(که سپوره وي که پوره وي نو په شریکه به وي (باچاخان)

VICTIMS OF TERROR

[19.Jun.2009 - 11:38]
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (SUDAM-SAWABI-KHAIRABAD-MARDAN) An unfolding tragedy: Swat and Buner. A personal view with her pictures By Rweeda Hiimayat, and an appeal for help by me. BY: RWEEDA HIMAYAT Is it our war or theirs within a single nation! The media today, showed us all the capture of five imported monsters, the “Talibans” in Swat valley. All five of these men were identified as not Pakistanis, and definitely not Pukhtuns. Who are they? And why are they here? I do not intend getting into the political situation here, but if you trek up northwards, it becomes more n more evident, that the people of the nation are in great distress and pain. Suffering and fighting for survival each day.
I talk of an area called Rustam,Sudam, geographically, the northern part of Mardan district, bordering most part of Buner district. It is home to the legendary Ajab Khan, of Chargulai, who inflicted the only defeat on British India in the late 19th century, other than the first Afghan war (1843), in the same, Umbela pass, through which, the Pakistan army has now, moved into Buner.
Sudam is a total of about a half hour trek, separated from Buner by three ranges of magnificent mountains. The people of these two towns share traditional, personal and cultural ties. Inter marriages, friendships and family relations are common between them. As a result, a lot of people have migrated to reside with the locals here. Currently, one katcha house is accommodating 80 people simultaneously. The count of those displaced and arrived now, both from Swat and Buner, has approximated about 50,000 and beyond.
Having had the opportunity to visit our guests (IDP) in Village Narro and Jallil, in Rustam, yesterday, I realized how closely we missed being labeled “displaced” ourselves, perhaps, very similar to the example, you could understand, of the relation between Islamabad and Rawal Pindi, or maybe the Mall road, Lahore and Defence DHA.
I met with a lot of women and families, who had tons of experiences to relate. They were shaken, with anxious faces, and blood shot eyes. Tired and exhausted, from stress, anxiety and fatigue, but this still wasn’t the end to their trauma and pain. Most of them had been torn apart from their families, like one Gulsanga Bibi, a middle aged woman, had arrived with two daughters, but had lost her husband and two sons on the way. It had been three days and she still did not know of their whereabouts. A calm demeanor could be mistaken for temporary relief, perhaps for herself and her daughters, but her eyes spoke a totally different story of gloom and sorrow.
Another, Nia bibi, as everyone called her, an aged grandmother, was taking refuge in a government school in Jalil, with her daughters and grandchildren. I was amazed at the dignity and grace this lady conducted herself with. She welcomed us in, smiled and followed all customary hospitality by serving tea, from the rations, given to them, despite our protests. It was only when her fellow relatives walked in from Buner that she broke down into tears, revealing her inner most trauma and anguish, they had experienced. Her sons had stayed behind to look after their home and their belongings, refusing to give up their home land, in hope of having the family return some day. Most of these men had forced their women and children to leave. As a result, a majority of women, up to fifteen to twenty in number, arrived with a single man, desperate to safeguard their respect and their women. They told stories of how the Taliban would barge in on any given house and make use of their women and more so, cut off their breasts afterwards. A family of fifteen women, out of which, I met with a 14 year old, beautiful, colored eyed, girl, sat behind, Nia Bibi, staring intensely with eyes sore from continuous crying and lack of sleep. She listened intensely, stared at moving lips, but it was quite evident that half of what she heard and saw hadn’t made sense to her yet. This, to me, seemed as though, it was the fear of some unknown possession, which came with being a young, attractive girl that is quite incomprehensible at that stage in life. All these sisters had to be sent out, of Buner, to avoid any such mishap as mentioned above. Moving a step down into Village Narro, I met with women from Swat. This was a family of 20- 22 people, including a few men. Most of these people had been here four days now and were beginning to get sick with cough, fever, and indigestion and last but not the least, stress symptoms. Roshana bibi, a young attractive mother, and her sister resided there, with 9 children of their own. The others were cousins and their children. These women had similar stories about the Taliban, as I have already mentioned from those of Buner. The Swatis mentioned two things more, firstly, the frequent beheading of their village folks, that injected deep rooted fear resulting in psychological paralysis and secondly, forced abduction and recruitment of young boys, age 11 to 22, by the Taliban, for suicidal missions. I heard stories of how young boys were forcefully snatched from their mothers, and dragged off busses, leaving them craving for each other. The army, on the other hand, was praised, in ways, for respecting the privacy of homes, unlike the Talibs. I must also mention, that one girl spoke of how the flogging incident, aired by our media earlier, happened and how that innocent girl was wrongly accused and viciously beaten publicly, along with a male member of her family.
These people are currently in a locality that is inaccessible to most people of the plains. No government organization, NGO or international organization is operating here due to inaccessibility, however, some local Khans of Beroch, have set up reception camps at Rustam, where they are supplying food and water, to those in transit, from where the displaced persons proceed towards more suitable accommodations. A local Khan of Narro village, with the help of family and friends, has launched a personal relief effort, where he has reached out to 450 families, of over 4000 people, within four days, with food rations that will last 14 days. This is expected to be replenished at the end of this time period. The Aitchison network and WWF (world wildlife federation) members from Lahore, have been especially generous, without whose help and assistance the relief would not have reached villages such as, Pirsai, Badam, Jalil Bandai and Palo Derai.
The term “Internally Displaced Persons” IDP, is a term given to these thousands of people, it is probably a requirement to identify and categorize, on a mass scale, but if seen and interacted with on personal grounds, these are our people, like you and me. The term “displaced” is a powerful word when applied in the context of human orientation. It shakes the foundation of each one of us, if we are to experience it. Reality is; they are living it, suffering it. We, as a nation, must not forget they have been our frontline defense all these months, and probably, the reason for why the streets of Islamabad and Lahore are still relatively safe. Treat them as guests, care for them, help them, and raise your voices, so we may never be in this position ever. Rise and unite to pay back our guests in return for sacrificing for and saving the rest of the nation.
The term “Internally Displaced Persons” IDP, is a term given to these thousands of people, as a requirement to identify and categorize, on a mass scale, but if seen and interacted with on personal grounds, these are our people, like you and me. The term “displaced” is a powerful word when applied in the context of human orientation. It shakes the foundation of each one of us, if we are to experience it. Reality is; they are living it, suffering it. We, as a nation, must not forget they have been our frontline defense all these months, and probably, the reason for why the streets of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi are still relatively safe. Treat them as guests, care for them, help them, and raise your voices, so we may never be in this position ever. Rise and unite to pay back and help our guests in return for sacrificing for and saving the rest of the nation. - Hidayatullah Khan Bangash
بېرته شاته