A thousand words: Moving images reflect IDPs’ struggle

Photographs show plight of displaced population of North Waziristan.

ISLAMABAD: A heart-rending photo exhibit reflecting the dejected state of affairs of the displaced population of the tribal areas opened on Sunday morning, capturing moments of migration and life away from home.

The military operation in North Waziristan has forced hundreds of people to move away from their tribal communities to temporary settlement camps.



The exhibition, organised by the Shaheed Bhutto Foundation (SBF), was titled ‘Aqs-e-Johad’— Reflection of the Struggle — and displayed over 35 photographs of internally displaced persons (IDP) from Fata. The exhibition begins from capturing moments of their initial move away from home to their present state. With each photo credit and mournful statistics, there is a haunting reminder of the inconsolable state the IDPs are residing in.

The photographs capture moments of several people gathering their humble belongings, livestock and family members, and shelving them in overloaded trucks as they begin their migration.

Some stills also capture special moments and facial expressions of migrants that make one wonder the cost of sacrifice. Photographs and shots of areas such as Saidgai check post that borders North Waziristan and Frontier Region Bannu and Baka Khel are also projected.

Other moments such as queues of migrants within the camp, at NADRA mobile registration vans, at registration desks, and at the Saidgai food distribution points, health centres, and life of family members in one tent have been captured.

A range of profile shots with woeful expressions of children affected by the disaster are also beautifully captured.



“They are sacrificing their sleep and comfort for the rest of the country, and we should do the same for them,” said Hassan Akhtar, programme manager at SBF told The Express Tribune. Akhtar said the main reason behind holding such an exhibition was to create awareness about what was really happening. While interviewing several people, he said, one gets to learn how their entire lives are upside down and they are helpless.

Basing on his experience of working with various government institutions, Akhtar stated that it was evident that no one really knows how the crisis is to be dealt with. “The disaster management programmes which have been ongoing for years include trainings and workshops of organisations, but none of them seem to be working on the ground,” he said.

Explaining the scenario on the ground, Akhtar added that the exodus was not new to the area. People had been displaced before, but the lessons learnt from past mistakes are constantly repeated.

He said an awareness campaign such as the photo exhibit in the heart of the capital was not just for the government, but a reminder for the people to once again unite and help those in need.

The event was inaugurated by former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor Masood Kausar and is on display till December 10 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2014.