By Paul Tighe and Khalid Qayum
July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s 2 million refugees displaced by fighting in the northwestern Swat Valley are facing the threat of disease as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages, the United Nations said....
PESHAWAR, Pakistan—An Afghan girl at Nasir Bagh refugee camp, 1984. © Steve McCurry
No worthy collection of seminal photography would ignore this iconic picture by McCurry. National Geographic made it big and this is really just a beautiful picture. Her eyes are incredible.
Of course the best way to end any suffering of the peoples of this region is to stop the violence that accompanies the prolonged dominance of The Taliban. However, we know that where poverty exists there also exists the opportunity for such religious extremists to dominate the populous with threats and actual violence.
In addition, while charity is supposed to be at the heart of any religion and exists as one of the pillars of Islam, there is very little charity in bringing these people relief from the disease that accompanies poverty.
If The West is to succeed in ridding the region of extremist groups that act as direct threats to national security, then the needs of people in the refugee camps need to be addressed. We will not be solving our national security issues if the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan stand in ridicule of their personal tragedies caused by our strategic decisions.
There is a lot to be done, far more than is possible in raising these people out of poverty, such as schools, employment and infrastructure, but, if their lives aren't sustainable because preventable diseases are eradicated then they will never be able to salvage their lives and their countries. We will be right back where we started if the region is not stable and the suffering doesn't stop.
All too frequently we hear how our military is causing more problems with the people of these nations than their governments can handle. One of the reasons that is an issue is due to the intolerable suffering of their people. This struggle with The Taliban and groups such as al Qaeda has gone on all too long. In providing measurable and effective relief to their daily lives they will be able to sustain strategic goals to secure their nations and stablize the region.
As part of our strategy, our State Department needs to coordinate relief efforts and promote assistance to these people. There are people that are more than willing to do the work and with economic distress throughout the global community generousity is difficult to come by. We have to make the people caught up in these communities a priority. It just may be that they need to stop living in 'temporary' communities and resolve to make their homes where they live today. If they are safe, they need to try to prosper and live where that safety net can exist for them.
Longing to return home may be unrealistic for some time and only provides a venue for the growth of discontent and dangerous conditions, including the lack of sewage and clean water.Situation dire for Pakistani refugees (click here)
Bronwyn Curran, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: June 23. 2009 12:40AM UAE
June 22. 2009 8:40PM GMT
...The United Nations has appealed for $532m to help shelter, feed and provide clean water and medicines for what it says is the world’s worst refugee crisis since Rwanda in the 1990s. So far only 35.5 per cent of the funding request has been met, making this humanitarian effort one of the most under-funded in recent history, Abdul Aziz Arrukban, a former Saudi transport company director, said....
This Afghan refugee camp in Jallozai, Pakistan, is one of many set up in the country to accommodate millions of Afghans who fled their war-torn country beginning in the 1980s. Many Afghans also fled to camps in Iran or were displaced within Afghanistan.
