Going home

It has been a long wait for the Turi tribespeople, who will finally be returning to their hometown of Sadda in the Kurram Agency after 31 years. The Turis had been forced to flee in 1984, after fierce sectarian clashes overtook the area. Since then, there has been further violence and persistent tensions — enough to keep the Turis who had fled mainly to Parachinar, away. Others had moved still further afield to Peshawar and other towns in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now, with militancy in their home area largely crushed, they see it safe to return to the homes they left so long ago.

To prepare for this historic journey home, elders from the Turi jirga have been meeting the political agents and other members of the administration in the Kurram Agency to discuss their return. Repatriation, which will involve hundreds of Turis, is to begin from September 1. Matters, including housing and the situation of shops, homes and other businesses, which once belonged to the Turis, have been discussed. Many of these have, of course, since been taken over. The Turis of Sadda had effectively vanished from that town. Their reappearance will require adjustments to be made.

Three decades is a long time. A formidably long time. An entire generation has grown up away from home; many of the younger people and children returning have never seen Sadda. The story of the Turis tells us the extent to which so many lives in our country have been torn apart by sectarian violence and the manner in which it divides societies. Other families, apart from the Turis, have been affected too by this irrational hatred which has spread rapidly. Right now, the Turis of Sadda need all the help they can possibly get to rebuild lives shattered by violence. We hope they will receive this and also be welcomed back to Sadda so they can begin the arduous business of rebuilding lives and connecting with a past that they were forcibly removed from. We must hope they can succeed in re-establishing these links.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2015.

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