Homeless women and children suffer in Pakistan freeze

As temperatures in Britain plummet, thousands of homeless families in Pakistan’s war-torn North West Frontier Province are suffering extra hardship as temperatures there drop to freezing. As many as 900,000 people could still be without a home, a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesman said. Most people who have been uprooted by the conflict are staying with other families.

Mountainous North West Pakistan suffers severe winters with heavy snowfall and rain making life harder for those relying on others for a roof over their heads.“It is very hard to manage now that it is so cold,” said Waris Mehsud, aged 35. “We sleep on an open verandah at our host’s home because he has only two rooms indoors and these are occupied by his own family of 10,” he told the UN news service, IRIN. Mr Mehsud was forced from his home in South Waziristan in November when the government stepped up its military operation against militants. He and his family are now staying with relatives in Dera Ismail Khan town. “Two of my four young children are sick with high fever and bad colds and it is hard to keep them warm at night,” he said.“We thought about going back earlier this month because our hosts were under strain because of us, but our home has been damaged and we cannot move back until repairs are carried out,” said Mehsud.

Pakistan's army is battling Islamist fighters across much of the north west including the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, a region branded by Washington as the most dangerous place on earth. About 30,000 troops poured into South Waziristan in mid October to try and dismantle the strongholds of the Taliban leadership, enraging militants who have responded with a surge in bomb blasts and attacks.As well as families crowding into other families homes, there are about 110,368 homeless people sheltering in 13 camps in the region. All-weather tents, blankets and plastic sheets, have been handed out, but living conditions in the camps are still hard. Some people have tried to light fires very near their tents, or even inside them, to keep warm and local authorities have had to stop them because of the fire risk. Two weeks ago, four children were burnt to death after a tent caught fire at Jalala Camp in Mardan District.

Women and children are finding life especially tough. “It is very hard to wash clothes or bathe the children because there is no hot water, and we cannot heat more than a small pan on our stoves,” said Zareen Bibi, living in Muhammad Khoja camp.Chest infections are common in children at this time of the year and there have been reports of sickness among homeless children,” said Maheen Khan, a paediatrician in Peshawar.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children