Fear of losing everything is forcing people to take risks in disaster-hit Pakistan, a Belfast charity worker has witnessed.
By David O'Hare in Pakistan
"We know there is danger, but we will not leave our village. Our homes are all we have and we can't abandon them," one man - Mohammad Siddique - told me.
For the people of the village of Billaualpur, in Sindh in southern Pakistan, the fear of losing all they have is too much to take.
This is one of the poorest parts of the country and has been particularly badly hit by the recent floods.
New flood threats are being issued every day, but nevertheless Mohammad and others refuse to leave their homes.
Their village has been partly flooded already and is surrounded by floodwater. It is totally cut off and can only be accessed by boat.
"We have sent the women and children to the government camps where they will be safe if there is more flooding, but we are staying," Mohammad told me.
"We want to try to save something from the water. We are also scared that, if we leave, then someone will come and steal our possessions."
The risk these men are taking is severe. In this area, there are fears that a flood defence could give way at any time causing more devastation.
Tr?caire has been funding rescue operations and providing emergency food rations in this part of Sindh through our partner, Pakistani Fisher Folk (PFF). Staff from PFF have tried to persuade the men to leave the village, but to no avail.
"They have very little and what they do have, they are afraid of losing. They say they would rather die trying to protect what's theirs than go to the government camps," Mustafa Mirani of PFF told me.
"The poorest and most vulnerable have been affected most by these floods and people are desperately worried about how they will feed themselves and their families in the months to come if they lose everything."
Food is running short in the village and Tr?caire will be providing emergency food rations for the people in the coming days.
David O'Hare works for Trócaire in Belfast. His updates from Pakistan are being serialised for UTV's website. More information on the relief effort in Pakistan, including how to donate, can be found on Trócaire's website.
© UTV News