KUN0038 4 GEN 0250 KUWAIT /KUNA-FYI4 PPL-PAKISTAN-KRCS-BAGH City of Bagh no longer an orchard after quake destruction By Muna Sheshtar (with photos) BAGH (Northwest Pakistan), Nov 29 (KUNA) -- Bagh ... the Pakistani city on the Panjal Peer Mountains in the Himalayas and situated 3,000 feet above sea-level, would truly look like the "orchard" its name means had it not been for destruction left behind by the October 8 earthquake. Residents of the city have been trying to bring out the beauty of their city once again, after the earthquake leveled buildings to the ground, reducing them to rubble. Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), some of Bagh's people said rebuilding their city "requires a lot of time, effort and money ... which is impossible with the onset of winter and the fall of snow." These villagers live in the few houses that remain standing and live a semi-normal life in the mornings, but head to camps set up by Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) in the evening. The Pakistani government had attempted to convince villagers to evacuate their homes and live at the foot of the mountain through the winter season to have easier access when distributing aid and providing health services, but its efforts were in vain. Seventy-year old Waqaar Hussein told KUNA, "I lived my whole life in this place and cannot imagine being anywhere else." "Yes, we face hardships in the mountains ... We suffer shortage of food in the winter ... We go through this every year," he continued. As for Fatima Afthal, whose face has been lined with the marks of life, she said that villagers have strong faith and believe that if it was the will of Allah for them to die, they would "whether they were on the mountain or living at its foot." She added that people of the mountains had great dignity and "want to live in what remains of their houses," thanking Kuwait for the tents that have been set up, and which they use as shelter during the night. Meanwhile, Ajmal Hussein said Kuwaiti aid presented to villagers helped them overcome the harsh weather conditions, adding that "KRCS team visited us just a few days after the earthquake hit our city ... They crossed difficult terrain to get to us at a time when no other aid teams were able to reach us." Mirza Anwar, another villager, looked with awe at KRCS team while they unloaded their truck, wondering how they were able to cross the long road from Islamabad to get to Bagh when roads were destroyed and cut off. KRCS team distributed heavy blankets and shawls, new tents that were more resistant to the cold, sweets and candy for the children, as well as school books and stationary. KRCS team head Yousef Al-Miraj received a request from Safdar Majeed, a villager, for temporary buildings instead of tents. "We do not need food, we can sustain ourselves with the sheep and cattle we herd ... What we need are temporary buildings to keep out the cold and snow." The Pakistani government has also requested aid in the educational sector, and this is another issue being looked into by KRCS, which is currently supporting 650 families in the city of Bagh and surrounding villages.(end) ms.ema