PukhtunWomen

Samar Minallah's new 17 minute documentary “Da Bajuar Guloona” highlights the life of the people of Bajuar who have been forced into be refugee status. Since military operations started on August 6th about a third of the population were internally displaced and this documentary covers the heartbreak and distress of the refugees at the Pir Pai Refugee Camp in Nowshera.

Though no strangers to hardship and poverty, these people are under great distress and duress as they try to make sense of their lives. Forced to witness friends, family and neighbors blown into pieces by indiscriminate bombing and the agony of leaving them behind unburied as they themselves were forced to flee for safety.

Samar who has lived in the area herself says “Despite their poverty they symbolized hope. What I did not realize was that the reason behind their hope was an unconditional love for their homeland. As their homes were lost, the smiles faded too.”

It is heartbreaking to hear Sharif Khan describe the bleak Bajuar as “The hillsides of Bajuar bloom all year long. They are sweet as a rose, where even the bees are happy.“

Shamshad Khan sadly tells us “One’s home is like heaven. One may see all that the world has to offer, but one’s soul is at rest only in one’s homeland. “

Dealing with the merciless heat and hellish living conditions at the Pir Pai Refugee camp, the refugees are plagued by flies during the day and mosquitoes by night.

Yet there is worse heart break for those who have had to leave loved ones behind. The elderly who could not make the hard journey and others that had to stay behind and guard their meager belongings and only source of income.

Zainab Bibi heartbreakingly tells us ”I miss home. My agony at leaving behind my little daughter and a son is unbearable. We left them behind. They had to tend the animals because they could die of thirst. We are poor people. We cannot afford to lose them. They are both very young - just little older than this boy. My own daughter Nihar has been left behind. I worry about how she will cope. She must be hiding in the mountains trying to save herself from the attacks. She was screaming hysterically when we were coming here. My little son consoled her, saying we will be reunited soon.”

The biggest problem yet is the uncertainty of a time line for return and the ensuing lack of education for the children not only at the camps, but also if and when they return home due to the destruction there.

Saeed Khan of the Bajuar Youth Movement asks “Without schools what do you expect them to become? We request the country to ponder over the issue. Are they not being forced to become Taliban?”

Forced to leave behind not only their worldly belongings but in some cases their children and other family members, the people of Bajuar feel helpless as they wonder about their future and worry about a way of life that may no longer exist once they go back.

You can read the transcript of the movie Bajuar Guloona here