BBC: Refugees in Karachi

[Solomon2]

BBC: Pakistani displaced find life hard in Karachi

We are sitting in the cramped three-room house he shares with his brother's family in the Pashtun-dominated neighbourhood of Sohrab Goth, on the outskirts of Karachi....in the end it was a question of survival, Mr Khan says.

"The army had also started using artillery and aircraft to bombard the area. I saw many houses being destroyed."

Wilayat Khan says civilian casualties were caused by the army bombing, but he is not sure how many...

Public schools and colleges in Karachi are now refusing to admit students living in the city, unless their fathers were also residents...

"This means most young people will end up sitting at home. The only choices then are madrassas or joining the labour force." Mr Mehsud says that as getting unskilled jobs is not easy, many young men also end up being involved in crime or jihad...

 

[apophenia]

"The army had also started using artillery and aircraft to bombard the area. I saw many houses being destroyed."

yea right...i'd agree if i had any idea what the **** that just said.

 

[abbasniazi]

I think MQM which already fears pushtoons might have instructed schools to refrain from granting admissions to young pushtoons and the reason behind it is that kids of school going age are continously being used as suicide bombers by TTP.

and if say few such kids are deliberately admitted to these schools by TTP as a tactical move to sneak through the defences of karachi govt. then it could bring down MQM's govt. which can't afford to lose power in karachi.

But in my humble opinion this is not a solution, i think MQM govt. should setup special schools in the areas where these displaced people have settled in karachi and tight security protocols should be applied to these schools and only kids from the families of displaced person's families should be allowed admission in these schools.

Teachers from among the displaced persons should be appointed there to teach them, this would not only resolve the problem but will ensure that the karachites feel safe to send their kids to schools too, and once these kids are properly screened out then they should be allowed to be granted admissions to reguler schools in karachi.

 

[Awesome]

BBC: Pakistani displaced find life hard in Karachi

I think that article was poorly written, I think the person was saying there was some bombing in Swat type areas and was recalling that - not in Karachi.

Regular Pakistanis better move out of Sohrab Ghot as that is Afghan-ville and the refugees there are seen as an impediment to progress of Karachi. Multi-billion dollar projects were launched in the 70s and 80s and are still under construction because of these refugees.

 

[PAFAce]

Wilayat Khan agrees: "I thought all of Pakistan was our home. But more and more, I feel like a stranger in my own homeland."

More than anything else, this was the sentence that worried me the most. We must do something, our politicians seem unwilling. Pakistan, including Karachi, is as much theirs as it is mine or yours or anyone elses. MQM should take direct responsibility for this, as this is their main territory, but I'm sure similar problems exist elsewhere in Pakistan as well.

 

[ghamai]

agree with paface. the more our government ignores pathans, the more they 'll be pushed towards ttp. only thing I hope is that we dont just ''wait 'n watch'' 'cause even tomorrow might be too late

 

[Hulk]

I hope the government seriously looks into issues of displaced people. In India they just do not do much. I feel the flight of those poor people.