Saturday September 17th 2011
No relief for Sindh's untouchables
As the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicts more monsoon
rains in the coming days, low caste Hindus in Sindh's flood affected
areas face discrimination when it comes to getting relief, says a
report released by Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission.
The worst victims of rains and breaches in a monsoon-swollen Left Bank
Outfall Drain (LBOD) in Badin district — the Pakistani low caste
Hindus (Dalits) of the districts were denied to get in to relief camps
for being 'untouchables.'
In the last five weeks when monsoon-swollen drains and LBOD burst its
banks and led to massive flooding, religious discrimination continued
to run deeper than the floodwaters.
Despite torrential rains, majority of these Hindu Dalits in Badin
district continue to live in open sky as they were not allowed
accommodation in the private/self-built relief camps of Muslims.
What added to the tragedy was the federal government's ban on NGOs and
international donors to work in these areas for 'security reasons.' As
the government itself initiated relief operation much later, the many
religious organisations that started relief operation in Badin have
completely ignored these Dalits or Harijan (Children of God).
Chanesar Bheel, a Dalit farmer and resident of Goth Gomando Bheel,
Taluka Golarchi [Shaheed Fazil Rahu] is one of around 700 Dalits of
his village who have no choice but to live in their submerged village
with his nine children.
"Our village is between the two drains and during rains both burst and
inundated our village from either side, so we rushed to a nearby
relief camps set inside a government school. The tenants did not allow
us to live inside the camp, so we came here and started living under
open sky," Bheel told media.
Bheel said the people living inside the camps had told them that they
are outcastes, so they are not allowed to live with Muslims. His
village comprises on 80 households with 700 population and all are
Dalits.
A civil society activist, Ameer Mandhro sharing his views said, "This
is not the only village of Dalits in the district that have no roof on
their heads but there are countless other Dalit villages including
villages on Khoski road, Seerani, Lonwari Shrief and other areas where
Dalits are living this way because they are not allowed a place in the
relief camps."
Same happened with Pirbhu Kolhi and 50 other residents of his village,
who rushed to a relief camp set inside a government school in Tando
Bagho, were not allowed to live in the camp after heavy rains.
However, some nice folks allowed them to live inside a camp and
allotted one isolated class room to a few Dalit flood victims. As
Kolhi said, "The isolated class room is away from the main building
where only two families are living while the rest of the village is
living in open despite continued heavy rains." He said some
philanthropists came to provide food in the relief camp, "but we are
not given the food."
In the emergency situation the role of the minister for minorities
affairs Mohan Lal Kohistani seeks attention. The situation remains
tough for the PPP-led government, which not only hails from Sindh but
always claim to work indiscriminately as well.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/16/no-relief-for-sindh%E2%80%99s-untouchables.html
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