My People
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ajpirzada
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Displaced people hope army will finish them off
By Zaffar Abbas
Saturday, 09 May, 2009 | 04:41 AM PST |
Internally displaced persons fleeing from military operations against Taliban, try to get tea at a makeshift camp in Mardan.AFP
JALALA CAMP: Struggling with a polio-affected leg, Bakhtawar Jan and 11 members of his immediate family left Mingora on Wednesday evening, taking advantage of a brief lull in shelling.
Caught in crossfire between advancing government troops moving under an umbrella provided by helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft and battle-hardened Taliban, the Jan family had no option but to leave their home with pockmarked outer walls, thanks to flying bullets.
My children were so scared that the choice for us was either to die right there or take the risk by moving out of the conflict zone on foot, he said. And with the help of my brother Abdullah Jan, we decided to leave the area.
They travelled almost the whole night on foot, asking people on the way for some food to feed the children. It was somewhere at the break of dawn that they were given a lift by a couple of passing trucks and tractor-trolleys that brought them to the Jalala camp, where UNHCR and other UN agencies and local administration are working round the clock to receive the fresh groups of internally displaced people.
This is not just Bakhtawar Jans story. Almost every other family that has arrived in the Jalala camp in Takhtbai, or the Sheikh Shahzad town camp in Mardan or the Swabi camps have sad tales about the manner in which they were forced to leave their homes. And then there are tens of thousands of more IDPs, who have not even come to these camps.
These families have either gone to the nearby villages to live with their kith and kin or have decided to camp in the open fields, instead of bringing their women to live in the tent-villages set up by the UN authorities, for religious and cultural reasons.
Officials managing these camps say refugees were still coming in from Buner and even Lower Dir, but the bulk of fresh arrivals are from the Swat valley. Over the past 48 hours or so, thousands have arrived, using whatever transport was available like tractor-trolley, truck, taxi, rickshaw, with many of them simply walking down the path from the highly picturesque and cool Swat valley to the tents pitched in the plains of Mardan and Swabi, in extremely hot weather.
Looking at some of the freshly arrived families from Mingora and its vicinity, it was not difficult to make out that many of them had left their homes in such haste that their women and children were still wearing warm clothes.
Almost all the young and elderly women were also in burqa because of being made to live in an open public place, and it was not so difficult to imagine how miserable they must have been in that alien and unfriendly environment. The childrens reaction was somewhat different.
I know this is not our home, but at least we are away from the sound of gunfire and shelling, said 10-year-old Amina. Playing with her younger sister, she seemed quite pleased and unaffected by the frenzied activity going on at the camp. Many other girls of her age were doing more manual work, either carrying containers of water to their tents, or standing in queues to get food for the family.
HARVEST TIME
There are many families in these camps whose young men have stayed back for the moment. These are mostly farmers from Buner. One elderly man said his son had decided against leaving the village because its harvesting season in Buner and for these farmers its worth taking the risk.
Akhtar Ali, who had lost two members of his family in crossfire in the outskirts of Buner, was constantly cursing himself for leaving the place at such a critical time. I miss my wheat crop. I had sowed it with my own hands, and when the time for harvesting came, I was forced to leave, he said with tears in his eyes.
Then there were scenes at the Sheikh Shahzad Town camp which are not so uncommon in such situations. The IDPs from Buner who had arrived more than a week ago were now complaining that the authorities were ignoring them and were giving more importance to those coming from Swat.
I have also lost everything, but these people are only interested in providing food and shelter to those coming from Swat, said an elderly man. A few others standing beside him nodded in agreement.
To be fair to the authorities, there were hardly any signs of such discrimination in any of the camps. Its true that the local authorities appeared clueless about the magnitude of the problem, and about how to face the challenge. And a number of Pakistani members of the UN staff privately acknowledged the incompetence of local officials, but none of them blamed the authorities for taking sides.
UNHCR officials say since last Friday they have registered over 16,700 families or a little over 100,000 individuals. These are the fresh arrivals from Buner, Lower Dir and Swat.
The earlier figures, or in UN terminology the old caseload, of registered individuals is of over half a million, or 556,539 to be exact. And the way influx has continued from what is increasingly looking like a war-zone, UN officials fear that figure may soon cross the one million mark.
