Situation Update for Cyclone Phet – June
June 6, 2010 at 8.30 pm Situation Update for Cyclone PhetStrengthening Participatory Organization At the time of compilation of this update, the Cyclone Phet is about to struck coastal areas Sindh. After playing havoc in areas of Balochistan with widespread heavy rains and thunderstorms, the weather system is causing unprecedented rains in several districts of Sindh including Karachi, Tando Allah Yar, Hyderabad, Thatta and Badin. Although the intensity of the storm has reduced but the rains, urban flooding and windstorm are posing grave challenge to the human lives, properties and livelihoods. SPO’s Monitoring and Assessment Teams A couple of days earlier, SPO sent disaster alert to its offices in Thatta, Karachi, and Turbat. SPO has placed its humanitarian teams at six places namely Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Gwadar, Javni and Turbat. Rapid assessments are being made and teams are monitoring the situation closely and sending regular reports so that the situation does not turn into any catastrophic situation. SPO response teams are also responding to the situations where the complaints of lack of coordination, food and medicines are coming up. Cyclone Situation in BalochistanAccording to fresh updates and information’s received from field staff and partner organizations from District Gwadar revealed the figures of families who shifted to safer places and shelters. Electricity in most parts of Gwadar district is not available and road communications are blocked especially for Jiwani, Sur and areas Pasni. Since the electricity is absent standing water in Gwadar city has not been removed so far. The district government has engaged only one pump to drain out water from the areas of Gwadar city. There is dire need to urgently remove the standing water so that infrastructure could be saved and spread of disease could be avoided. In Gwadar some evacuations have been made yesterday afternoon by the district government Gwadar and Pakistan Navy in Jiwani. Approximately, 5000 people from villages Demi Zir, Mulla Bund Warh (3 to 4 feet water rises and houses are inundated), Kohbun Warh, Gulf Usmania Warh have been moved to safer places. Details are given below. Two injured children shifted for further treatment to Karachi with the facilitation of Pakistan Navy Helicopters. Further, some 2000 people have migrated to their relatives to the safe places in the outskirts of Gwadar, while 3000 individuals are moved to safer places with support of District government and other agencies. • Akram Camp Naval Base Gwadar approximately 2000 individuals• RCDC Gwadar 35 Individuals• Government College Gwadar 50 people• GDA school 300 individuals• GDA hospital 300 people• Coast Guard Camp Gwadar 60 people• Girls Primiary School Kahuda Mohalla Gwadar 130 people• National Hospital 40 people Total 2,915 individuals In above mentioned figures people who severely affected by Phet cyclone are receiving aid from local government and other agencies while SPO is supporting 130 people residing in Girls Primary School Kahuda Mohalla Gwadar. So far following major challenges are being faced by the people displaced.• Food security and access drinkable water• Required medical care• Drainage of inundated water in affectees houses• Require proper shelter Union Council SUR – GwadarSUR is a densely populated of union council of Gwadar which badly affected from thrust of Phet Cyclone as 50% UC areas are inundated with flood water which has triggered sever problem for the residence of UC. Communication links have been disconnected by flood water which impeded access to area from Gwadar. Eight villages of UC severely affected are as follow,1- Bund Sar 144 house holds2- Baloch Ward 241 households3- Negori Ward 221 households4- Kangani 229 House holds5- Kolchi Ward 293 households6- Nokabad 166 households7- Fisheries Ward(Pabb) 188 households8- Shddaat 56 households Total 1538 Households Tehsil Jiawni – GwadarAround 200 households yesterday moved to shelters but still unable to get any proper support from government and other humanitarian actors. It is triggering alarming situation. Tehsil Pasni – GawadarThree union council of Pasni Tehsil are also severely affected by Phet cyclone, the names with villages are follows;• UC Shimali (North) village Babbarshoor 70 households• Village Chakuli 30 households• Village Kandasole 30 households• Village Kalmat 150 households• UC Kallag 40 households• Village Nalant 60 households Total 380 Households There are authentic news that five fishermen who could not be evacuated by Pak Navy despite efforts have been rescued by Iranian coat Guards from deep sea. Province Sindh UpdatesSindh is also receiving the thrust of Phet of Cyclone which is affecting different cities especially adjacent to coast.Two Union Councils Kharo Chan and Kati Bundar are much exposed to affects of cyclone but despite frequent announcements by government people of UCs refused to evacuate their houses which generate challenging situation for government to handle the issue amicably. The resident of same UC were on view that they had faced same type of Cyclone in past and would not evacuate out of their homes. Government departments requested SPO to assist in evacuating the people to safer places. SPO staff with its effective
