School exchanges building with IDP camps

Students attend a class in a IDP camp in Altit. PHOTO: EXPRESS

KARACHI: A school in Altit has donated its building for the accommodation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Hunza and is now running its classes at the IDP camps instead.

A teacher told Express 24/7 that the reason for shifting the school to the IDP camps is that the school administration considers it appropriate to have the IDPs staying in the school building. “After the January 4 incident that caused the Attabad lake, the IDPs lost their homes and we thought it was inappropriate to make them stay in camps as they are our Muslim brothers and sisters. So we gave them our school building,” the school teacher said.

The students, too, realise that by shifting to the camps they have contributed positively to the situation. “We decided that our displaced brothers and sisters should stay in our school building and we can continue our studies in the camps,” a student said.

According to the school’s principal Gul Aftab, the school is facing some problems due to this decision.

She told Express 24/7 that weather sometimes creates issues for students and teachers who are having classes in the camps. She also mentioned that since the school has a large number of children, there is also an issue of accommodation as the camps are not large enough. But these problems do not seem big enough for them to regret their decision.

“We left our building due to the Attabad crisis so that the IDPs could be accommodated,” the principal said.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2010.