May 13 2009
Refugees in Pakistan
The International Rescue Committee reported this week in its e-mail newsletter that refugees have been pouring into refugee camps in Pakistan during the latest flare-up of the conflict between the Taliban and government troops. It reported that 65,000 people came last week alone to these camps, and that between five hundred thousand and one million individuals are expected to be displaced before the conflict significantly subsides.
The 65,000 that arrived in camps last week is about three-fourths the population of the town that I live in. Even the 500,000 at the low end of the estimated persons displaced is nearly five-sixths the size of the town that I went to graduate school in.
What is most awful about the worldwide refugee situation to me is that most refugees had no part in the reason why they were forced to leave home. They don’t want to be stuck in camps and away from home. They didn’t make the choice to leave.
There are a lot of people and not a lot of resources to provide for them during the violence.With the lack of money people have to donate, and the fact that, because it’s so far away, it doesn’t seem real or relevant, I wonder what impact the International Rescue Committee and other aid organizations can have. I’d rather them be there than not, but I wish I had the knowledge and money to donate to make a difference in their work with the latest wave of refugees in Pakistan.
