Swat Valley IDPs Continue to Suffer In Pak; Children Some Of The Worst Hit

Twelve-year-old Bahadur speaks of war and the Taliban with the candor children his age employ to talk of video games and cartoons. "I saw helicopters. They dropped shells and mortars. We left home because of the Taliban."

An IDP from Mingora, Swat, Bahadur has left behind his age of innocence, and talks frankly of the sights he saw in the Swat Valley. Bahadur and his family walked for days before they boarded a bus that brought them to the IDP ... Full Story »

Posted by Fabrice Florin
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Subjects: World
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Posted by: Posted by Fabrice Florin - Jul 29, 2009 - 4:59 PM PDT
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Jul 29, 2009 - 5:26 PM PDT

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Joey Baker
3.2
by Joey Baker - Jul. 29, 2009

Touching anecdotes about the refugees from Swat valley. Gives good facts about the government action (or lack of action), but would have been really good to include the government point of view and more quotes from the IDPs about the living conditions. A lot of summary, with a little bit of first-hand knowledge.

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Fabrice Florin
3.2
by Fabrice Florin - Jul. 29, 2009

Gripping report from a refugee camp in the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, where IDPs (Internally Displaced People) are facing harsh living conditions, thousands of miles from their homes in Swat Valley. The author interviews children and their families about their harrowing experience, but doesn't cite other sources (e.g. Karachi residents or government officials) to provide more context and independent perspectives on this story. An informative report nonetheless.

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Derek Hawkins
3.1
by Derek Hawkins - Jul. 30, 2009

IDP is a vulgar term to apply to Pakistani refugees, too sanitized and official for me to take seriously. The UN defines refugee as some one who leaves his home country for fear of persecution -- why the distinction if he hasn't crossed the border, especially in a state as unstable as Pakistan?

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