Visit to Siana

November 3-5, 2005, Muhammad Sidiq and I travelled to his village of Siana in search of a sustainable earthquake relief project. The journey was exhausting so the information will trickle out over many days (weeks).

The school van dropped me in Rawalpindi, and from that point on Muhammad Sidiq and I took a journey.

Stage 1:
Travel on a local van to Muzaffarabad and transfer to another van to reach Hatian Bala. Throw your bag on top of the van, try to sit by a window on one of the four rows behind the driver each 'crammed' with four people, and be sure to close that window when the woman in front of you vomits out the forward window. Welcome to the roller coaster that is local transportation. P.S. It's highly advisable, in my opinion, to avoid the highly honored front-seat with the driver; if there is an accident, then you will most likely be ejected.

Stage 2:
Hike the~10 km footpath that is almost constantly uphill on the "short-cut" to Siana. Note: this is a 4-5 hour hike for slow-pokes like me carrying lots of water (4.5L), winter clothing, and two fine pizzas. Take a vehicle if at all reasonable, and turn your hike into a 0.5 km stroll.

Stage 3: Take two days and about 700 pictures/video clips of the journey and Siana. Try your best to communicate with practically no Urdu knowledge. Visit the schools, sleep in the temporary shelters, and attempt to capture a realistic overall picture of another culture and location, that is Siana. Think about how you can rebuild this village and still respect the community that has been here for about a hundred years before you.

Stage 4: Get stuck without transportation in Hatian Bala at 5pm during Eid. Beg relief workers for a ride to Muzaffarabad. Beg for shelter after dusk, since Muzaffarabad has also been hit by an earthquake and doesn't have many hotel rooms for the likes of you. Thank a teacher at a madrassa for a tent, warm beddings, and two warm meals out of kindness.

Stage 5: Travel back to Rawalpindi/Islamabad with local transportation. [NB: remember that note about closing the window]. Take a taxi home, and pray for some relaxation before you travel again.