For taxi driver Mohammed Naeem, who works in the streets of Jeddah day and night to support a large family in his native Pakistan, the unimaginable happened on Wednesday when he lost many of his dear ones in an earthquake that flattened his village Wam in Pakkistan's Balochistan region. His wife is known to have died, while other family members are still unaccounted for. “The most depressing thing is that I can't go and help search for them. I don't even know who has survived out of my family and friends,” says Mohammed, still in a state of shock. The earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale, struck Balochistan early Wednesday morning leaving 15,000 homeless and at least 135 dead, a figure expected to rise as rescuers reach remote villages. “I had seven children by two wives. Two of my daughters, a son, two brothers and a sister are still unaccounted for. My family really needs me, but I cannot go to Wam because I don't have the money.” Mohammed pays SR120 each day to his taxi company, and is currently paying an additional SR50 every day due to an accident he had two months ago. The taxi company takes SR1,000 if there is any kind of accident or damage. Some companies give full insurance cover to drivers and vehicles, but most of them put the responsibility for driver insurance on the driver. “I cannot save enough. I usually send money to my family and keep a little for living expenses. I simply don't have enough money for a ticket to Pakistan.” “Five members of my family have been confirmed dead. They were asleep when the tremor struck. There were two jolts. The first was mild and my parents managed to get out. They and many other relatives are now living without a roof in Wam.” Wam was one of the worst-hit villages by the latest quake to strike the region. Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, was flattened in 1935 by an earthquake that killed 30,000 people, and in October 2005, a 7.6 quake devastated Kashmir and northern Pakistan, killing about 80,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Friends of Mohammed are trying to raise money for him to make the trip home. “I don't think it'll be enough,” Mohammed says. “Some of my friends are also saying I shouldn't go to Pakistan but should send money to relatives instead. They probably need the money more than they need me in person.” Rescue workers in Wam itself say there isn't a single house still standing following the initial quake and some 20 subsequent aftershocks. Authorities in the region are digging mass graves as the search for survivors among the rubble continues. “I never had the chance to see my beloved wife one last time,” Mohammed says, choking back the tears. “She was my first love. Now I have lost her forever. And I don't know who else from my family may have died.” – SG __
