As the saga of the internally displaced persons from Malakand Division of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan unfolds, governments and donor orgnizations across the globe have rushed or pledged to rush relief assistance to the suffering millions. Local donors, philanthropists and well-to-do and also not-so-well-to-do people have geared up efforts to raise funds for the IDPs lodged in makeshift camps in various districts to provide food and medicines for them. The highlanders who until they were thrown out of their homes enjoyed a serene environment, complete peace and God's plenty in the shape of gushing streams, forests, orchards, hill torrents, cold spring water and every imaginable beauty God the Great bestowed upon the scenic valley, which used to proudly be called the Switzerland of Pakistan, are now forced to live in tents. The good days are gone. The people are streaming out of their homes and villages to reach out to relative safety and security only to end up in poorly managed IDP camps.
The world community is feeling the heat of the humanitarian catastrophe and rushing more aid and relief assistance to help out the hapless IDPs, who are being groomed into a whole new generation of beggars. The relief assistance from UN humanitarian agencies and other welfare organizations from various countries have been finding it hard to distribute the assistance evenly and judiciously. Looting of relief goods upon arrival at the camps has become a common phenonmen by the day.
Some people among the IDPs and some political and religious parties have been exploiting the situation to create more anger and hatred among the people about the world donor agencies and countries in Europe and the Americas. It is not a harvest of hatred. We should use the opportunity to create goodwill among the IDPs and other segments of the society about the countries and governemnts trying to reach out to help the IDPs. It is not a time to grow unrest or mistrust. It is time to be more scrupulous and keep a keen eye on the efforts of all to bring back peace and rehabilitate the distressed people. Or else it would not be wrong to say that peace does not beget peace; it only adds to hatred.
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