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PAKISTAN: IDPs desperate for improved housing

07 Jun 2009 11:16:00 GMT
Source: IRIN

Background

• Pakistan violence

• Children

SWABI, 7 June 2009 (IRIN) - Sitting in a tight cluster outside the Sheikh Mansoor camp near the town of Swabi in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), a small group of women cool themselves down with hand-held fans while attempting to peel vegetables at the same time. With no power supply for over two hours and temperatures in Swabi averaging around 40 degrees Celsius, the women find the conditions almost unbearable – compounded by their having to wear 'chadors' (thick shawls) and 'burqas' (veils).

"Even when the fans run it's stifling. We're used to less heat, and because there is no 'purdah' [privacy for women] here, we can't take off our chadors," said Zareena Bibi, 40, whose family fled conflict in Buner District.

The heat is more intense inside the canvas tents and the women complain that children are unable to sleep.

"It is miserable. All of us have prickly heat rash or boils because of the conditions here," said Khadija Khan, 25, a mother of two.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said efforts were ongoing to provide "adequate and culturally acceptable shelters" for Pakistan's recently internally displaced persons (IDPs). OCHA said the shelters would include private areas for women.

The government and aid organizations have already begun setting up communal shelters at camps [see: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-7SJ2M5?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=AMMF-7HUDG8].

About 2 million displaced

According to OCHA, some two million people have been displaced since the hostilities between government forces and militants began at the beginning of May. As a curfew was recently lifted in the conflict-affected areas of Lower Dir, Swat and Buner, thousands of previously trapped civilians have been fleeing the region.

Some IDPs in Buner are travelling back to their homes during the day to harvest wheat crops and then returning to camps at night, according to OCHA's most recent NWFP displacement report [see: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-7SR2MV?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=AMMF-7HUDG8].

The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the NWFP government said there are now 265,122 IDPs living in 21 camps. Most of the rest are staying with friends or relatives.

As the conflict enters its second month, many IDPs are anxious about their future but say conditions are slowly improving in the camps.

"Things are getting better. Toilets and water points have been set up, tent quality improved and cooking arrangements made available. But there is still a lot more to do," said Muhammad Hussain, a volunteer from Swabi who has been visiting the camps in the area since they were set up in early May.

IDPs with host families

The situation for IDPs staying with host families is becoming, according to some accounts, more strained. "We feel now that we are a burden for our hosts. It is tough for them to accommodate eight additional people indefinitely," Ayaz Gulraiz, from Swat, told IRIN.

While food hubs and relief collection points have been established for these IDPs, the biggest problem is that of housing space. "It is very difficult for six or more people to live in a single room for a long period of time, especially in very hot conditions," said Gulraiz.

Like many other IDPs living with host families, Gulraiz is considering moving to a camp, although he said it would be a tough decision. "We lived in Swat in a proper house. Who knows if we can even manage in a tent?"

As camps become better organized, and facilities improve, more IDPs may move in. However, this can only happen if funds to sustain the humanitarian response to the crisis continue to come in. The UN has warned that the funding situation is "dire". Both the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have made appeals for more funding [see: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-7SR2MV?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=AMMF-7HUDG8].

The NWFP government, meanwhile, hopes people may soon be able to move back to their homes. "We are working on a plan to facilitate them once this happens," Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial information minister, said.

However, IDPs point out that the infrastructure in many of their home areas is shattered and will take time to re-build. "The roads have been destroyed; there is no power and no water. Our house has also been damaged; how can we go back to it?" asked Fazal Khan, an IDP from Swat.

kh/at/ed

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Last updated:Mon Jun 8 09:52:55 2009

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