Situation Update for Cyclone Phet
June 5, 2010 at 7.00 pm Strengthening Participatory Organization According to Met office, “the cyclone is expected to make landfall near Karachi and in the nearby province of Baluchistan on Sunday with “maximum sustained winds around 35 to 50 nautical miles per hour. “The Cyclone Phet has been reduced to category one storm. However, its intensity has not been downgraded much while the most of the coastal areas of Pakistan will continue facing its effects in form of rains and thunderstorm. According to government sources, some 35,000 people have been shifted to safer locations from vulnerable coastal villages in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces. However, there are number of villages and localities where the communities have refused to move and leave their homes and properties behind. According to SPO teams in Karachi, Badin and Thatta, at number of places, children and women have been sent to the camps established in government schools and other public buildings while men are resisting evacuation. Cyclone Situation in Balochistan The storm has already started to create havoc in Baluchistan, which saw 133 millimeters of rainfall during the last 24 hours and flooding in some areas, the department reported on Saturday. Authorities are evacuating people to safe areas and Army, Frontier Constabulary and Navy have been put on high alert. It has been raining intermittently in the coastal areas of Balochistan, including Gwadar since Friday morning. In Balochistan, though the efforts were made little late as compared to Sindh, people have been evacuated from some coastal areas. In Gwadar some evacuations have been made today afternoon by the district government Gwadar and Pakistan Navy in Jiwani. Some 5000 people of villages Demi Zir, Mulla Bund Warh (3 to 4 feet water house are inundated water), Kohbun Warh, Gulf Usmania Warh have been moved to three places namely RCDC- Gwadar, Boys College Gwadar and Port Building. Further, some 2000 people have migrated to their relatives to the safe places in the outskirts of Gwadar. In Tehsil Jiwani 200 households moved to safer places to middles school Rasani Bazzar, Girls School Razsani Bazzar, Primary School Shehzada Bazzar, Welfare Office Jiawani and Naval base Jiwani. Five fishers’ men also reported missing as moving to their houses beside these 100 boats of fisher men wracked. The situation become terrible as protection barrier wracked close Shehzada Bazzar where this sources was also providing drinkable water. Mud houses collapsed due to flash flood water and spill over of protection bund. Coast Guard Pasni (Tehsil Pasni) announced the inhabitants of Babbarshoor union council to be shifted to Pak Public School. Kallag union council is affected by heavy rain water. Some houses of Babbarshoor and Kallag are badly affected by heavy rain . Despite heavy rains in the areas around Merani Dam, the rivers are flowing normally as major rainfall has been recorded in downstream of Merani dam. There are chances for high inflow in the dam on Sunday only if rains become heavier. So far, no significant water flow in any of the rivers has been witnessed in the Kech and rivers flowing to Merani dam. However, there is flood like situation in the Nullaha and streams in district Gwadar. According to fresh updates road access to Turbat and Gwadar is not clear for travel. SPO teams are coordinating for the any FIs and NFIs needs between the settlements where people have been shifted. As soon as the assessments are received, details will be shared. SPO’s Monitoring and Assessment Teams A couple of days earlier, SPO sent disaster alert to its offices in Thatta, Karachi, and Turbat. SPO has placed its humanitarian teams at five places namely Thatta, Badin, Gwadar, Javni and Turbat. Initial assessments are being made and teams are having an eye to look into the situation for any sort of humanitarian crisis, if arises. For further details or any other relevant information, please contact Special Project SectionStrengthening Participatory Organization – IslamabadMr. Noor Baloch on 0321-2290286 and Shahan Abbas on 0321-9696177(051)2104677, 2104679-80, 8316890, 2298892-3
Seminar on “Women Development Issues in the Context of NWFP”
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. Every year International Women’s day is celebrated on 8th March across the world. Since Pakistan in general and NWFP in particular has been experiencing conflicts during the last few years, the development process of the provinces is severely affected by it. The deteriorating law and order situation has also affected the social services delivery of the state. In this context SPO Peshawar decided to commemorate the women’s day by setting a theme relevant to the prevailing situation in the province. A day long seminar on “Women Development Issues in the Context of NWFP” was organized by SPO Peshawar on March 8, 2010 in Peshawar. The seminar was attended by around 155 participants from across the broad spectrum of society such as development activists, political workers, academia, media, community organizations, politicians and government representatives. