Permanent solution of this issue is political settlement which is needed to solve the ever-increasing issue of IDPs.
JHANG: George Washington, the first US president, wrote in 1783 that “the gradual extension of our settlements will as certainly cause the savage, as the wolf to retire; both being beasts of prey, tho’ they differ in shape”. So far, more than 15 million native people have been killed by Americans since 1945. This figure does not include the killings during World War I and II. Millions have been injured and millions have become internally displaced.
The ongoing international crises are due to rivalry between the players of Cold War. This multi-purpose squabble has put the world in a large-scale socioeconomic crisis. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are the direct result of these conflicts.
According to reports of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the UNHCR, more than 50 million people on the world map are homeless and forcibly displaced. Among them, 16 million are refuges, 35 million are internally displaced and more than one million are asylum seekers. Other than the IDPs, there are around 14 million stateless people who have no international recognition. Major issues faced by the IDPs are food shortage, unhygienic and limited camps, loss of education, lack of health facilities, epidemic diseases, clean water and sanitation problems, sexual harassment, clothing issues, etc.
Primarily, there are two basic reasons behind the conception of IDPs. They are the two-sided calamities which are generally bifurcated into man-made and natural. But most of the calamities are either man induced or produced. Though the sudden outbreak of disasters like floods, cyclones, famines, sectarian and ethnic conflicts is undeniable in displacement of the people, the case of IDPs is mainly related to man provoked and fashioned disasters.
The cruelties of enlightened and developed nations are resulting in the devastation, desolation and wreckage of masses in every nook and corner of the globe. None of the continents except Europe, Australia and North America are free from such impoverished people. Major countries with IDPs are Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Iraq, Congo, Sudan, Columbia, Myanmar, Palestine, Nigeria, Kashmir and the list goes on.
The permanent solution of this issue is political settlement which is needed to solve the ever-increasing issue of IDPs through mediation or through whichever scheme fits. In the conflict zones, the warring groups should be stopped, arms supply should be ceased, including financial support, and the culprits be punished. Now nations should rise above their vested interests and properly address the problem in totality. There is dire need of an immediate national, regional and international response. IDPs deserve swift attention, intensive care and outstanding consideration. They should be helped to the maximum to at least temporarily heal their wounds.
Zulqarnain Sewag
Published in The Express Tribune, July 27th, 2014.
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