Many of those in the camps around Mardan and Takhtbai are bitter about the way they have been forced to leave their homes in haste. A large number of them are also sceptical about the way the security forces have been handling the situation. I am not sure if the army really wants to eliminate the Taliban, said one angry man Sheikh Sultan. Another joined in saying the Taliban continue to roam around in his town, but innocent people are being targeted in shelling and aerial bombing.
There is lot of hatred for the religious extremists. In fact, not a single person came forward to speak in their favour. But the IDPs were equally wary of security forces, mainly because of their inability to provide protection.
Notwithstanding the armys latest determination to go into Malakand with full force, the perception among most of the displaced people remains that this too may be a half-hearted operation. If the army is really serious this time, then it should it prove by its actions, said Rehman Ullah, a refugee from Mingora.
Having lost his sister and two other close relatives in the conflict, he said they had been forced to leave all their belongings to live in these camps. Now its time for the army to finish them off, he said about the religious extremists. But if they fail to do so, we will be constrained to believe that either they are not capable of doing it, or are not sincere about the whole affair, quipped another IDP from Mingora.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | Displaced people hope army will ?finish them off?
By Zaffar Abbas
Saturday, 09 May, 2009 | 04:41 AM PST |
Internally displaced persons fleeing from military operations against Taliban, try to get tea at a makeshift camp in Mardan.AFP
JALALA CAMP: Struggling with a polio-affected leg, Bakhtawar Jan and 11 members of his immediate family left Mingora on Wednesday evening, taking advantage of a brief lull in shelling.
Caught in crossfire between advancing government troops moving under an umbrella provided by helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft and battle-hardened Taliban, the Jan family had no option but to leave their home with pockmarked outer walls, thanks to flying bullets.
My children were so scared that the choice for us was either to die right there or take the risk by moving out of the conflict zone on foot, he said. And with the help of my brother Abdullah Jan, we decided to leave the area.
They travelled almost the whole night on foot, asking people on the way for some food to feed the children. It was somewhere at the break of dawn that they were given a lift by a couple of passing trucks and tractor-trolleys that brought them to the Jalala camp, where UNHCR and other UN agencies and local administration are working round the clock to receive the fresh groups of internally displaced people.
This is not just Bakhtawar Jans story. Almost every other family that has arrived in the Jalala camp in Takhtbai, or the Sheikh Shahzad town camp in Mardan or the Swabi camps have sad tales about the manner in which they were forced to leave their homes. And then there are tens of thousands of more IDPs, who have not even come to these camps.
These families have either gone to the nearby villages to live with their kith and kin or have decided to camp in the open fields, instead of bringing their women to live in the tent-villages set up by the UN authorities, for religious and cultural reasons.
Officials managing these camps say refugees were still coming in from Buner and even Lower Dir, but the bulk of fresh arrivals are from the Swat valley. Over the past 48 hours or so, thousands have arrived, using whatever transport was available like tractor-trolley, truck, taxi, rickshaw, with many of them simply walking down the path from the highly picturesque and cool Swat valley to the tents pitched in the plains of Mardan and Swabi, in extremely hot weather.
Looking at some of the freshly arrived families from Mingora and its vicinity, it was not difficult to make out that many of them had left their homes in such haste that their women and children were still wearing warm clothes.
Almost all the young and elderly women were also in burqa because of being made to live in an open public place, and it was not so difficult to imagine how miserable they must have been in that alien and unfriendly environment. The childrens reaction was somewhat different.
I know this is not our home, but at least we are away from the sound of gunfire and shelling, said 10-year-old Amina. Playing with her younger sister, she seemed quite pleased and unaffected by the frenzied activity going on at the camp. Many other girls of her age were doing more manual work, either carrying containers of water to their tents, or standing in queues to get food for the family.
HARVEST TIME
There are many families in these camps whose young men have stayed back for the moment. These are mostly farmers from Buner. One elderly man said his son had decided against leaving the village because its harvesting season in Buner and for these farmers its worth taking the risk.
Akhtar Ali, who had lost two members of his family in crossfire in the outskirts of Buner, was constantly cursing himself for leaving the place at such a critical time. I miss my wheat crop. I had sowed it with my own hands, and when the time for harvesting came, I was forced to leave, he said with tears in his eyes.
Then there were scenes at the Sheikh Shahzad Town camp which are not so uncommon in such situations. The IDPs from Buner who had arrived more than a week ago were now complaining that the authorities were ignoring them and were giving more importance to those coming from Swat.