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were: Mian Sardar Hussain Babak, Minister for Education, Ms. Sarwat Jehan, Directress Elementary Education, Ms. Samina Afridi, Gender Specialist/ lecturer in Department of Philosophy, Ms. Sumera Khan from Department of Social Work, Mr. R.D. Williams, member SPO Board of Directors, Ms. Shagufta Malik, MPA of ANP, Ms. Nasreen Khattak, ex-MPA (PMLQ), Ms. Tabasum Younas Katozai, MPA of ANP and Ms. Rakhshanda Naz, women rights activist and General Body member of SPO, Ms. Sitara Ayaz, Minister for Social Welfare & Women Development NWFP and Ms. Parveen Akhtar, SPO BoD. Objectives of the seminar were: to highlight the main challenges faced by the women in NWFP and formulate recommendations for women development in education, health, economic development. To make the event more fruitful, interesting and productive SPO arranged two panel discussion sessions with different themes followed by group discussion for collecting participant’s recommendations on women developments in field of economic, health, education and conflicts. The event started with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Arshad Haroon, Regional Head SPO Peshawar shared the seminar’s objectives and the elements of SPO core program, thereby highlighting the importance of gender as a cross cutting theme of all SPO interventions. He said that SPO is striving for good governance by strengthening democratic institutions. He emphasized the importance of social justice in building peace in the region, which is a prerequisite for social and economic wellbeing. In the first session of seminar Mian Sardar Hussain Babak highlighted the issues faced by women in education throughout the province. He said that the government is not oblivious to these problems, however the government has fewer resources to tackle these. He appreciated the role of civil society in this regard. Emphasizing on women education he requested the International community to help the government rebuild the education facilities for women destroyed militants in NWFP. Sarwat Jahan said that education is not only a basic human right but it is also critical for socio-economic development. She further mentioned that it is common knowledge that Pakistan has the poorest education sector indicators in the world. She further shared that WFO (World Food Organization) is assisting NWFP government in providing some incentives like cooking oil to girls students for making their health better and motivating parents to send their daughters to schools. This practice enhanced enrollments in the schools. Sumera Khan informed the participants that in NWFP 33 percent women are literate. Pukhtoon women are facing a lot of discrimination in field of education, health, culture, rights, social and work load. She said lack of religious knowledge and misinterpretation of religion has further exasperated women status. Women‘s access to education, employment, health, property and justice had been severely restricted for years. Samina Afridi criticized the present education system in which a student cannot learn even a single language properly. She said Pukhtoon culture has greater role in putting women education in the list of none preferred items. She proudly mentioned and quoted from history that Pukhtoons were never against the education of women, however during the recent past it’s the psyche of men to control women and dis-empower them from getting knowledge through education. Shagufta Malik pointed out the miserable conditions of women regarding health facilities. She alarmed that almost 24000 female lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth in Pakistan annually. Similarly 40 million women are living below poverty line. She cursed the swara system, and mentioned that it is such a travesty by sacrificing a woman for something she has never committed. She said that government is encouraging vocational trainings to women for their economic empowerment. She emphasized that woman participation should be made mandatory in big Jirgas. Similarly Dar ul itfal, Dar ul aman under Social Welfare department are working with the spirit to reduce women sufferings. Rukhshanda Naz said women are demanding equal rights to their male counterparts but still there is a long way to go. She alarmed that these are difficult times for women in Pakistan as the country ranks 106th out of 137 on the Gender-related Development Index and 66th out of 75 on the Gender Empowerment Measurement Index. Despite religious, constitutional and legal rights, women’s position in Pakistani society is weak. She appreciated the work of organizations dedicated to women rights. She urged the government to implement policies envisaged under UN convention for women rights and CEDAW. Nasreen khattak mentioned that on the eve of international women’s day, public focus will be on the theme adopted by the United Nations, “Equal rights, equal opportunities and progress for all”. This comes as a reminder that Pakistan still has a long way to go before equality of rights and opportunities is translated into reality. Women should actually have access to these services which can facilitate their progress that in turn allows society to develop. She said that we should bring change in our behavior so that we can celebrate every day as women day. Tabassum Younas Kathozai said that Islam awarded great respect and dignity to women and Islam has allowed women to go out for
