As If Hell Fell On Me

The Taleban came here and settled here. Now they have a dispute with the government, and the government started taking actions against them. If we stand with the government the Taleban will hit us. If we stand with the Taleban the government will target us. If we don't stand with any of them, you can see how bad our situation is.

Four million people live under the grip of Taleban rule in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and the FATA regions of Pakistan, 1 million are displaced and ordinary people are caught right in the middle. The 130-page Amnesty report, As if Hell Fell on Me, was based on nearly 300 interviews with residents of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the surrounding area. It tells the narrative of the suffering of the people.The government tells a story of success in its combat with the militants. Five million people, and probably a good few more, tell a different story.

Consider this comment by Amnesty International. It sums it up for me:

Most discussions of the conflict ignore the fact that northwest Pakistan is heavily populated and that the majority of people who live in FATA and other areas of northwest Pakistan do not support or take part in violence and are going about the business of trying to farm, raise livestock, weave fabrics, transport goods, raise families, and build, repair, or teach. The well-being of these civilians is rarely mentioned in media reports or policy pronouncements by Taleban or US, Pakistani, or Afghan officials and there are few signs that leaders on either side of the conflict factor civilians into their policies or strategic analyses.

The photograph of the old lady from Waziristan reminds me of a great-aunt of mine who was displaced in the Swat exodus last year. That single tear just breaks the heart.

Attan 1 - National Dance

Warawaee Lasoona

Attan - the national dance of Afghanistan has been performed by the tribal Pashtoons for generations to celebrate weddings, births and other festive occasions. This was later modified into a ritual dance of soldiers to allow them to get "closer to Allah"* before they advanced on their missions and is now performed by men and women alike in a variety of forms from Khattak to Khost.

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* a pre-cursor to the traditions of the Darvesh (درویش)

When Beauty Hurts

The troubles in the Swat Valley ring deep. It is a beautiful place, and with it, it's people. My connections to the valley through family and our shared history means that I have many aspirations for the place. I can dream on a grand scale, but for now I pray for a lasting return to normality and a future of peace and prosperity.

My life, as a Yorkshire-born son of migrants from Karachi, means that my contact with Swat has not been extensive. I speak, however, as someone who grew up knowing of my immediate family living in the valley. I also speak Pashto with a distinctly Swati dialect. Swat is a constant part of our family conversations, and this summer the valley draws my wife, our children and myself back. After all, this is who we are.

Swat - سوات - A Princely State

Swat was a wilaayat (princely state) long before Pakistan was carved out of India and is astonishingly breath-taking; an obvious tourist hub and the pride of the Yusufzai Pashtoons. The snow capped mountains, the gorges, the streams, the pine trees, are all reminiscent of those naturally beautiful places untouched by urban decay and pollution. I first went to Swat when I was toddling - I remember nothing of it of course - though had the opportunity to return and explore as an adult.

That was twelve years ago in the summer of 1996, one month before the Taliban took control of Kabul. Swat in 1996, was peaceful, rather under-developed and with even more power outages than places like Peshawar but where traditions - honour, virtue, kinship, Islam and Pashtunwali remained strong.

I knew little of the Taliban then and what I know now, the world knows too. Afghanistan has suffered much and today, Swat has been bleeding too. The disturbances at the present time have led to the killings of hundreds and the displacement of an estimated 800,000 people. Pashtoons, uprooted, seeking refuge from violence, once again. Officially, a peace has been brokered, but at a cost - girls education has been dismantled and the recent footage of the public flogging has left many of us disturbed.

President Obama, has recently referred to the Tribal Areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border regions as the "most dangerous place on Earth."

It is my intention, InshAllah, to travel there this summer. The occasion is a wedding - these moments of joy and optimism are what we need to help us heal. Please pray for us.

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