I have also lost everything, but these people are only interested in providing food and shelter to those coming from Swat, said an elderly man. A few others standing beside him nodded in agreement.
To be fair to the authorities, there were hardly any signs of such discrimination in any of the camps. Its true that the local authorities appeared clueless about the magnitude of the problem, and about how to face the challenge. And a number of Pakistani members of the UN staff privately acknowledged the incompetence of local officials, but none of them blamed the authorities for taking sides.
UNHCR officials say since last Friday they have registered over 16,700 families or a little over 100,000 individuals. These are the fresh arrivals from Buner, Lower Dir and Swat.
The earlier figures, or in UN terminology the old caseload, of registered individuals is of over half a million, or 556,539 to be exact. And the way influx has continued from what is increasingly looking like a war-zone, UN officials fear that figure may soon cross the one million mark.
Many of those in the camps around Mardan and Takhtbai are bitter about the way they have been forced to leave their homes in haste. A large number of them are also sceptical about the way the security forces have been handling the situation. I am not sure if the army really wants to eliminate the Taliban, said one angry man Sheikh Sultan. Another joined in saying the Taliban continue to roam around in his town, but innocent people are being targeted in shelling and aerial bombing.
There is lot of hatred for the religious extremists. In fact, not a single person came forward to speak in their favour. But the IDPs were equally wary of security forces, mainly because of their inability to provide protection.
Notwithstanding the armys latest determination to go into Malakand with full force, the perception among most of the displaced people remains that this too may be a half-hearted operation. If the army is really serious this time, then it should it prove by its actions, said Rehman Ullah, a refugee from Mingora.
Having lost his sister and two other close relatives in the conflict, he said they had been forced to leave all their belongings to live in these camps. Now its time for the army to finish them off, he said about the religious extremists. But if they fail to do so, we will be constrained to believe that either they are not capable of doing it, or are not sincere about the whole affair, quipped another IDP from Mingora.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | Displaced people hope army will ?finish them off?
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ajpirzada
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1.2 million people leave Buner, Swat other areas
Updated at: 2228 PST, Friday, May 08, 2009
SWAT: As many as 1.2 million people have migrated from Buner, Swat and other areas of NWFP amid the ongoing military operation in these areas.
NWFP Minister for Environment and Forests Wajid Ali giving press briefing in Peshawar Media Centre said this.
Meanwhile, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Farooq Ahmed Khan said arrangements have been made to look after 80,000 displaced persons coming from Malakand Division and tribal areas.
Relief camps have been set up in Yar Hussain, Jalala, Cheekh Faizan, Shah Mansoor, Hand and Pir Daga areas for the refugees.
So far 13,000 families have been registered at the relief camps.
Edhi Welfare Trust sources say that more than 92,000 families have taken shelter in relief camps set up in Hayatabad, Charsadda, Noshera, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand and other areas.
Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has also set up a relief fund for the displaced persons.
1.2 million people leave Buner, Swat other areas - GEO.tv
Updated at: 2228 PST, Friday, May 08, 2009
SWAT: As many as 1.2 million people have migrated from Buner, Swat and other areas of NWFP amid the ongoing military operation in these areas.
NWFP Minister for Environment and Forests Wajid Ali giving press briefing in Peshawar Media Centre said this.
Meanwhile, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Farooq Ahmed Khan said arrangements have been made to look after 80,000 displaced persons coming from Malakand Division and tribal areas.
Relief camps have been set up in Yar Hussain, Jalala, Cheekh Faizan, Shah Mansoor, Hand and Pir Daga areas for the refugees.
So far 13,000 families have been registered at the relief camps.
Edhi Welfare Trust sources say that more than 92,000 families have taken shelter in relief camps set up in Hayatabad, Charsadda, Noshera, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand and other areas.
Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has also set up a relief fund for the displaced persons.
1.2 million people leave Buner, Swat other areas - GEO.tv
AgNoStiC MuSliM
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We were compiling information in the Management section on ways of assisting the IDP's.
I think it might be a better idea to allow everyone to contribute.
Pakistan has a rich civil society and a rich tradition of philanthropy, and we saw it during the rescue and reconstruction efforts after the Earthquake.
Please feel free to add more information and we will compile it into a dedicated thread and try and link to it on our page, and encourage you to post it on other forums with their permission.
