ASIA/PAKISTAN - Refugee crisis in North-West Frontier Province worsens

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – The humanitarian crisis in the Swat Valley (see Fides 7/5/2009) is worsening and could lead to a great tragedy. This is what has been observed by international organizations, who in a matter of weeks have seen an extremely rapid increase in the number of refugees who are fleeing the North-West Frontier Province to escape the conflict underway between the army and Taliban guerillas.
The mass exodus of refugees, according to the United Nations, includes over one million people and has led to problems in distributing humanitarian aid and designated lodging areas. “We are seeing a mass exodus, with the spread of fighting between government forces and guerrillas in Buner, Lower Dir, and Swat,” UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said. The refugees have little resources and are in need of water, food, lodging, care. They are in urgent need of protection, the UNHCR insists, especially the children. The new arrivals which continue to come in are causing available resources to run dry. For now, the new arrivals are coming in mainly from Buner, Dir, and Swat. The organizations working on the sites are the UNHCR, the Red Cross, the Pakistan Red Crescent, and other NGOs. Thousands of refugees have been diverted to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and other parts of the Punjab.
However, there is a constant stream of people coming in. In the last two days, a growing number of families from the Swat District have fled to areas with makeshift refugee camps, with people living in rickshaws, in cars, in small trucks, and in buses. The majority have little more than the clothes on their backs.
The UNHCR has helped the local authorities in setting up three new camps in the Swabi District, while a program is underway for expanding the camp already existing in Jalozai, in Nowshera. At the reception centers, they are also offering medical assistance and transportation, however the means and resources are insufficient and they are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.
In the meantime, the military campaign for reclaiming the Swat Valley continues. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has stated that the operation will last until the area returns to “normality,” which means until state authorities regain complete control of everything including the police, communications operations, transport, public order, administrative bureaucracy, and justice system. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 11/5/2009)