waterborne diseases and the separate
abilities to help deliver babies and take care of the elderly.
My friends, I have tried to provide a reason for us to come together.
Pakistan is still in danger. Flooding may take up to 6 months, and we
were even told that there may be more rains coming.
We know what happened to the people of Kentucky. We watched the
devastation of their story. We don't take lightly what can happen in
difficult times. We realize that people have suffered all over the
world.
With my own eyes and those of my colleagues, I documented that
Pakistan is suffering. Oh, it is a country far away, but I know the
capacity and the heart of the American people. I know the effectiveness
of the United States military and the effectiveness of our own
humanitarian aid and the State Department, USAID, and I know the
compassion of President Biden and the administration. Let us work
together with the United States Congress.
I thank the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the chair
of the Committee on Homeland Security for their contributing efforts,
and, of course, the Committee on Foreign Affairs as we look at
collaborative ways to be of help.
[[Page H7879]]
I thank my colleagues, the bipartisan Pakistan Caucus and the Members
of the Senate who likewise have been advocates for the region. This is
Southeast Asia, a very important region. Pakistan has to be able to be
stood up. The death toll cannot increase, and the agony of the people
just cannot continue.
Join me in my efforts to provide more resources, healthcare, food,
housing, tents, and the care of yet-born babies and the restoration of
the land. That is being a good neighbor, a good Samaritan. As a Nation,
the United States has always been a problem-solver.
I thank my colleagues for listening, and I thank the Pakistani
diaspora for their heart. Yes, we went because our hearts were torn
with grief.
With everything we gave to the people, we also wanted to give them
hope that America was there to be a friend. As I spoke and my words
were interpreted, I said: We are here from the United States Congress,
but we are Americans. When the word ``America'' was said, the people
applauded and smiled. Maybe the only words that they grasped was:
America was here to help.
Again, I thank my colleagues for listening, and I know and feel that
we will gather together and provide the comfort and resources needed by
the people of Pakistan.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
September 15, 2022, on page H7879, in the first column, the
following appeared: will gather together and provide the comfort
and resources needed by the people of Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, I
yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, on September 6,
2022, I returned from a congressional fact finding mis-
The online version has been corrected to read: will gather
together and provide the comfort and resources needed by the
people of Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 2022, I returned
from a congressional fact finding mis-
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 2022, I returned from a congressional
fact finding mission to the areas most impacted by the devastating
floods in Pakistan.
I have seen the devastation and human suffering firsthand, and I want
to clarify that Congress must act and be proactive in matters related
to climate change, including both in the United States and abroad.
The Jackson Lee CODEL conducted a survey of the impacted area by air
and visited food aid stations and victims.
The support provided by the United States will be essential to the
recovery effort, which will likely take many years. An important form
of assistance to Pakistan today is the awarding of Temporary Protected
Status to Pakistanis in the United States, which is a temporary
immigration status provided to nationals of specifically designated
countries that are confronting an ongoing armed conflict, environmental
disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.
This is why I lead a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security
requesting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Pakistanis in the
United States, allowing them to remain while the nation and the region
recover from this tragedy.
Congress created Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the Immigration
Act of 1990. It is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals
of specifically designated countries that are confronting an ongoing
armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary
conditions.
The events in Pakistan are the very definition of why TPS was
created. As the world finds its footing to learn to adapt to the rapid
and extreme changes in climate, we must not look abroad and say that
would not happen in the United States--we should never forget
Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Harvey, or Maria.
The reasons for the flooding are linked to climate change and the
resulting extreme weather. It is important to note that Pakistan
produces only about one percent of the pollution linked to global
warming, while the United States produces 11 percent, China 27 percent,
India produces 6.6 percent, and the EU 6.4 percent of total emissions.
Researchers say the catastrophe probably started with unprecedented
heatwaves. In April and May, temperatures reached above 104 degrees for
sustained periods in many places in the region. On one sweltering day
in May, the city of Jacobabad topped 123.8 degrees. This is not normal.
This area is not accustomed to heat like this, and the recorded as the
hottest place on Earth was in Pakistan.
The intense heat also melted glaciers in the northern mountainous
regions, increasing the amount of water flowing into tributaries that
eventually make their way into the Indus River. The Indus is Pakistan's
largest river and runs the country's length from north to south,
feeding towns, cities, and large swathes of agricultural land along the
way.
It is not clear exactly how much excess glacial melt has flowed into
rivers this year, but scientists visited some high-altitude glaciated
regions in July and noticed high flows and muddy water in the Hunza
River, which feeds into the Indus.
People across the United States are deeply saddened by the
devastating loss of life, livelihoods, and homes throughout Pakistan.
In the United States, over the last five weeks, we have experienced
five 1,000-year flood events impacting communities in every region of
the nation.
Unfortunately, many Americans can relate to the pain and loss the
people of Pakistan are experiencing. There have been six 1,000-year
occurrences in the United States over five weeks, causing flood events
in Eastern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, Eastern Kentucky, Central
Mississippi, Dallas, Texas, and Death Valley, California, and this does
not include the 1,000-year flood events that impacted New York and New
Jersey last year.
The United States responded that the Pakistani government's request
for assistance was the right thing to do and for the right reasons.
Climate change is not a one-nation issue--it is a global threat that
will touch every life with pain if we do not remain steadfast to change
and adapt to the new normal of extreme weather.
The consistency of extreme weather demonstrates these changes over
the last several years should not be seen as temporary. Weather is not
just what happens right in front of you; it is also about what is
happening hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away from where we
are standing.
The rains in Pakistan have resulted in unimaginable changes in the
landscape. Reports backup by new images taken by NASA's MODIS satellite
sensor shows the results of heavy rain and an overflowing Indus River
that has formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh Province where there was
farmland. In this region, the monsoon rainfall has been five hundred
percent above average amounts.
The United States remains steadfast in its support for affected
communities throughout Pakistan. In addition to the $30 million in
urgently needed humanitarian assistance announced today, the United
States also provided over $1.1 million in grants and project support
earlier this month to ensure direct service reaches those communities
most impacted and to help mitigate and prevent the effects of future
floods. The massive loss of crops and displacement of people puts the
region at risk of famine if we do not act.
My trip to Pakistan was an opportunity to convey our nation's resolve
to stand by the people of Pakistan as they recover from the flooding
and to gather knowledge that will inform the Committee on Homeland
Security on the factors related to this extreme weather event that is
most relevant to the flooding events we are seeing occurring across the
nation with greater frequency.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________