The rehabilitation of Swat IDPs will take some more time as the efforts to send them back and let them be settled in their own homes seems to be a far cry as there has been no time frame for it. The latest UN OCHA ( United States Office For the CO-Ordination of Humanitarian Affairs ) Pakistan-NWFP Situation Report #6, released on June 26, 2009 Highlights following priorities for Swat IDPs:
• The influx of large numbers of IDPs in certain camps has created the need for suitable land to establish new IDP camps as well as a corresponding need to decongest some existing sites.
• Congestion in a number of camps is impacting living standards.
• Additional humanitarian partners are needed to provide and distribute food to camps and schools.
• There is a need to ensure the availability of fortified blended food for the supplementary feeding programme.
• Returning IDPs need maize seed and fertilizer to have a bumper kharif (maize) crop to compensate for the winter rabi (wheat) crop which was not harvested
I urge all of you to keep the flame burning for IDPs and don’t show a cold shoulder towards them. Help them in this time of distress so that they can safely and happily return to their homes and remember our hospitality.
Image: Dawn
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