Shama knew what to do this month when floodwaters from the Indian border swept into her Punjabi village: grab her four kids and get ready to escape. She had to evacuate for the second time this year after leaving her house during the May cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan.
“How many times do we need to evacuate now?” According to the 30-year-old mother, her husband was away on a boat transporting their ten cows to higher land. “The water is displacing us once more after we lost so much during the war, such as the children’s school days. “Difficulty is trouble.”
Families in flood-affected Kasur say they are worn out from being uprooted so frequently in a matter of months, echoing Shama’s experience.