Conference on “Education and Social Justice” March 29, 2010
Following its mission of building peaceful and just society in Pakistan, Strengthening Participator Organisation (SPO) held a conference on ‘Education and Social Justice’ on March 29, 2010. The objective of the conference was to further explore educational processes and their impact on exclusion and persistence of inequalities in education from multidimensional and intra-disciplinary perspectives. The conference was attended by educationists, scholars, members of civil society and stakeholders from all over the country. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were: Zafar Zeeshan, Dr. Tufail Muhammad Khan, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, Harris Khalique, Dr. Mubarak Ali, Zehra Arshad, Noman ul Haq Siddiqui, Sadiqa Salahuddin, Dr. Sajid Ali, Mukhtar Ahmed Ali, Dr. Karamat Ali and Naseer Memon. Welcoming the participants Zafar Zeeshan, head of programme SPO, said that the educational problems could be resolved by making social justice an integral part of education. Introducing the theme of conference Dr. Tufail said that theme of the conference was in consonant with the mission and programme of SPO. He highlighted the fact that an egalitarian society translates rhetoric into reality. Eminent educationist, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui spoke on ‘Curriculum and Social Justice’. He said that modern hegemonic modes captured minds by dominating sphere of cultural production. ‘The things that cannot be controlled by coercion can be subdued through discourse connected to power.’ Siddiqui lamented the fact that education in Pakistan only focused on economic dimension not on social development under the pressure of liberal economic regime. In his speech Dr. Shahid gave the changed role of education in human history, and types of education systems in Pakistan. Renowned writer and poet, Harris Khalique, explored the relationship between language, education and social justice. He cited example of the distortion of Jinnah’s speech by establishment and resisting forces to safeguard their vested interest. ‘For a proper language policy we need to correct history’ Harris said. In his speech Harris referred to various sign posts regarding medium of instruction in the history of Pakistan. He analyzed the language used in constitution and policies just to evade final decision about medium of instruction. ‘The kind of pidgin English we are imparted to children in Pakistan does not give knowledge’ Harris stated. He was of the opinion that to change power equation in the favour of poor we need to educate in mother tongue. Famous historian and intellectual, Dr. Mubarak Ali, gave an overview of historical background of education in East and West. ‘Traditionally education was not a responsibility of state. With French revolution the domain of education came under the purview of state. It provided an effective tool to control populace’ Mubarak stated. Dr. Mubarak said that our education system was ruined by the ideological nature of our state that not only distorted minds but also our education system. Social justice could not prevail unless we get rid of existing system, he opined. Shedding light on the issue of access to education, Noman Siddiqui of Sindh Education Foundation emphasized the need of aligning education in accordance with the dynamics of our society. Without paradigm shift in our thinking and system we could not achieve the ideal of socially just society, he said. Dr. Sajid Ali, associate professor of Institute Education Development, identified basic fallacies in education policy. He urged policy makers to view politics of education in a holistic way. Zehra Arshad presented the paper of Dr. Hafiz Iqbal in his absentia. Speaking on the quality of education and social justice, Zehra Arshad, coordinator Pakistan Coalition for Education, presented facts and figures and performance of Pakistan in achieving MDG goals. Mukhtar Ali, Executive Director of Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, was of the opinion that education was not a priority in the development fund. ‘In the absence of monitoring system statistics are not reliable’ he asserted. Mukhtar especially mentioned the fact that private elite schools get grant but there is no support for government schools. He was of the view that duplication of projects ruined education and efficiency. Sharing his views eminent economist Dr. Karamat Ali said that access to education did not necessary lead to social justice. ‘Our education system has killed creative capabilities of student. Enquiring capacities are stifled by parents and teachers’ he said. Concluding the ceremony, Chief Executive SPO Naseer Memon thanked all the participants and speakers on behalf of SPO. He said that we had to leave the conference with the question regarding individual priorities vis-à-vis education.