The information below has been contributed by several members.
I think it might be a better idea to allow everyone to contribute.
Pakistan has a rich civil society and a rich tradition of philanthropy, and we saw it during the rescue and reconstruction efforts after the Earthquake.
Please feel free to add more information and we will compile it into a dedicated thread and try and link to it on our page, and encourage you to post it on other forums with their permission.
The information below has been contributed by several members.
AgNoStiC MuSliM
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Family sets example by sheltering 6,000 IDPs
Thousands in Swabi, Mardan accommodate displaced persons; hundreds others live in tent villages set by government, NGOs
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR: Thousands of families in Peshawar, Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera and Charsadda are hosting their relatives and friends from the Malakand Division after military operation was launched there, but some individuals proved extraordinarily generous in facilitating these internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The well-off Tarakai family of Swabi has solely accommodated over 6,000 members of around 1,200 families of Buner and other affected towns after they left their homes. The Tarakai House, sprawling over hundreds of Kanals, has been vacated by the family — which has moved to Islamabad — to accommodate those who have fled Buner, Swat and Dir. Tents have been erected on the spacious lawns and gardens of the house to host the families who could not get any of the innumerable rooms in the building.
“Around 250 families are living in our house while over 1,000 families have been accommodated in the charity school of Liaqat Tarakai Trust in Shewa Adda town,” Wilayat Tarakai, a social worker and elder of the Tarakai family, told ‘The News’.
People are also being hosted at Tarakai village, Salim Khan and Swabi city. Wilayat added that a tented village was being developed over an 80-kanal piece of land in the Tarakai village to facilitate more families coming to Swabi from Buner everyday.
The Tarakai family emerged on the political scene of the province after its young member, Shahram, got elected to the post of district Nazim against seasoned politicians in the last Local Bodies elections. Two other members of the family, Usman and Javed Tarakai, later made it to the national and provincial assemblies in the general elections. Usman had defeated ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan to become an MNA.
“Six doctors have been deputed to treat the ailing IDPs. Also 15 vehicles, including six ambulances, coaches, pick-ups and vans have been put at the disposal of the displaced people for their transportation and providing them three-time meal,” Wilayat maintained.
The Tarakai family is also approaching friends and other people to provide them with tents to accommodate hundreds of other families who are still living in the open. Those wishing to support the affected people can approach Wilayat Tarakai on his cell phone numbers: 0300-5006160 and 0333-9858800.
Apart from the Tarakai family, thousands of people have vacated their houses or some of their rooms to host those reaching Swabi and Mardan. Thousands of other families are also settled in the erstwhile Afghan refugee camps in Peshawar and Nowshera where government and NGOs have established tented villages.
Family sets example by sheltering 6,000 IDPs
AgNoStiC MuSliM
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General Contact Information
Status Determination and Protection Information Section
Division of International Protection Services
UNHCR
Case Postale 2500
1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Switzerland
Fax: +41-22-739-7396
Email: refworld@unhcr.org
UNHCR | Refworld | Map of Pakistan, N.W.F.P. - IDP camps
Status Determination and Protection Information Section
Division of International Protection Services
UNHCR
Case Postale 2500
1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Switzerland
Fax: +41-22-739-7396
Email: refworld@unhcr.org
UNHCR | Refworld | Map of Pakistan, N.W.F.P. - IDP camps
AgNoStiC MuSliM
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Best wishes to Pakistan army for tacking TTP problem.
Poor people are going through too much suffering.
The concern is not so much about a direct TTP threat to India, but rather about where the TTP is getting support from, and what is the agenda of such supporters for South Asia.
Poor people are going through too much suffering.
The concern is not so much about a direct TTP threat to India, but rather about where the TTP is getting support from, and what is the agenda of such supporters for South Asia.
ajpirzada
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Army donates one-day salary for IDPs
Updated at: 2040 PST, Saturday, May 09, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Armed forces of Pakistan have donated a day's pay for the rehabilitation and welfare of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of NWFP, according to an announcement by Joint Staff Headquarters on Saturday.
Army donates one-day salary for IDPs - GEO.tv
Updated at: 2040 PST, Saturday, May 09, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Armed forces of Pakistan have donated a day's pay for the rehabilitation and welfare of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of NWFP, according to an announcement by Joint Staff Headquarters on Saturday.
Army donates one-day salary for IDPs - GEO.tv
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