Rehabilitation efforts: Govt to send surviving APS students on foreign holiday

Bereaved parents and injured students to go on Umrah

PESHAWAR:

To help divert the attention of students who survived the horrific terrorist attack on Army Public School (APS), the federal government has decided to send them on a 10-day foreign trip.

Similarly, bereaved parents and injured students along with their parents will be sent to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah at the government’s expense.

Kicking into action

In the aftermath of the December 16 carnage which claimed 150 lives, most of them students, the government has taken several steps to ensure no such attacks take place in future. While the provincial government devised comprehensive security parameters mandatory for schools and colleges, the federal government lifted a moratorium on execution of convicted terrorists and devised the National Action Plan to combat the scourge of terrorism.

For the rehabilitation of surviving students, the provincial government also decided to establish a child trauma centre at Lady Reading Hospital to offer counselling; this 10-day foreign trip seems to be yet another step in that direction.

The plan

According to a senior official familiar with the matter, the federal government has finalised the list of all injured and slain schoolchildren, and their families have been directed to get passports made as soon as possible.

Requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media, the official said students of grade eight through 12 (first and second year) will have a choice between China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. They can select one country that they wish to visit.

The official further said parents of deceased students as well as injured children and their parents will be sent to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, adding thus far 30 families have shown interest in the religious journey.

“The government will bear all expenditures of the trips and families have been told to make relevant arrangements on their end such as getting passports made and purchasing winter clothes,” he said.

According to the official, 10 students have opted to go to China and they will be received by Chinese government officials.

Explaining the purpose of the getaway, he said the aim is to eliminate fear and terror from the students’ minds so that they return with a fresh mind to sit for their annual exams which begin from March 19.

Coping with loss

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Tufail Ahmad, father of slain APS student Sher Shah, confirmed he had received a call from the government and has been asked to obtain a passport. He said he, his wife and surviving son Ahmad Shah will go for Umrah.

According to Tufail, although the students have shown a lot of courage and returned to school, fear is not a distant feeling. He said his son, eight-grader Ahmad Shah, has lost interest in studying or going to school.

“Since school reopened, he has only gone twice and seems distracted. He lost his elder brother and around 30 friends in the attack. He tells me every time he enters the school he is reminded of them and cannot concentrate on lessons,” said Tufail.

Appreciating the government’s efforts, Tufail said the tour would be a good opportunity for traumatised students and bereaved parents to get a change of environment and divert their attention.

Dr Naila, a psychiatrist at Lady Reading Hospital, also lauded the initiative. “This trip would be beneficial for students who have been traumatised by the attack. Seeing new places would help them shake off the terror they experienced that day and return with a fresh mind,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.