Nabila Bibi sits in a tent in the blistering heat thinking about the dolls she left behind at home in the Pakistani mountains where the army and Taliban rebels are killing each other.
Rosy-cheeked Nabila understands nothing about Islamist insurgents and Pakistan’s latest military offensive against them, which the UN said has displaced about 1.5 million people this month alone.
She is more concerned about her “lonely” dolls.
PHOTO: AFP
“I am very upset to be here. I feel all alone because my dolls are not with me. Is there someone who can bring these dolls from my house?” Nabila asks her elder sister.
Nabila, 12, and her family were living outside the town of Mingora in the northwest Swat valley until they fled to the Yar Hussain camp in fear of their lives.
The dusty camp was set up by the government in North West Frontier Province with the help of the UN refugee agency on the outskirts of the town of Swabi, sheltering about 1,200 families in the same number of tents.
“It is very hot here. I have no friends nor is there any proper playing field like the one I had in front of my house,” said Nabila, who is taking classes at a temporary school in the camp.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF, deeply concerned about the psychological toll on children displaced by the operation to flush out the militants, said it was providing education and recreation in 13 camps where families are holed up.
“It is vital for children to cope with the trauma of displacement,” UNICEF spokeswoman Antonia Paradela said
She said counseling services for women and children are available in all those camps, with trained staff identifying children who have been damaged mentally and helping them cope with a predicament which is none of their doing.
“Children have also been provided toys, pencils and drawing paper to help them regain confidence,” Paradela said.
But for all these initiatives, many youngsters in Yar Hussain look unsettled and some plain unhappy.
“I miss my friends with whom I used to play cricket. I am a big fan of leg spinner cricketing hero Shahid Afridi,” said Nauman Ali, 16, a carpenter from Mingora, Swat’s main town.
“I wish he would visit me in this camp. I like him because he is also a good batsman. He has a lovely style of hitting sixes,” he said.
Nauman looked skeptical when asked if he thought he would go home soon.
“I really don’t know when I will be able to go back home and play cricket with my friends,” Ali said.
Jawad Khan, a third grade pupil, said he wanted to become a doctor.
“How can I continue my studies in an area where bombs and grenades explode daily? Stories about a group of people who slit the throats of their brothers scare me a lot,” Jawad said, apparently referring to Taliban rebels.
“I have a few friends from my area in this camp and we all agree these are dirty people,” he said while carrying his half-naked infant sister.
Six-year-old Nadia Khan, meandering with her mother through the camp, where long queues of men and children formed at lunch time, repeatedly begged to be let out the camp.
“I want to go home and play with my friends, please take me back,” she pleaded with her mother in broken Urdu.
Despite severe irritation in her eyes caused by a dust storm, Nadia was hungry — even if the dish of spicy rice with chickpeas was hardly mouth-watering.
To help alleviate their suffering, Pakistani charity Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) plans to create special play areas.
“It is a major disaster. Children in the camps need our help to come out of the psychological stress,” SPARC spokesman Kashif Mirza said.
“We plan to create play areas and organize painting competitions in the camps for displaced children,” he added ahead of a SPARC fund-raising campaign.
Shahid Khan, an eighth grade student, said the fighting had “shattered” his dreams.
But he was resolute nonetheless.
“I want to become an army officer. I like their uniform, I like their discipline,” he said.
“I am determined to continue my studies. If this is not possible in Mingora, I will ask my father to send me to another city where I can complete my studies and join the army,” he said.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
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