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Conflict Over, But Many Refugees Still 'Lost'
Saturday, February 23, 2002
By Muddassir Rizvi
Inter Press Service

"We are planning to provide secondary health-care services for women and children in camps in Kurram and Khyber agencies, because we believe that the sickest of the sick are left unattended by primary health cover provided by the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]."

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- IPS
The Jallozai refugee camp in western Pakistan, dubbed the "death camp" because of its harsh conditions, is now deserted after its occupants were moved in the wake of the conflict in neighboring Afghanistan. But the misery of these refugees, who were transferred to six new campsites in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) closer to the Afghan border, is far from over.

Some complain about their division into ethnic groups after Jallozai, others complain of hostility from locals, and yet others say that the living conditions are even worse than they were at Jallozai. "The living space is smaller, winter is harsher, there is less water, and there is no employment for refugees even at the camp," says Abdul Malook, who is from the northern Kunduz province in Afghanistan and who has been transferred to Bajaur agency in Pakistan's tribal belt.

Malook says food items are also very expensive in local markets. "A kilogram of meat that was Rs45 [75 US cents] in Jallozai costs Rs70 rupees in Bajaur. Similarly, a kilogram of tomatoes was Rs5-6 in Jallozai, but is Rs20 in Bajaur."

He said that the medical facilities at the camp are limited -- and that "outside, there are more quacks than real doctors". At one clinic, he recalled, the "so-called doctor" prescribed medicines that turned out to have expired.
(More: Asia Times Online News Source)
2002 © Inter Press Service.

Dan