Consultative Workshop on “National Youth Policy”
Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) arranged a “Consultative Workshop on Youth Policy” on March 26, 2010. The objective of the workshop was to identify unfavorable or defective areas in the existing policies regarding youth, and recommend policy options within the framework of existing policies. Participants of the workshop stressed the need to include youth in every sphere of society through policy intervention. Speaking on the occasion Naseer Memon, Chief Executive SPO, said that SPO was engaged with youth of Pakistan. That was why SPO arranged the consultative workshop by engaging policy experts and carrying out consultation with civil society organizations and youth groups. ‘Fundamental policy for youth is already there, but changed circumstances demand changes in youth policy in the light of issues and gaps identified by the stakeholders, particularly youth’ Memon stated. He laid great emphasis on the need to carry out debate regarding youth policy at provincial level to broaden the ambit of feedback from all stratum and regions of the country. Mazhar Arif, a media watch expert, appreciated the policy for addressing the economic dimension. He, however, emphasized not to focus solely on economic aspect because it would only create a working class for the consumption of jobs in the market. ‘The policy follows a narrow agenda if it focuses on production of only job seekers for the market. Instead the policy should broaden its perspective by providing vistas and opportunities to youth to actualize their potential through socialisation and increased participation’ Mazhar said. Arif urged youth of get involve in every sphere of society. He was of the opinion that our society had closed the doors of opportunities for the youth and forced the youth to become hostile. ‘This situation can be averted by providing multiple way outs to the youth’ Mazhar Arif stated. Zafar Zeeshan, Head of Programme SPO, stated that the society needed youth rather than youth needed society. He termed the policy of isolation of youth from the mainstream activities as unfair. ‘Youth should be given centre stage in the affairs of country. Current turmoil in the country has changed many things and we need to address the questions generated by the changed situation’ Zafar said. Zafar Zeeshan highlighted the need of taking contemporary challenges and issues of youth into consideration while chalking out youth policy review. The consultative workshop was attended by youth stakeholders from across the country. They lauded the efforts of SPO in mainstreaming youth with the affairs of country through policy dialogue and intervention. In the end the participants prepared and presented detailed recommendations for change in the youth policy. These recommendations would be shared with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Pakistan.
SPO Hattai Bala – Video
Testing of Vedios
Conference on Peace and Harmony
Currently, Pakistan is undergoing a tumultuous period in its history for the country is facing violence from elements which are averse to democratic norms, pluralistic society and dissent. This situation is the cumulative outcome of various underlying social, political and economic factors, but their manifestations are appearing today in the shape of intolerance and violence in our society. Being one the largest rights based organisations in Pakistan, Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) endeavors to cultivate culture of peace and harmony through its core programme of Social Peace and Harmony. It specially encourages activities that are geared toward building a peaceful, tolerant, democratic and pluralistic society in Pakistan. Faiz Ahmed Faiz belongs to those luminaries of Pakistani literature who rejected myopic attitude of the society and gave message of justice, peace and love of humanity through his poetry and writings. The current situation in Pakistan has made Faiz Ahmed Faiz more relevant as the society realized the repercussions of inculcating distorted ideologies in the hearts and minds Pakistani society. Realizing the relevance of Faiz oeuvre in guiding Pakistani society to get rid of obscurantist and violent forces, SPO held a conference ‘Faiz aik simt numa’ (Faiz – lighting the way) at National Language Authority (NLA) on February 17, 2010. The objectives of conference is to explore the dimensions of Faiz’s writings that can prove conducive to peace and social harmony on the one hand, and disseminate the message of love of humanity in Faiz’s poetry to wider audience on the other. