ELEVEN years ago Pakistan launched a surprise counter-terrorism operation in the beautiful Swat Valley, forcing million of locals to take refuge elsewhere almost overnight.
By May 2009, there were about 2.5 war refugees in Pakhtunkhwa braving unspeakable pains & troubles.
By May 2009, there were about 2.5 war refugees in Pakhtunkhwa braving unspeakable pains & troubles.
I remember screams of a woman, of a shattered mother, crying out loud, begging everyone to help but none could help or calm her down. As the bombing started in her village, everyone just ran for their lives joining scores of others who were trying to find their way out of Swat.
She, in all that chaos and panic, picked up a pillow instead of her baby from the cradle and only realized her mistake miles away when she couldn't go back. There was no way she could be calmed down. Everyone there at the scene were also crying with her out of their helplessness.
Many had to make a choice, a painful choice, of leaving behind their disabled family members & old age elders. They had to walk miles to safety there was no evacuation plan in place for them, & the transport wasn't sufficient. Majority had to walk carrying whatever they could.
Their sufferings were too painful to record here. Only they know what they went through. Living in terror, then forced to leave their homes in lush green villages and towns of the beautiful Swat - also called Switzerland of Pakistan for its natural beauty and pleasant weather.
But they had to brave the scorching heat of the Peshawar valley where temperature rises above 45° C in summers. The camps set up for them only had tents when the refugees started to arrive there. Those who lived a dignified life were faced with thirst, hunger, disease, trauma.
I have worked with the war displaced people of Swat. I have seen them suffer, and cry. Those who would eat a freshly plucked fruit of there gardens were fighting for drinking water in camps. Even for an empty water bottle because they had nothing to store or carry water in.
When we came to know of the operation & of the exodus en masse, a group of volunteers, mostly students, collected like hundred thousand rupees & arranged small food packages over night for easy delivery the next day. It was there when we came to know what was actually needed.
Some medical doctors & students joined us the next time & we brought the medicines needed. The first time when we went we were an all male team but we realized that we couldn't help the majority women there. So, many girls students joined us to cater for these women there.
Those who went to help would come back crying but more convinced & determined to go back again with more aid with them. Water pumps installation, & preparing food at the camps is something we learned right away were things to do. Thanks to everyone involved,we did what we could.
In one tent, there would be cries of pain and sufferings, and in another, there would be tears of happiness on a reunion with a lost family member.
Pain, anger, hope and foremost resilience was all we saw in those people eyes and lives.
Pain, anger, hope and foremost resilience was all we saw in those people eyes and lives.
Camps sat up for them could only accommodate a minority, in thousands, of all those people. Majority were accommodated by the people of Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi and other towns & cities. After all, they were their brothers.
The people of Swat still remember their hosts who shared their food and homes with them - most importantly shared their grief and pain. Many new friendships and relations were formed at that time.
By August-September, majority of those internally displaced people had returned to their homes owing to the success of the army operation against the terrorists though many lives were lost during those months. But peace and order was restored to a significant level.
Could all that be avoided? Could terrorism in Swat be controlled really early before it grew into a mighty terrible monster? Could the situation be better handled?
Answer to all these questions is yes.
Answer to all these questions is yes.
Did we learn from that terrible episode of violence and terrorism? Do our policies and actions today reflect on our those learning? Can we do better today when dealing with ideologies that lead to violence?
Can we distinguish between a violent and a rights movement for the former must be controlled early on, and the latter is to be addressed politically by engaging with the people involved, winning their trust & confidence hence avoiding their exploitation by others?
These are still the questions that needed to be asked!
Correction: By May 2009, there were about 2.5 *Million* war refugees in Pakhtunkhwa!
Here is a story of the escape of students of Malakand University from Swat to their homes, caught between Army and terrorists, told by @AwaisullahB.
