Internally displaced residents of Bara, a town of the Khyber Agency who have fled the military operation against Taliban militants, wait at a registration point. — AFP

Rehman Shah, 42, of Shalobar tribe of Bara has little faith in the government’s assurances about restoring peace in Bara, or the peaceful return of thousands of displaced families to their homes in the near future.

Living with his family of six in a patchy tent in Phase four of the Jalozai camp, Shah said security forces were still conducting search operations in most parts of Bara. Meanwhile, the proscribed organisation Lashkar-i-Islam once again issued a warning to avenge those who dared to come back.

“Everybody knew living in a tent in extreme weather conditions was not going to be easy. The displaced families are more than willing to go back to their homes, but cannot do so in the face of threats from militant groups and continuous military operations,” he said.

The Bara IDPs were expected to return home in mid February, as announced by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan in December last year. He claimed that most of the area, except a few pockets in the remote Tirah valley, were cleared of militants after a successful military operation.

But Abdul Meeran, a member of the consultative body (shura) of Bara IDPs at Jalozai camp, is sceptical of this claim.

“Militants still roam around in Bara scot free and are harassing local residents while their agents are issuing threats to Jalozai camp dwellers,” he said while explaining the IDPs’ fears and apprehensions about the current security situation in Bara.

“I remember a time when I used to feel secure in my home town. Going to my fields at any time of the day without any fear and intimidation from militant groups, taking a mid day nap under a shady tree after some hard labour and waking up with the call for azaan from a nearby mosque was a cherished memory," said the 60-year-old Abdul Meeran — a former Akkakhel farmer.

An “impossible” compensation

Bara IDPs wait at a registration point in Peshawar. — AFP

With their property destroyed, schools, health units, roads and bridges demolished, and an absence of a comprehensive reconstruction and rehabilitation plan, the IDPs have little to look forward to.

To top it all, the procedure laid down for compensation of their damaged private property is both complex and tedious.

“The government and donor agencies compensate the damage to private property on basis of an approval from the political administration and upon the recommendation of tribal elders. This is also applicable only if the damages are reported by the media,” explained Haji Noor Muhammad who is also member of the camp shura.

He added that over 50 per cent of the damages caused to private properties have not been reported in the media because people were largely unaware of the procedure to avail monetary compensation.

The Fata Secretariat has made the situation worse by adding further complications.

It made obligatory upon the affected family to get approval of the political administration, security officials in charge of the military operation in a particular locality of Bara, along with signature from the Agency Surgeon and at least three tribal elders before a claim is made for compensation for monetary loses.

Noor Muhammad argued that it was nearly impossible for a displaced person to complete the entire process of verification.

Life inside the camps

A child from Bara at a registration point. — AFP

The disaster management authorities of Fata and KP have established distribution points near camps where IDPs can acquire basic ration. Getting hold of these was neither an easy nor a comfortable exercise for the female dwellers of Jalozai, especially the widowed.

Fauzia, a widow and mother of two children, complained about the uncooperative and at times harsh attitude of both the camp authorities and members of the shura.

She said that women were made to wait in line for long hours in order to get their ration. “We leave behind our children unattended at our tents and our household responsibilities are also affected. While we wait in line, men take their share out of turn and we are at times denied our portion altogether.”

The IDPs at Jalozai camp also claimed that they get sub-standard food items from ration points and the camp authorities have also recently curtailed its quantity. Large families are then compelled to purchase food from the open market which is an added financial burden.

Fauzia, along with her neighbour Sherin Bibi, also criticised the lack of proper schooling at the camp. They said they send their children to a tent school but there is a continuous absence of teachers.

“With no proper system in place for education, most school-going children are seen doing minor street jobs or chores like collecting firewood for their families from the nearby forest.”

Sajjid Khan, now a college student and living in phase two of Jalozai camp, was also dissatisfied with the facilities provided at the camp schools. Other than poverty and lack of teachers, he said most students were in need of psychiatric treatment as they were still traumatised by the volatile situation they had witnessed in Bara.

“At the camp we have no such treatment facility and frightened students avoid coming to schools.”