Non-Fiction / Climate Change
Passu: The
Melting Frontier
The Karakoram landscape is shifting. In the shadow of Passu Sar, the ancient ice that defined the frontier is receding, leaving behind a narrative of resilience and irrevocable change in the face of a warming world.
Creative Non-Fiction / History
The Silk Road: Surviving the Shift
The Silk Road lay, not in India or Pakistan, but on land. The land, which branched out into Passu, allowed many visitors to frequent vast lands with apple trees. These apple trees, meticulously grown by the farmers of Passu, observed the changing times. Through their land passed a myriad of ethnicities: British, Chinese, Arabs, and even Persians. Eventually, with the changing times, the climate also transformed. When the climate changes, it isn’t only the weather that is impacted, but the people who are weathering the environment as well.
Amongst the glaciers of modern-day Passu lies a testament to its resilience, one that must be celebrated yet also pondered upon. It is in the form of the civilians of Passu: the owners as well as its saviours. The gurgling of water engulfed the ears of the villagers as the flood made its way through their homes. The fierce water which came through Shimshal, a neighbouring village, forced the entire village back. It flowed from vast places such as the Khunjerab river, Batura Valley, and Passu Glacier to ultimately make its home amongst the banks of Passu. A home, that resulted in Passu village being pushed back by 200–250 ft. A number which Amanullah recalls as he thinks back to his childhood in the late 1960s.
Amanullah in Passu: A portrait of local courage
Region: Gilgit-Baltistan
His indigo shalwar kameez lies on him dormantly as he narrates these events, ones that would lead him to spend his time volunteering to stop such erosion in the future. It is said that childhood is to make happy memories, yet due to climate change, Passu’s children are forced to constantly relive the fear of a flood brought about by the transforming climate encompassing our universe. For Amanullah, this fear grew into a stubbornness to work against the effects of the persistent threat of climate change. The words tinkled out of his mouth as he discussed his journey.
Legacy: Ancient Soil
His memory of the many initial unsuccessful works in 2000 by NGOs, the government, and even a Japanese company built a somber atmosphere. However, he pushed and played a vital role in birthing change. He spent 2021 & 2022 building a 129 m concrete wall alongside his village implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation. The wall had a deep foundation held by strong rocks to prevent their land’s erosion, a parallel to its builders whose glistening hope moulded their fingers alongside their future. Amanullah’s eyes dictate a story; alongside climate change he see’s hope.
“The quiet retreat of the ice is the loud alarm of a changing world, a narrative written in water and stone.”
Beyond the Glacier
The melting peaks of Passu are more than a local crisis; they are a silent testament to the fragile threads connecting human habitations to the rhythm of the planet. As we descend from the heights of the narrative, the challenge remains: to transform awareness into collective action and to ensure that the knowledge shared in these valleys echo far beyond their stony edges.
We’d love to hear your thoughts. How would you edit or expand this narrative to capture more of Passu’s story?