“I Search for Water”
A nomad in my own territory
The dust flies above, heat and sweat unbearably rapid, blisters formed beneath my feet, breathing…softly, harshly sometimes cant…a hoarse breathing….like a request, tongue dried and feathery, and the sun up on me: I SEARCH FOR WATER
I am an indigenous girl from Balochistan, Pakistan. The land with diverse tribes and the province bordering with Afghanistan and Iran. Belonging to a nation with such diverse colors, traditions and culture I have always been fascinated by Balochistan but yes sometimes confused from all this tradition because ever since a child I have witnessed a strange pheno- menon with our indigenous culture. The constant search for water.Almost all the cultural and trad- itional fables have stories of water, rain, clouds and monsoon. Rivers are discussed in poetry; happy endings mean it “rained”. Stories my grandmother tells me of people praying, fasting and asking God for rain, for a drop of water and then it would rain, they would be happy and celebrate.
Songs from years ago would chant the hearty songs of ever joyous traditional singers, who would constantly repeat and I say repeat the incoming of clouds, the possibility of rain and then the celebration by wedding the daughters. The daughters, who with two braided heads would stare at the clouds rather shyly and with hearts pounding in their chests, Indeed Its not the rain only that they celebrated, it was the water, the drops of water that fall upon the thirsty lands and their crops danced green in the brightest of days and then is when a family was called prosperous, prospers enough to give back loans, wed their girls and to build their houses from new mud with the glint of red. Now when the still beautiful chanting from traditional songs urge us to dance with their beautiful beats, we don’t take time to ever halt and concentrate because in those hearty words is the reality of Balochistans future. A Climatically Challenged area where barren lands have already given up struggling to live and are Turing to desertification. The province is going to be and perhaps already is an exposed vulnerability in the face of Climate Change.
Balochistans traditional forms of livelihood and using of agricultural land have now slowly been changing, The two methods Khushkaba and Sailaba of agriculture are diverted, the usually making of bands to use up flood water for lands doesn’t work because floods have change course as now even the ingenious knowledge can’t predict from where the flesh floods would be attacking, once a blessing to the people of valleys in Baluchistan, mountains are now a danger of disaster them.
In all this we are aware that indigenous people are the first ones to be worst hit by climate change and its already started to happen all around the world and in Balochistan as well. The search that started from time we don’t even know of is still going on, the search for water and it is not estimated when this search actually becomes a “fight” for water. But I know one thing, today on the blog action day for water as the world talks about water; don’t forget the people deep down in the dry hard lands, walking miles in the heat and dust for the search of water.
Khalida Brohi
