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Dispatch 4
First
Look
December 24, 2005
Tangdar, Kashmir, India
A full day of travel from Srinagar to the Karnah Valley has been surprisingly tiring from the constant bumps, brakes and security checks along the way. I counted 15 security checks total, which entailed body searches and I.D. checks. The latest trip of K.E.R. included the ever hardworking Dr. Zameer, our driver, cook and myself. Four hours after departure, we only had traveled 80 kilometers but had finally reached the top of the Sadhana pass (elev. 9000ft). We were instructed to wait at the top because of a broken down car which blocked the road as well as 30 other vehicles. Knowing it could take hours to clear, Dr. Zameer and I decided to hike down 1,000 ft. bypassing the descending snake-like road. It was my first true taste of mountaineering. Regardless of the fact that it was all downhill, it was tiring. Muscles that I wasn’t even aware of were working to stabilizing myself from the steep slope and loose rocks.
The vehicle was finally cleared but another problem arose. There was a land slide blocking the road. People used their hands to clear the rubble yet there was no path until a so called "hero" drove his SUV at full speed at the mound of rocks and dirt. Almost tipping his vehicle over the mountain, he was unshaken. The "hero" attempted the feat twice more until something resembling a road was made and the cars were able to pass. Our base camp was a warehouse turned into a humble retreat for the long days that the volunteers of K.E.R and the North Face Team put in. The sleepy town of Tangdar has a earthy charm with its neutral tones and churning streams. My first glimpse of damage was in our camp itself, riddled with cracks and fallen pieces of stones from the structures back wall. That night Dr. Zameer’s uncle was explaining that the damage worsened exponentially only ½ kilometer west of our location. And as I was about to see, he was not exaggerating in the least.
Early next morning Dr. Zameer and I made our way to the village of Gundi Shot to distribute notebooks, pencils, erasers and the most vital item for the children, chocolate. We also distributed tokens allowing families to come and get Thermacol (insulation) from our warehouse. Soon after my arrival I witnessed the devastation that this village of about 70 families had experienced and live with. Approximately 70% of the houses were flattened and the rest were not in any sort of livable condition. The smallest aftershock or the weight of 2 ft. of snow fall could easily collapse the house and create a disaster within a disaster. We gathered all the school children to distribute the school supplies.
The moment I saw this one boy, no older than 4, I knew his recent past to some extent. His gaze was never above the horizon, eyes were fixed to the ground and body movement was slow and subtle. After inquiring about the child from a village elder, I found out that his mother and 2 siblings were victims of Mother Nature. What a parent we have. He himself was rescued from rubble. In any case, distributing the schools supplies put smiles on the faces of all the children which to me was an accomplishment within itself. The smiles were truly priceless when there is currently nothing else to smile for in their lives. Yet I couldn’t help but to be reminded what a villager told me, that a body still lies underneath the area we gathered with the kids. Without heavy machinery it is impossible to remove the remains. A polarization of emotions is something that I am going to have to deal with throughout the expedition.
- Talal Ansari
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