Echo Times

Issue date: 11/28/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Brody Sloan Samar Wajih, a communications major at COM, has family in Pakistan

The effects of the devastating earthquake that struck the Kashmir region of Pakistan on Saturday, October 7 burden the thoughts of one College of Marin student perhaps more than others. Samar Wajih, 23, a communications major, immigrated to the United States from Pakistan four years ago at the age of 19 for college. She grew up in Karachi with her family, who now live in Islamabad, Pakistan's northerly capital city. The massive earthquake that jolted northern Pakistan has ripped into Wajih's family life.
When she heard about the quake "I just started freaking out," Wajih said. "I actually didn't even know about it. A friend called me at around seven in the morning and asked me if everything was alright. The earthquake happened around eight in the morning there so I totally didn't know anything had happened. I tried to call but the lines were busy because every Pakistani around the world was probably trying to call."
Wajih's family and friends in Islamabad are safe despite being shaken in the capital. Islamabad sits less than 90 miles south of Kashmir, the worst-afflicted region of the earthquake. "When there was an aftershock everything was shaking. Everyone in Islamabad came out of their homes and was standing around because they didn't know what to do," said Wajih. "It's really hard for me to be here. My whole family - mom, dad, brother, sister - are there and I'm here. I'm here by myself."
Measuring 7.6 magnitude on the Richter scale, the earthquake toppled buildings in big cities and leveled entire towns and villages throughout northern Pakistan. It was felt hundreds of miles away in Kabul, Afghanistan and New Delhi, India. "None of the buildings are made to withstand earthquakes," explained Wajih. "They're made of concrete to withstand floods and mudslides and bad weather but not earthquakes. Earthquakes in Pakistan are really rare. An earthquake is the least expected thing to happen."
Estimated death tolls now exceed 80,000. Seismologists consider this earthquake to be the most powerful earthquake in South Asia since 1935 when a tremor killed 35,000 people in western Pakistan. The government of Pakistan is using the military to get aid to survivors but because of the rugged topography of mountainous Kashmir and bad weather many villages cannot be reached. United States Army aid helicopters sent from Afghanistan were grounded for several days because of hailstorms and icy weather.

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