Defense of Human Rights Pakistan’s team had been invited by many volunteer groups i-e PRCA and Al-Khidmat Foundation which were working to help the IDP’s in the camps. The team comprising seven members, set off for Swabi and Mardan at 8 am on the hot summer day of 1^st June 2009. There were some non food item like water cooler and medicine with us plus some cash which we collected for our Swati brothers and sister in need. The experience of meeting families living in the Shah Mansoor, Sheikh Yasin and Hoti Camp established in a local school was too shocking and disturbing then expected.

A family of eight children eldest being a girl of 13 named Saira had a broken arm and a lost leg. Other children were also wailing and crying because of extreme hot weather, hunger and different ailments. Saira had been taken to field hospital to get a pain killer for the sore of her lost leg. Mother sobbed and said in simple words all we want is to get back home where we can take care of our children in a proper way. Many families related horrible tale of how they ran to save their life haphazardly all of a sudden when their food was being cooked on the stove and they had nothing to worry about. When they ran carrying infants and dragging their children along the shelling and bombing injured and killed most if them.

Those reached Mardan after 4-6 days of constant running were lucky enough to be received by hospitable people of Mardan and in various camps too. An old man shouted with tears rolling down, we can never recover the damage done; the loss of life and crop we suffered. Our fruits and crops were standing ripe in the fields but instead of cutting them we just left it behind to save our life. Everything is ruined for a bunch of troublesome people. Cant the big armies not pick up this bunch of miscreants alone without harming and displacing the large innocent population of alarming members 2.5 million (as quoted by UNCHR) .

It was unnerving to see small babies born in this hostile environment are trying to cope up with scorching heat. If mother and babies survived it would be a miracle. UNCHR quotes there are 70,000 pregnant women in these migrating families from Dir, Buner and Swat. In the Sheikh Yasin Camp 150 babies were born in a single day. We were desperate to do something for them but helpless.

Our team member out of whom three were young university students Ahmad, Asfar and Asif got frustrated after seeing so much misery of our women and children. Heart breaking stories were endless but one important thing we can do to help them is tell the world “THE TRUTH”. The media should be allowed to visit the problem areas to portray the truth and the world’s conscience must insist on “THE TRUTH ONLY” even if it is being distorted as well as blocked by our govt.

Warm Regards

Amina Masood Janjua

Chairperson

Defense of Human Rights