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By Suzanne Charest in Bam
Fatima Badrabadi sits perched upon a large bundle enveloped in torn plastic sheeting with her two year-old daughter Nazanin cradled on her lap. All of the belongings she has retrieved from her destroyed home are in the bundle.
Her eyes swell with tears as she explains her predicament: "I don't know where to turn. I was away in Zahedan with my two children when this earthquake hit. I came back as quickly as I could, only to find the entire street where I live destroyed. A bulldozer is now razing my home."
The search continues for many people missing because of the disaster. "Now I must try to find my husband," laments Badrabadi. "I have no idea of his whereabouts." Earlier in the day the 36 year-old mother had registered with the Iranian Red Crescent tracing team, which is supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This team is working tirelessly to find the countless missing people in the region.
A few metres from Fatemeh sits Abbas Nasripour, puffing on his cigarette and staring blankly down the road at Arg, the 2,000 year-old castle heavily damaged during the quake. This castle is the largest medieval mud fortress in the world and attracted many tourists to the region. The income from this tourism has been severely jeopardized.
"Most people on this street died," says Nasripour. "I have lost seven members of my family, including my wife, mother, father, sister and brother," he adds. "I even found their dead bodies. There is little place to turn in this neighbourhood."
A Red Crescent worker has just interviewed many people on the street to assess their needs for relief items. He speeds off in a small car to bring his report back to the headquarters of the relief operation.
This type of the on-the-spot needs assessment will be vital as the Iranian Red Crescent and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies prepares to launch a long-term appeal covering relief and rehabilitation needs in the coming days.
Many people in Bam and the surrounding villages are desperate for news of their loved ones and uncertain of their fate. Some 28,500 bodies have been officially recovered from the ruins and buried and thousands more are missing. The numbers of unaccompanied children is estimated to run into the hundreds.
The Iranian Red Crescent was the first aid organization to respond to the Bam earthquake, providing urgently needed relief items such as tents, blankets, clean water, food parcels, kitchen sets, heaters and clothing.
It is being supported by Red Cross and Red Crescent societies from around the world, responding to an emergency appeal launched by the International Federation within 24 hours of the disaster.