1. Med shot, Swat River
2. Various shots, people travelling on a cable car over river
3. Various shots, Rafts on the river bank
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Zahid Khan, NGO Partner–SRSP, UNHCR:
“It is simple local boat. It is tyres, especially tractor tyres tubes and bamboo tied above it. Usually people here use this and we are using the same indigenous technology.”
5. Close up, quick waters
6. Med shot, Dolat Khan on a raft
7. SOUNDBITE (Pastho) Dolat Khan, raft oarsman:
“I have made it by my ownself for this purpose. When the flood came, we used it. Earlier, I used boats like this for fishing and for daily chores.”
8. Wide shot, Dolat on raft
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ariane Rummery, Islamabad representative, UNHCR:
“It is a low tech response to what’s been a problem. There is a shortage of helicoptes in this emergency so we have had to come up with an innovative solution on the ground.”
10. Various shots, raft being unloaded onto a truck
11. Wide shot, truck departs
12. Various shots, truck being unloaded
13. Various shots, Arsala registering at the local school
14. Med shot, Arsala getting his tent on a truck
15. Wide shot, Arsala with his family in home
16. Pan left, destroyed house in the village
17. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Umer Zeba, mother and flood victim:
“When it started to rain again, mud started coming through the walls, it continued and in ten minutes our home was going to fall down.”
18. Med shot, Arsala and UNHCR staff talking
19. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Arsala Khan, son and flood victim:
“We will erect the tent here and live here. The rooms are in bad shape. We need to erect the tent and start living in that right here.”
20. Various shots, rafts on the river leaving the shore

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Storyline

Bridges destroyed by flood waters are a familiar sight on the Swat River.

Although a few cable cars remain, they move people and can’t take the weight of heavy relief items. So it was left to tradition to come to the rescue.

In the past, people used rafts or ‘jalas’ made of animals skins to ferry themselves and goods across the river.

When the floods cut off all the roads, local UNHCR staff came up with the idea of adapting the rafts to transport supplies.

SOUNDBITE (English) Zahid Khan, NGO Partner SRSP, UNHCR:
“It is simple local boat. It is tyres - especially tractor tyres tubes and bamboo tied above it. Usually people here use this and we are using the same indigenous technology.”

The rafts go back and forth carrying dozens of packages and tents making enough trips on a good day to help about 100 families.

Dolat Khan ran rafts as a child.

SOUNDBITE (Pastho) Dolat Khan, raft oarsman:
“I have made it by my own self for this purpose. When the flood came, we used it. Earlier, I used boats like this for fishing and for daily chores.”

The journey is dangerous and the current strong. The rafts need a steady oarsman not float down river or tip over.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ariane Rummery, Islamabad Representative, UNHCR:
“It is a low tech response to what’s been a problem. There is a shortage of helicopter in this emergency so we have had to come up with an innovative solution on the ground.”

Once the goods arrive on the other side of the river, they are loaded onto trucks and brought to a local distribution centre.

Arsala Khan and his family are rice farmers and the waters washed away all their crops and killed ten of their cattle.

Last year, many of the houses in the village were bombed in the conflict between the government and militants.

This year, the rains brought even more destruction, damaging their home.

SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Umer Zeba, Mother and flood victim:
“When it started to rain again, mud started coming through the walls, it continued and in ten minutes our home was going to fall down.”

Without the rafts, supplies might still not have reached Arsala’s and hundreds of other families.

SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Arsala Khan, Son and flood victim:
“We will erect the tent here and live here. The rooms are in bad shape. We need to erect the tent and start living in that right here.”

Six oarsmen work shifts on three rafts, success means that three more rafts are being built to speed up the aid process.