Guterres sees “great heights” of human resilience and heroism in the face of Pakistan’s “climate carnage”

The General secretary landed in Sindh province on Saturday before flying over some of the worst-affected areas en route to Baluchistan, where he met local residents, some of whom were directly affected by the floods.

After witnessing firsthand the result of the catastrophic floods that have been devastating Pakistan since mid-June, António Guterres stated that the result of declaring war on nature is that the environment can hit you back “with devastating consequences”.

During the second day of his visit in solidarity with the Asian nation, the Secretary General stressed that climate change is promoting the destruction of our planet and expressed his astonishment at the size of the flooded areas.

Guterres is speechless in the face of tragedy

“I have seen many humanitarian catastrophes in the world, but I have never seen climate “carnage” of this magnitude. I simply have no words to describe what I have seen today: a flooded area that is three times the total area of ​​my own country, Portugal”, he told reporters at the end of his field visits.

While he was struck by the “unmeasurable depth of human suffering” he had witnessed, he stressed that he had also seen “great heights of human resilience and heroism, from emergency (aid) workers to ordinary people helping their neighbours”.

Guterres stressed that beyond the fact that a third of the country is submerged under water, of the more than 1,300 lives lost, of the tens of millions of people who were left homeless and of cattle and crops devastated, there are still “unquantifiable levels of of human suffering”.

Early in the morning, the UN minister traveled by plane from Islamabad to the town of Sukkur, in Sindh province, accompanied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. His visit ended this afternoon in the city of Karachi, where he held a press conference with Bhutto Zardar at the airport.

Speaking on the runway and flanked by a newly arrived aid shipment, the Secretary-General paid tribute to the enormous response efforts of the Pakistani authorities, both civilian and military, and national and regional.

He also wanted to thank “civil society, humanitarian organizations and my UN colleagues who have rushed out. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the donors who have started to support Pakistan at this terrible time.”

Given the magnitude of the disaster and the enormous needs suffered by the Asian country, he requested immense and urgent financial support for Pakistan.. “Y this is not just a matter of solidarity or generosity. It is a question of justice. Pakistan he is paying the price for something that was created by others.”

UN/Shirin Yaseen

During his visit to Pakistan, Secretary-General António Guterres spoke with displaced people in Usta Muhammed, Baluchistan province.

Displaced and homeless

Scenes of submerged land were clearly visible from the plane carrying the UN and Pakistani officials as it flew over the southern parts of the country.

In addition to witnessing the damage first-hand, the Secretary-General also met with local officials, residents left homeless, and the “selfless” townspeople who rushed to help their neighbors when the waters began to rise.

At the Sukkur airport, Sindh provincial chief minister Murad Ali Shah described the magnitude of the disaster. “All rural areas on both sides of the Indus River have been affected,” he said. “We know that almost 600 people have died, that there are less than 10,000 injured and a rough estimate of 12 million people affected.”

He added that at the moment the main objective is the relief teams, including the provision of tents to take refuge, as well as mosquito nets to help the displaced.

The Sukkur area was severely affected by the 2010 and 2011 floods, and is again among the most affected areas.

Scenes of devastation were also intense on the way from Sukkur airport to the next stop at Usta Muhammad in Baluchistan province.

In Usta Muhammed, the Secretary General, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister listened to the harrowing accounts of the displaced. One of them was that of a man who lived on the outskirts of the city and lost everything in the floods.

Guterres also met with a woman who told him about her health problems, and another who had given birth to a child.

The next stop was Mohenjo-Daro, another area affected by the floods. On the way to their crowded settlement, tents could be seen pitched on the embankments as desperate people try to avoid the threat of rising waters.

Guterres interacted with families and women who told him they had lost everything. His message to them was: “I am here to ask the whole world to give massive support to Pakistan.”

The Secretary General and Bhutto Zardari also visited a nearby hospital, where they met with health personnel as well as citizens who had rushed to help the affected communities.

Visit to an ancient site

After their visit to the hospital, they headed to Mohenjo Daro, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was also affected by the floods.

The archaeological ruins of Mohenjo-Daro date back to the third millennium BC and represent the best-preserved urban settlement in South Asia, according to UNESCO.

© UNICEF/A. Sami Malik

Distribution of hygiene kits to families affected by flooding in Balochistan province, Pakistan.

Rich countries have a “moral responsibility” to help developing nations

Back in Karachi, Guterres recalled that extreme weather events contain “the traces of human activity”, specifically the burning of fossil fuels that heat our planet.

“The G20 countries are responsible for 80% of current emissions -1%, 80%- and developed economies are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gases throughout history”, he highlighted.

For this reason, he indicated that the richest countries have “the moral responsibility” to help developing nations like Pakistan “to recover from catastrophes like these, and to adapt, to create resilience to climate impacts that, unfortunately, will be repeated in the future”.

Guterres put figures to this support and indicated that “at least half of the aid destined for adaptation and climate resilience” must be allocated to countries like Pakistan so that its citizens, its economy and its wealth are protected against the next floods.

“As our planet continues to warm, all countries will experience increasing climate-related loss and damage that will exceed their ability to adapt. Today, it is Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country, wherever you live.” he predicted