Go home – or else!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The News International, Pakistan
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
According to an official announcement made by the interior ministry on Sunday 31st May, all the militants have now been ejected from Buner and it is safe for IDPs to return to their homes – that is, if they have homes to return to. The announcement contains an order to government officers who were employed in the civil administration of Buner to return as well and furthermore to return with all speed – and if they don't then they may suffer unspecified consequences. To say that this directive lacks sensitivity understates the case by several orders of magnitude. Those who fled Buner took only what they were able to carry, and they were totally unprepared for the upheaval of their lives – as were other IDPs. They are now dispersed through a range of camps, government schools and private houses. Some will be registered and others not. Some will have heard the message from the government and others not. Some may be in a position to return to Buner immediately – but it is far more likely that many of them will not be able to make the required response. Who is going to transport them? Are the areas where they lived truly clear of the Taliban and are the army and the paramilitary forces there in sufficient strength to ensure that they can now hold the ground they have taken?
It is said that the Mardan, Rustam, Ambala, Daggar and Sultanwas roads have been cleared and it is safe for IDPs to travel on them. Alternative power supplies have been arranged via generators but there is little news of water supplies or telecommunications. There can be little doubt that the entire infrastructure of Buner – as well as everywhere else that has been and continues to be fought over – has been degraded to a greater or lesser extent. There are reports that the entire centre of Mingora has been razed to the ground for instance, and it is reasonable to assume the civil servants who are being pressed to return are unlikely to find their desks and filing systems in apple-pie order. It is likely that for some at least their offices no longer exist. Chains of command and management will be broken by absent members, and issuing a directive with an implication of penalty for those who fail to comply displays a fundamental lack of understanding of the plight faced by the IDPs. Yes, the civil administration needs to be up and running again as quickly as possible. But issuing veiled threats to people already traumatized by the experience of uprooting themselves and their families is no way to win any hearts and minds – indeed we might imagine that alienation and anger would be an appropriate response to this latest display of ineptitude.
Source
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
According to an official announcement made by the interior ministry on Sunday 31st May, all the militants have now been ejected from Buner and it is safe for IDPs to return to their homes – that is, if they have homes to return to. The announcement contains an order to government officers who were employed in the civil administration of Buner to return as well and furthermore to return with all speed – and if they don't then they may suffer unspecified consequences. To say that this directive lacks sensitivity understates the case by several orders of magnitude. Those who fled Buner took only what they were able to carry, and they were totally unprepared for the upheaval of their lives – as were other IDPs. They are now dispersed through a range of camps, government schools and private houses. Some will be registered and others not. Some will have heard the message from the government and others not. Some may be in a position to return to Buner immediately – but it is far more likely that many of them will not be able to make the required response. Who is going to transport them? Are the areas where they lived truly clear of the Taliban and are the army and the paramilitary forces there in sufficient strength to ensure that they can now hold the ground they have taken?
It is said that the Mardan, Rustam, Ambala, Daggar and Sultanwas roads have been cleared and it is safe for IDPs to travel on them. Alternative power supplies have been arranged via generators but there is little news of water supplies or telecommunications. There can be little doubt that the entire infrastructure of Buner – as well as everywhere else that has been and continues to be fought over – has been degraded to a greater or lesser extent. There are reports that the entire centre of Mingora has been razed to the ground for instance, and it is reasonable to assume the civil servants who are being pressed to return are unlikely to find their desks and filing systems in apple-pie order. It is likely that for some at least their offices no longer exist. Chains of command and management will be broken by absent members, and issuing a directive with an implication of penalty for those who fail to comply displays a fundamental lack of understanding of the plight faced by the IDPs. Yes, the civil administration needs to be up and running again as quickly as possible. But issuing veiled threats to people already traumatized by the experience of uprooting themselves and their families is no way to win any hearts and minds – indeed we might imagine that alienation and anger would be an appropriate response to this latest display of ineptitude.
Source
Labels: Extremism, IDPs, Militancy, Military Operation, Officials, Refugees, Swat Operation, Taliban, Terrorism
posted @ 10:04 AM,
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