Trickle-down development: The flipside of welcoming Afghan refugees

Villagers say the mass migration has brought with it infrastructure and aid.


Manzoor Ali January 31, 2013
Nowshera residents say they never expected temporary human settlements to become a permanent feature. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR:


Refugees who flooded Pakistan following the Soviet invasion and consequent militancy in Afghanistan have often been blamed by their hosts of giving rise to crime, weapons, narcotics and epidemics among other societal and political ills. Villagers of Dag Behsud in Nowshera, however, say the influx resulted in development schemes and aid that trickled down to their doorsteps.


The area now has paved streets, proper drainage, solar-powered street lights and water pumps. Villagers are also provided agriculture and livestock related training.

“Some good has come out of the Afghan refugees. We have these things [now], otherwise the government would not do anything for us,” said a local elder, Farooq Shah.

Shah added that unpaved streets made it difficult for villagers to venture out during the rain, adding that it would be completely dark at night because of long power outages.

The development efforts have been spearheaded by the United Nations’ Refugees Affected and Hosting Areas (Raha) programme funded by the European Union (EU). Shah said the residents of Haroonabad, which has about 160 households, are particularly happy about the programme and its implementation sans political interference.



Around 28 development schemes have been completed in the area in the past two years, including training for boys to repair mobile phones and for girls in handicrafts, Shah said. He, however, added that more emphasis is needed on repairing generators and setting up a computer lab for children at the village’s primary school.

“We have very suitable space to install two small micro-hydel stations which can cater to the electricity needs of villagers,” said another villager, Noorullah, who harbours greater ambitions.

Raha began in 2009 to tackle social, economic and environmental consequences faced by communities as a result of the arrival of three million Afghan refugees, said Raha’s provincial chief for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Shukria Syed. She added the programme is engaged in six districts, including Buner, Haripur, Dir Lower, Nowshera, Peshawar and Swabi.

Residents of Nowshera said they never expected the refugees to stick around for more than 30 years, nor did they expect that the temporary human settlements would become a permanent feature. On the other hand, the camps seem to be thriving, accommodating more and more refugees. Located near the Jalozai refugee camp, Dag Behsud has traditionally been a cluster of non-descript villages mired with poverty and underdevelopment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2013.

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