Pakistan's displacement camps: A study in contrasts
Friday, May 15, 2009
Los Angeles Times
By Mark Magnier May 14, 2009
Reporting from Takht Bhai, Pakistan -- At the entrance to the Hazrat Usman camp just south of the Swat Valley, a welcoming committee greets those fleeing violence between the government and militants with a cool glass of water, a meal and a place to sleep with fans and a pharmacy.Though camp organizers don't voice any overt sympathy for the Taliban, their view is clear: The entire crisis is a creation of the government and the army.
Two miles up the road sits the much larger government-run Jalala camp. It is hot, mosquito-ridden and busy turning newcomers away. Water, food and medicine are in short supply, tempers flare and many people are forced to sleep in the open -- a particular indignity for women in this Islamic society.
If counterinsurgency is about hearts and minds, the rapid, efficient way some Islamic groups have aided the needy amid the recent army offensive against the Taliban -- and the lumbering state response -- suggests the hard-liners could win the battle that counts.
The various private efforts like Hazrat Usman often benefit from the goodwill generated when helping just a few thousand people. By contrast, the government, already under suspicion for unleashing its firepower in the region, faces criticism if it falls short in any respect when addressing the needs of millions.
The two camps offer refuge to some of the 1.3 million people the United Nations estimates have fled the fighting between the Pakistani army and the Taliban since the fall. Though many of those displaced by the latest conflict have shunned such camps, preferring to squeeze in with relatives whenever possible, the camps remain vital to a large number of families with no alternatives.
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Reporting from Takht Bhai, Pakistan -- At the entrance to the Hazrat Usman camp just south of the Swat Valley, a welcoming committee greets those fleeing violence between the government and militants with a cool glass of water, a meal and a place to sleep with fans and a pharmacy.Though camp organizers don't voice any overt sympathy for the Taliban, their view is clear: The entire crisis is a creation of the government and the army.
Two miles up the road sits the much larger government-run Jalala camp. It is hot, mosquito-ridden and busy turning newcomers away. Water, food and medicine are in short supply, tempers flare and many people are forced to sleep in the open -- a particular indignity for women in this Islamic society.
If counterinsurgency is about hearts and minds, the rapid, efficient way some Islamic groups have aided the needy amid the recent army offensive against the Taliban -- and the lumbering state response -- suggests the hard-liners could win the battle that counts.
The various private efforts like Hazrat Usman often benefit from the goodwill generated when helping just a few thousand people. By contrast, the government, already under suspicion for unleashing its firepower in the region, faces criticism if it falls short in any respect when addressing the needs of millions.
The two camps offer refuge to some of the 1.3 million people the United Nations estimates have fled the fighting between the Pakistani army and the Taliban since the fall. Though many of those displaced by the latest conflict have shunned such camps, preferring to squeeze in with relatives whenever possible, the camps remain vital to a large number of families with no alternatives.
Read more
Labels: Army Operation, IDPs, Swat, Taliban, Terrorism
posted @ 10:48 AM,
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