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were poets Iftikhar Arif, Fehmida Riaz, Harris Khalique, intellectual Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, trade union leader Abdul Sattar. Aslam Azhar, who played a formative role in making the PTV a creative organ of the state, presided over the conference. Introducing the theme of conference Zafar Zeeshan, Head of Programme SPO, said that in Pakistani society domination of emotions over rationality, weak state structure, and extremism resulted in suffering of minorities in particular and people in general. In such a state alternative solutions should be sought within the indigenous literary figures who disseminated the message of peace and harmony. Zafar said ‘a salient feature about these personalities is that they are not imported, rather they have indigenous roots.’ In his key note address Harris Khalique, writer, poet and Chief Executive SPO, highlighted three arenas where ideological struggle for peace and harmony needed be launched. “The country is on a collision course with obscurantist forces trying to win heart and minds of laymen on the streets. We have to free minds from the clutches and demagogues of the extremists and reactionaries and to show respect and love for the wretched and adopt tolerance as a way of life. These were the basic touchstones of Faiz’s poetry,” Prominent intellectual Ashfaq Saleem Mirza shed light of the relationship between Faiz’s poetry and experience of incarceration. He placed Faiz’s writings in incarceration in the tradition of Antonio Gramci, Nehru and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, who wrote their best writings in jail. ‘Despite hardships in jail Faiz did not become embittered rather he expressed his annoyance through his poetry.’ Poet Fahmida Riaz read out her paper ‘Faiz and Freedom of Expression’. Her paper was interspersed with poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Speaking against the misuse of Faiz’s poetry for selfish ends she said ‘it is a conspiracy by the rich as well as those in power to advance their vulgar designs. This is being done to rob the people of their favorite poet; but he would remain the people’s poet for no one could ever succeed in separating Faiz from the people.” She was of the opinion that his poetry is a weapon to defeat writers of sanguinary drama in our country. Trade union leader, Abdul Sattar, criticised contemporary intellectuals for deviating from Faiz’s tradition of becoming part and parcel of workers’ struggle. He bought metaphor of seeing the River Tigris in a drop. ‘Intellectuals help us to see parts in totality, and combination of practice and theory are important. Unfortunately, workers are struggling without idea from intellectual because modern intellectual do not interact with the workers.’ he said. Sattar said that bridging the gap between workers and intellectual would help creating a better society. National Language Authority Chairman Iftikhar Arif admitted the failure of the intellectuals in highlighting the issues of the downtrodden and working class. He proposed that national days for the three great minds Prof Abdul Salam, Dr Akhter Hameed Khan and Faiz Ahmed Faiz should be observed. “We should feel ashamed of the way in which we have treated these great men who were a part of the national heritage and pride,” said Iftikhar Arif. He added that Faiz’s poetry was filled with hope for the nation and in this way; we could rekindle the hope for the ultimate betterment of the working class. ‘Faiz is a legend and once a legend is established it is difficult to dismantle it’ he reflected. Aslam Azhar in his concluding remarks said read from Faiz’s poem Sochiye (think) and asked participants to find a solution of the present morass in this message. In the second session of the conference Arieb Azhar, Shahram, Taimoor Rehman and Mehwish thrilled the participants with their music and songs of peace and harmony and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The conference culminated with formulation Charter of Demands for social peace and harmony, drawn from insights provided by the speakers.
