No place like home

The IDPs have become the forgotten victims of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. When hundreds of thousands of them were displaced from their homes and forced to seek refuge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa they were told the makeshift arrangements were temporary and they would be able to return home in a matter of months. Now, more than six months later, their stay seems to be indefinite and the government is not doing anything to make their lives easier. IDPs at the Jalozai camp in Nowshera held a protest to demand the restoration of electricity and water at their camp – basic amenities they have had to do without for two months – while IDPs displaced from Bara are now so frustrated at their treatment that they just want to return home no matter what the security situation there. It is also worth keeping in mind that not all the IDPs were forced out of their homes because of the current operation in North Waziristan. Many had evacuated the tribal areas during earlier operations and have not been able to return home for years. This gives us some idea of the false promises the government made when it told the IDPs their displacement would not be for too long.
While every politician pays lip service to the IDPs, they all prefer to keep them out of sight and out of mind. Punjab and Sindh, in a stunning display of xenophobia, simply refused to house any IDPs. The vast majority are living in camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal government has not done enough to bear the cost of what is a national issue, leading to complaints from the provincial government of having to bear an undue financial burden. In a way, the IDPs are a microcosm of the war itself: we all profess an interest in its outcome but have no personal stake in it. The IDPs should be our conscience, a constant reminder of the ravages of war and the need to remember all the innocent victims that will be caused by that war. Unable to handle our guilt, we have shunted them to one side and focused media attention on more glamorous stories. But the IDPs are not going anywhere since Operation Zarb-e-Azb looks likely to be a multi-year operation. We either need to let them go home and give them money to rebuild their lost lives or provide them with jobs and opportunities in what is, after all, still their own country.