The Pakistani military's push against Taliban strongholds in the Swat Valley has created a forced migration emergency, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Almost 1.5 million people have registered for assistance since fighting erupted in the Swat Valley, according to the UNHCR. Now, the total number of people officially displaced as a result of violence in North West Frontier province stands at more than 2 million. The actual number could be higher, given that not all internally displaced persons (IDPs) have registered with authorities.
"It's been a long time since there has been a displacement this big," the UNHCR's spokesman Ron Redmond said in Geneva.
A major reason why the crisis hasn't developed into a humanitarian catastrophe is that Pakistani families in more secure areas have welcomed about 80 percent of the displaced into their own homes. But even the most hospitable of families can host a large number of IDPs for only so long.
At the Sheik Shazad Camp -- one of nine such facilities near the town of Mardar, about 2 hours north of Islamabad, and less than 50 miles from the front line in the Swat Valley --about 1,350 families, or just over 8,000 people, are organized in eight sectors. About 80 percent of the camp's population is Pashtun. Before the government offensive began, many civilians in the target areas were given just several hours to gather their belongings and evacuate. If they stayed, officials said they could not guarantee their safety.
The UNHCR is assisting IDPs at Sheik Shazad and other camps by providing infrastructure, including tents, running water and electricity, along with other items such as mattresses, cooking utensils and fans. The Pakistani government, meanwhile, is supplying food, medicine and security. At Sheik Shazad, for example, there are 57 military police officers and 21 police volunteers on patrol. There are also undercover intelligence agents present, working to uncover possible Taliban fighters who are trying to hide among the IDPs.
The ordeal of the Geer Khan family is representative of the hardships that many IDPs endured before finding safety at the camps, or finding temporary housing with generous residents. Trouble started for them when the Taliban entered their village, Amantkot, and announced the imposition of Sharia, or Islamic law.
After the start of the Pakistani army offensive, the family home was demolished by a tank blast. Then Alam Khan bundled his wife and four children into his rickshaw (his job was that of rickshaw driver) and fled the area. At the Sheik Shazad facility, the Khans have been reunited with some other villagers from their home village, including the Zeab family, whose members had to walk for 45 hours before finding transportation that brought them to the camp.
Now, IDPs are waiting for the government security sweep to come to an end, and for a semblance of stability to return to the Swat Valley. By August, many camp residents hope conditions will allow them to contemplate a return home.
Editor's note:
Jonathan Alpeyrie is a war photographer for Getty Images.
