Grave concern: Where the Earth ends

IDPs in Jalozai camp claim locals do not let them bury the dead in their graveyards.

PESHAWAR:

Driven out of their homes, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Khyber Agency are not able to rest in peace – even in death.

A tribesman from Bara presently residing in Jalozai Camp in Nowshera told The Express Tribune they cannot bury their dead in their ancestral graveyards due to the volatile security situation. While the deceased cannot be shifted to their villages either due to steep transportation costs or curfews, locals do not allow the IDPs to bury the dead in their graveyards.

“When someone dies here, we first try to take the coffin to the deceased’s ancestral village. In case that is not possible due to financial constraints, curfews or roadblocks, we ask locals for permission to bury the dead in their graveyard,” explained another tribesman, Yaqub Khan. He added that in some instances, the body lies in the camp for days.



“My daughter passed away around four months back and I did not have enough money to take her body to my village in Bara. The elders then decided to offer her last rites here,” lamented Zarghon Shah. He added they had to carry her coffin from one place to another, asking locals to allow them to bury her in their graveyards until one of them finally agreed.

Shah said most of the tribesmen were burying their dead temporarily, promising to take the bodies back after a certain period of time.

Jalozai Camp coordinator Khalid Usman said there was no specific graveyard allotted for IDPs living in the camp. “We provide coffins for the dead,” he said, adding a majority of the tribesmen like to take the bodies to their native villages.

Khalid said no organisation is currently helping the IDPs in this regard, but the camp administration provides basic facilities whenever someone dies there.

A Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) official said although they were receiving no funds for the coffins they provide, they try to facilitate the bereaved relatives when they can. He maintained there was no ban on burying the dead inside the camp, adding those who wish to take the dead back to their villages are given transport up to the Peshawar Cantonment area, from where they have to make their own arrangements.

A PDMA report states there are currently 12,562 families residing in Jalozai Camp. Of these, around 120 belong to Mohmand and Bajaur agencies, while the remaining are from different areas of Khyber Agency who migrated due to the ongoing militancy and consequent military operations in their areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.