Pakistanis Dig In: 'We're Scared of Losing Everything'

Thousands stay behind to safeguard what's left
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 22, 2010 11:45 AM CDT
Pakistanis Dig In: 'We're Scared of Losing Everything'
A Pakistani flood survivor girl eats food at a camp in Sukkur, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010.   (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Somewhere beneath the swirling warm brown floodwaters drenching Pakistan lie the remnants of millions of displaced lives: possessions, crops, livelihoods, the ruins of homes. But even as the amount worth saving dwindles—perhaps a few bedraggled animals, cookware, or transistor radio—thousands upon thousands are digging in and refusing to evacuate, desperately determined to save what little remains.

With the corruption of public officials and the demise of an overlord system, there is literally no one to look out for Pakistanis devastated by the water—save Pakistanis themselves, reports the AP. "We're not scared of dying," a young farmer says. "We're scared of losing everything we have."
(More Pakistan stories.)

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