-[[ M.u.z.a.f.f.a.r.a.b.a.d ]]-[[ 04.01.07 ]]-

For the filming I revisited Kashmir, mainly Muzaffarabad. Most of the rubble had been cleared away by then but the damage was still obvious with large cracks in the road, broken homes & buildings but Muazaffarabad seemed like it had moved on and was pretty much back to normal with its lively atmosphere. We visited most of the camps donated from many countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Tunisia. We came across a new camp which had been opened up by "Azad Kashmir Radio Station" were a lot of rebuilding was going on, with new homes being built so we decided to go in. We came across this man who was a radio producer at "Azad Radio" who lived there and was kind enough to invite us into his home he told us about the whole disaster and how his wife & 4 year old son were stuck underneath all the rubble of their home for 4 days. Luckily no one in his immediate family was killed but in his whole family & his wife's just under 100 were killed instantly, not including all those that were left injured. He then took us up to the epicentre of the earthquake were new mountains have been formed due to the great strength of the earthquake. Finally, he took us up to the "Azad Kashmir Radio & T.V Station" which was completely flattened except for the guard's office at the front and the Mosque. One of the TV Producers there, Shazia Malik, showed us around and told us stories of all those killed there including her assistant and the guard who had just gotten home from his night shift just to have his roof fall down on him and kill him. She showed us around buildings which "PTV" a Pakistani Television channel had donated as well as a new studio which was built from Japenese donations. The people weren't even scared that the snow was coming, which is a big fear after the earthquake as the snow can fall upto 8 ft and kills many of the homeless or poorer people in Kashmir, they also weren't scared of the landsliding which again is a major issue there due to the mountainous area. The day that we left Kashmir a huge landsliding incident occured which caused several cars and a coach of people to fall of the mountain, killing over 60 people, which we managed to escape by a few hours. Overall the whole experience was amazing and it really made me realise how strong these people are. From looking at footage and the news several months after the whole disaster, one year ago I didn't really see their strength as it was still fresh and no one was quite sure what to do..be thankful to GOD that their still alive..or be upset that everyone they loved was now dead. But a year on, with time to be thankful and grow they show their strength, that despite all that's happened to them they still have faith in GOD, faith within themselves and most of all unity. It seems that this whole earthquake brought not only Kashmir together again but the whole of Pakistan, who worked night and day to rebuild lives.

.x. Bia .x.