RAZAKABAD // Swaddled in colourful cloth, Salman Khan slept soundly in a makeshift bassinet, oblivious to the activity around him. One of the youngest victims of Pakistan's recent flood disaster, his family's home in the village of Shikarpur was destroyed in the deluge.
Salman - who was named after his father's favourite Bollywood star - will have no memory of the tragedy that led to their displacement. Just four weeks old, he is one of six babies born after this relief camp in the town of Razakabad was set up by the Pakistani government two months ago.
Salman and the five other babies are the youngest patients being looked after at the camp's medical clinic run by the UAE's Zayed Giving Initiative.
"He had some abdominal cramps, but he's OK now," said Dr Mumtaz Ali Sheikh, one of the clinic's doctors, as he checked in at the family's tent. "We'll keep checking on him and the other babies."
According to medics, each of the six mothers went into labour in the camp before being transferred to a local hospital for the delivery. Sanam, 25, from Shadarcot, gave birth to Taher, a tiny infant, just 20 days ago. When the waters descended on their town, her husband Zaher Ali packed up what he could and got his two-year-old son and then-heavily pregnant wife as far from the area as possible.
"We had to escape, leave everything and save our lives," said Mr Ali, 32. "I was very confused about what could happen to my wife. Now everything is OK. I was very happy to see my new baby born."
In a tent opposite the Ali family, Fatima Ibrahim, just 10 days old, slept peacefully in her grandmother's arms. The Razakabad camp is also the only home she has known, after her family were forced to escape the flooding around their home in the Thatta district six weeks ago.
"Everything was destroyed, and there is still water in our village," said Pirbox Rahoja, 63, Fatima's grandfather.
Some 40 kilometres from Karachi, the Razakabad camp is surrounded by high concrete walls with a guarded metal gate at the entrance. Inside, over 1,800 men, women and children are living in 500 canvas tents set-up in rows.
The camp's residents receive medical care at the Zayed Giving Initiative's clinic - a satellite facility of the UAE International Humanitarian Field Children's Hospital, which is currently stationed in Thatta.
In Razakabad, the Zayed Giving Initiative team see around 80 patients a day, said Dr Mumtaz Baloch, dealing with conditions such as skin infections, respiratory problems and "general weakness". "And we of course check on the newborn babies everyday," he said.
There are around 300 children living in the camp. Every morning, dozens gather at an improvised schoolhouse set-up by the camp's managers. Seated on small benches and shaded from the sun by a canopy overhead, the children are given basic lessons in subjects like Islamic studies and Urdu.
"I feel very satisfied helping the people, especially because they are our countrymen in need," said Tariq Hussein, a Pakistani paramedic working at the camp.
Close to the schoolhouse, storage tents are packed with bags of rice and other staple items. Under a nearby tree, a group of men and boys gather around two large tin buckets as they mix a massive batch of fruit cordial for the camp. The residents work together, preparing food and helping out where they can, as they all try to come to terms with the uncertainty of their future.
"We are planning to go back home when the situation is better and the water has gone," said Fayaz Ahmed, a farmer and father of six.
After Salman Khan was born last month, Mr Ahmed, 35, built a miniature hammock at the entrance to his family's tent for his youngest child - a little reminder of a tradition from his home town.
"We don't know what we are going to do - we don't have a house any more or a single penny. We are under stress," he said. "God will do the best for us and I will do the best for my children, especially Salman Khan."
