Operation externalities: Tough times for IDPs at Jalozai camp

People seeking refuge in Nowshera complain of electricity crisis.

PESHAWAR:

Power outages are making life harder than it already is for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Jalozai camp.

Amid the scorching heat, not only are IDPs living without electricity, but there is little shelter for the camp’s residents.

The camp on Pabbi-Cherat Road in district Nowshera houses people who evacuated their homes in Bajaur and Khyber Agency due to the ongoing military operation. According to official data, the total numbers of IDPs evacuating from District Bara, Khyber Agency are 258,271. Of these, only 49,385 people are living in the camp. Meanwhile, from Bajaur Agency only 1,340 people have sought shelter at the camp.

Samar Gul, from subdivision Bara, said the electricity crisis was the biggest problem at Jalozai camp. During the day people bear the heat but at night they cannot sleep due to mosquitoes, bugs and other insects,” he told The Express Tribune.

Namdar Khan, 55, belonging to Akakhil Tribe of Khyber Agency said the government should set up more food distribution points at Jalozai camp to make food more accessible, while avoiding the long queues. An elderly man complained about the water and sanitation system. “The broken lids of gutters and stagnant water in drains can cause various epidemics in children,” he said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a medical specialist of the camp said Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), gastroenteritis, skin diseases, scabies and fever cases were common among the inhabitants of the camp.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2012.