stranded pakistanis' living in camps in bangladesh – in pictures

8/12/2019 'Stranded Pakistanis' Living in Camps in Bangladesh – in Pictures

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'Stranded Pakistanis' living in camps in

Bangladesh – in pictures

Monday 11 August 2014Bangladesh’s Urdu-speaking minority community, sometimes known as Biharis, areconsigned to lie in camps !or "stranded #akistanis’ that were set up in 1$%1, duringthe esta&lishment o! the Bangladeshi state, een though they hae no roots in modern#akistan' (hey o!ten lie in dire conditions, !acing discrimination !rom mainstreamsociety' )egal aid *+ *amati is trying to help them gain access to citienship

Staff

camp, Dhaka. There are about 300,000 Urdu-speaking people living in camps for stranded

Pakistanis in angladesh. The camps date from !"#!, $hen fighting during the establishmentof the angladeshi state forced the Urdu-speaking minorit% into these supposedl% temporar%

d$ellings

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2014/aug/11/stranded-pakistanis-camps-bangladesh-bihari-in-pictures


http://www.namati.org/

http://static.guim.co.uk/static/7be6d0bc1f2e942cd7bbac03f6e53825802a12cc/common/images/logos/the-guardian/news.gif

http://www.namati.org/





&ene

va camp, Dhaka. 'an% ancestors of the Urdu-speaking minorit% came from ihar, (ndia,during the partition in !")#. The camps* residents are referred to as ihari, $hich is a loaded

term in angladesh. Some trace their ancestr% back not to ihar, but to other regions in (ndia

and present-da% Pakistan



(n

man% of the ihari camps in Dhaka, the floors are $eak and prone to crumbling. &aps in the$alls and under the stair$a%s e+pose rusted structural steel and rotting concrete. lectrical

lines hang in $ebs above the hall$a%s and are perilousl% fra%ed

'an%



iharis are increasingl% able to pass as mainstream angladeshis. This gives them access tohousing and services such as education and a better chance of acuiring citi/enship

documents. ut for Urdu speakers, passing* in order to get the basic rights granted b% la$

means abandoning their culture

'%m

ensingh camp, Dhaka. Urdu speakers have suffered discrimination and e+treme povert% since

the countr%*s $ar of liberation. Despite a la$ introduced in 1002 that guarantees citi/enship for ihari refugees, the% face serious obstacles to obtaining citi/enship documents such as passports and birth certificates



The

conditions in the camp are dire. ouses are separated b% t$o-foot 45!cm6 $ide passage$a%sshared b% residents, goats and chickens. ouses are tin%, usuall% less than 2+2ft, and host entire

families. 7esidents raise their beds to make space for possessions underneath. 8hen it rains,

the camp floods, toilets included



(n

10!3, the legal empo$erment organisation 9amati partnered the :ouncil on 'inorities, a localrights group, to provide services to people seeking citi/enship documents. Since last ;une, !0

paralegals and three volunteers have been trained to $ork across all the countr%*s camps and

have assisted almost !,<00 stateless people



9ahid

Parvin, 10, is a paralegal $orking for the Urdu-speaking communit% in Dhaka. She sa%s her$ork has changed her life. =lthough she is %oung, she has e+perienced a lot of respect from her

communit%. >ver%one sa%s salam, and the% call me madame,? she sa%s. Parvin feels inspired

to continue her $ork in development b% training as a social $orker



Parvi

n, $ho is from the ihari communit%, has basic la$ and mediation training. She $orks as agrassroots advocate, helping people appl% for identit% documents. Parvin suffered

discrimination gro$ing up@ Teachers $ould sa%, >Ah, %ou*re from the camps, %ou killed our

forefathers in #!.? ( didn*t sa% an%thing,* she sa%s. ut ( cried all the time*



Bor

$omen, the prospect of travelling b% foot or public transport to deal $ith officials ande+change mone% is intimidating. The communit% faces reCection or bribe reuests $hen

appl%ing for (D documents. ut for some it is $orth the risk, as a angladeshi passport allo$s

residents to $ork abroad and send back remittances



Parvi

n takes a group of $omen to appl% for (D documents. 9amati collects data on applications toidentif% bottlenecks in the s%stem and cases of discrimination. (t then makes polic%

recommendations to the angladesh government. Parvin*s $ork has the potential to benefit up

to 300,000 people struggling to gain identit% documents



:amp

residents appl% for (D cards in Dhaka. (n some cit% corporation offices, uncooperative officialsreCect the maCorit% of Urdu-speakers* cases. (n other areas, the process is more reliable. Bor

camp residents %ounger than mid-)0s, angladesh is the onl% countr% the% have ever kno$n

Biles



pile up in a cit% corporation office. % tracking cases 9amati and the :ouncil on 'inoritiesalread% have better data than the government detailing cases of discrimination and dela%s in

receiving citi/enship documents

Parvi

n $alks $ith Bar/ana 9a/, a %oung mother from the Urdu-speaking minorit%. 9a/ has applied

for a passport so she can take a Cob as a domestic $orker in Saudi =rabia to support her

daughters through the rest of their schooling. Parvin is helping $ith her case

stranded pakistanis' living in camps in bangladesh – in pictures

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