Have faith in Faiz’s promise of people’s victory
By A Reporter ISLAMABAD, Feb 17: Speakers at a conference held here on Wednesday resolved to use Faiz’s poetry to correct the nation’s course and steer the country out of the present impasse. They underlined the need to put faith in, and promote, the optimism that Faiz inspires about the ultimate victory of the people in their struggle for social justice, freedom, equality and peace. They emphasized the poet’s active role shoulder to shoulder with the working class to establish a just society free of exploitation, oppression and economic disparity. The conference was organised by Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), an NGO. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were poets Iftikhar Arif, Fehmida Riaz, Harris Khalique, intellectual Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, trade union leader Abdul Sattar. Aslam Azhar, who played a formative role in making the PTV a creative organ of the state, presided over the conference. Poet Fehmida Riaz read a paper on “freedom of expression and lamented the manner in which the freedom of expression had been subverted especially by the TV channels. In her opinion, it was full of empty noise. “A time has come when many people are quoting Faiz to advance their selfish ends. It is a conspiracy by the rich as well as those in power to advance their vulgar designs. This is being done to rob the people of their favourite poet; but he would remain the people’s poet for no one could ever succeed in separating Faiz from the people.” She also read Faiz’s Punjabi poem Teri meri dharti mata to show Faiz’s attachment with farmers, peasants and workers. She said that Faiz was wrongly been portrayed as a Sufi poet. His message was simple and clear. He wanted a peaceful and just society free from all exploitations. His message is more relevant today, a ray of hope for the poor, workers and peasants who are reeling under the burden of inflation, poverty, unemployment. She held the exploitative economic system responsible for the current sorry state of affairs in the region. She urged the working class, peasants and students to get united and wage a struggle against this system. National Language Autho-rity Chairman Iftikhar Arif admitted the failure of the intellectuals in highlighting the issues of the downtrodden and working class. The NLA chief proposed that national days for the three great minds — Prof Abdul Salam, Dr Akhter Hameed Khan and Faiz — should be observed. “We should feel ashamed of the way in which we have treated these great men who were a part of the national heritage and pride,” said Iftikhar Arif. He added that Faiz’s poetry was filled with hope for the nation and in this way, we could rekindle the hope for the ultimate betterment of the working class. Ashfaq Saleem Mirza discussed Faiz’s message of optimism in the long night of darkness when he was in jail. But Faiz Sahib did not lose his cool or become dejected. He remained patient and had the greatness of heart not to harbour ill will for his many tormentors. Trade union leader Abdus Sattar lamented that writers and intellectuals have forsaken the cause of the common man. He said Faiz sahib was a committed poet who worked under the leadership of Mirza Ibrahim for the cause of working class. Earlier in his keynote address, Harris Khalique set out the rationale of the conference. He said that we have to launch a three-pronged struggle – on ideological front, in media and on the streets. “The country is on a collision course with men with dark vision clashing on the streets. We have to move the country out of the slogans and shibboleths of the extremists and reactionaries and to show respect and love for the wretched and adopt tolerance as a way of life. These were the basic touchstones of Faiz’s poetry,” he said. Aslam Azhar who spoke in the end took up the thread. The only message he gave to the gathering to find a solution out of the present morass. To emphasize this theme he read from Faiz’s poem Sochiye (think). Zeeshan Zafar informed the gathering that SPO was working to create a society that based its mores on the ethics of social justice, peace, equality and harmony. The conference went into second session in which Faiz’s evocative poetry was sung by Arieb Azhar, Shahram, Taimoor Rehman and Mehwish. The session thrilled everyone with its flair of songs and ghazals.Dawn. February 18, 2010
SPO’s Response to the Affectees of Zalzal Lake in District Hattian, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
The recent spell of torrential rains caused a flood like situation all over AJK especially in Jhelum valley. On February 8, 2010, Zalzal Lake in Hattian district, naturally created in earthquake of 2005, burst under the pressure of heavy rains. According to the initial assessment of State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) at least 70 houses were washed away in the high water currents of Zalzal Lake. Since 2005 earthquake, Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) has been engaged in emergency, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in Azad Jammu and Kashmir through its various programmes. In response to Zalzal Lake burst, SPO brought succor to the people who have been rendered insecure by the natural disaster. SPO emergency team in close coordination with SDMA, district government Hattian and partner organizations conducted rapid assessment of the damages caused. According to this assessment 70 families lost their houses and valuable items in the flash flood. The affectees have been shifted to safe places. They were in dire need of food items and shelter. The SDMA requested SPO to provide food items on humanitarian grounds. On the request of SDMA and the district Government Hattian, SPO initiated the distribution process at the selected point, i.e. the Deputy Commissioner Office in Hattian. SPO and its partner organization made proper arrangements to ensure that the affectees reach to the distribution point easily. SPO with the cooperation of DC Hattian supported 70 families through a relief package sufficient for their one month need. The distributed food items include flour, rice, cooking oil, pulses and other items of daily use.