Azan “has witnessed all.” He is aware of his parents’ absence. He simply doesn’t know how to survive without them yet.
Shams ur Rehman is discussing his nephew Muhammad Azan, age nine, who has been residing with him and his family in Buner, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan. When flash floods swept over the valley in mid-August, Azan’s parents and three brothers perished.
Qadir Ahmed, 17, must bear yet another burden in Buner. The floods caused his family’s home to collapse on August 15. “My mother was dragged away by the water. I have to take care of my [four] younger siblings now.
