Massive earthquake rips through South Asia

» Death toll tops 360 and is expected to rise

Aleeze Asif
Contrioutor

magnitude-7.8 earthquake

illed thousands in Nepal,
South Asia was hit with another
earthquake of immense
proportions. The earthquake
struck around 2 a.m. PST,
on October 26, measuring
at 7.5 on the Richter scale
according to the United States
Geological Survey (USGS). Its
epicenter was the Hindu Kush
mountain range in north-east
Afghanistan. Tremors were
felt hundreds of miles away in
Pakistan and Northern India.

Although the earthquake

Jina six months after a deadly
kK

had its epicenter in Afghanistan,

the majority of the fatalities
reported so far are from
Pakistan. CNN has reported
248 fatalities in Pakistan, 115
in Afghanistan, and a single
death from the Indian side of
the disputed territory Kashmir.
These numbers are expected
to rise significantly as rescue
teams continue their efforts.
Alisha Yaseen, a student,
was alone in her house when
the quake shuddered her house
“slowly at first, then more and
more violently.” She opened
up about her experience,
saying: “I could see the fan, the
fridge and the wall hangings
shake left and right. It was
so dreadful. When I came
outside on the road, I could
see my neighbours and office
workers standing and praying
to Allah for their forgiveness.”
Yaseen expressed her

: concern about the fact that no

: one was ever educated on what

: to do in case an earthquake ever
: hit. “It is a sad reality but no

: seminars have been conducted

: in the schools and colleges. The
: kids do not need to practice

: how to evacuate the school

: buildings and how not to rush

: into each other, [but]the news

: channels do provide you with

: the helpful information on how
: to secure yourself from any

: mishaps during the earthquake.”

Muhammad Lateef, an

: administrator at a preschool,

: revealed the chaos that the

: earthquake caused in his

: district. “Everyone was running
: towards the exits, reciting verses !
: from the Quran. The adults

: seemed far more frightened

: than the children, maybe

: because the children aren't as
: aware of the destruction an

: earthquake can cause. I’m not
: easily frightened, but the way
: the buildings were swaying, I

 

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ia

: didn’t know buildings could

: do that. I saw two buildings

: that were about a foot-apart

: touch slightly a few times as the
: earthquake made them waver

side to side. They were scraping

> concrete off one another!”

Lateef continued,

: expressing his worry for his

: friends who went to Neelum

: Valley in the northern areas

: of Pakistan over the weekend:
: “The quakes always take their
toll on the northern areas. I

Image via Hazrat Ali Bacha/ Reuters a

: can't reach them. I don’t know
: if they'll make it back.”

The northern mountainous

: areas of Pakistan are chockfull
: of unstable, poorly made

: structures. The infrastructural
: development of these areas

: has been neglected by the

: government as the Pakistani

: Army tries to keep the Taliban
: and other extremist groups

: from gaining power.

Rescuers are trying

: desperately to access the remote
: areas in Pakistan’s Khyber

: Pakhtunkhwa province, where

: the earthquake ripped through

: the region, causing landslides

: and flattening houses.

The quake has left

: thousands of families homeless.
: Officials have expressed concern
: about pushing aid towards parts
: of Afghanistan where there is a

: growing presence of the Taliban.
: Yet even the Taliban has urged

: humanitarian groups to not

: hold back aid to the victims.

The Oxfam group’s

: humanitarian director Jane

: Cocking told CNN that as the
: harsh winters close in, the

: survivors who have lost their

: homes to the earthquake “will
: need protection from the

: elements, food, clean water

: and hygiene essentials.”

Oxfam, The British Red

: Cross, UNICEF, Doctors without
: Borders and other non-profit

: organizations continue to

: provide aid to areas affected,

: accepting donations and

: providing aid to the victims

: of this tragic disaster.

 

China now allowing for two children in urban families

» Controversial one-child policy lifted after 35 years

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor
& news@theotherpress.ca

A an attempt to create a
stable workforce in the

future, the Communist Party
of China will loosen its strict
one-child policy beginning in
March to now allow families to
have two children. The decision
was made in hopes that couples
will have more children who
can grow up to better support
China’s large aging population.

to have one child in order to
slow the booming population of
over one billion people. Families
in rural areas were sometimes
allowed to bear two children.
The one-child policy has

continued to be controversial
over the span of its existence,

: and many argue that it has
: resulted in several problems
: for the economy and society.

Socially, the one-

: child policy has resulted

: Ina mismatch of gender

: demographics. According to the
: Globe and Mail, there are 12 boys :
: for every 10 girls in the under-15_
: age demographic, presumably a
: result of sex-selected abortions
: and female infanticide.

Families have often lived

: in fear of the government

: simply for wanting to have
For the last 35 years, families  ™OT® children. Since the .

in urban areas were only allowed : one-child policy was put into

: place, 336 million Chinese

: women have had abortions,

: and many of them, if not a

: majority, were forced. Tens of

: millions of women have been

: sterilized by the government.

Millions of Chinese

: residents were born and
: continue to live without

: citizenship, simply due to

: being second or third children
: of poor families who could

: not afford to pay the fines

: associated with having more

: than one child. These people

: cannot officially work or

seek out any civic service.
Even with the reversal

: of the policy, China will still

: eventually face the economic

: hardships that will come

: froma falling population. By

: allowing two children per

: family, that decline will start in
: 2034, instead of the previously
: projected 2029 with the one-

: child policy. It is problematic

: because there will simply not

: be enough workers to supply

: all of China and support the

: retired population. The current
: fertility rate in China is 1.7,

: where at least 2.1 is needed to

: maintain the population.

“They should actually

 

: have abolished this long ago,”
: Cai Yong, a population expert
: working at the University

: of North Carolina, said to

: the Globe and Mail. “China

: missed its best opportunity to
: relax the policy when people

: were still willing to havea

Image via thinkstock

: second or even third child.”

: Yong predicts that there

: will be a slight baby boom over
: the next few years, but the

: boom will quickly relax and

: fertility rates will continue

: at their current rate.