THE REFUGEE CRISIS
For the world, it seems, one Palestine headache is not sufficient. There has to be another one. And so, in Pakistan, a new suffering is born- with all the makings of a prolonged misery for countless men, women and children and a potential truoblespot where blood-hungry warriors roam the fields and villages.
There are indeed certain fundamental differences between the Pakistan tragedy and the case of the Palestinian Arabs. In Pakistan no foreign imperialist can be credited with being the architert of the present trouble. The conflict there was essentially a domestic affair- the outcome of a political sword play between three key figures at the top : President Yahya Khan, Awami League leader Sheik Mujibur Rahman and leftist Zulficar Ali Bhutto. Next the East Pakistanis who are now inside indian territory went and stayed there on their own initiative despite yahyas call to return.
Sadly enough, none of the refugees has rturned Pakistan. This unwillingness to return home therefore, is one of the biggest stumbling block in the crisis. According to figures announced on Monday 5,765,000 refugees have fled to India since the beginning of April. Of these over 5 million were members of East Pakistan’s Hindu minority out of a total of eight million prior to the shortlived rebellion. The New Delhi government said that aid to refugees would cost some $ 500 million. The first deadly attack- the cholera outbreak- has been overcome but not without leaving over 5,000 deaths and virtually draining the world’s vaccine supply. Unless the Indian government gets what it is asking from the international community, the problem of food, clothing, medicine and other important items to cover the needs of the refugees will remain a mammoth task to cope.
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday, has warned that “unless concerted steps are taken to relieve the (refugee) burden, the situation may go out of control. In Pakistan the official radio reported that the Agha Khan has agreed to help in arranging for the return and rehabilitation of the refugees. Present conditions, however, clearly do not point to such a possiblity. The Pakistan army has launched what press reports described as a scorched earth operation along the frontier between East Pakistan and India designed to block guerrilla attacks by secessionist forces now being trained inside Indian territory. Such military activities on both sides of the border not sunprisingly, has resulted in yet more refugees fleeing across the frontier. Unless Yahya eretcs something similar to the Berlin Wall it is doubtful that the exodus could be stopped.
In addition, those weeks of killings and other atrocities committed in such swift and merciless manner by the West Pakistani army could not easily be forgotten. Aside from that, after the wanton destruction of lives and properties, there are really not much to return to.
Reference : Indonesian Observer, 10.06.1971