Suffering of Baloch IDPs goes unnoticed

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Malik Siraj Akbar
QUETTA: While the exodus of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the NWFP gains widespread media attention and humanitarians assistance, four IDP children from Balochistan province had to get their kidneys removed because of abject poverty and inaccessibility to adequate medical treatment.

Settled in Marri Farm in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan, Muhammad Amin, son of Musa, pulls up his shirt to show the operation scars. Standing beside him with similar marks are Bhutto, Sajan and Aslam, all younger than 10.

“The doctors in Larkana, where the operations took place, informed us that the kidneys of these children could not function properly because they had consumed highly contaminated water – the only water available to us for providing to our children and women,” said Essa Bugti, a local schoolteacher and the children’s custodian, who fled his Sui house after the commencement of the operation in Sui. “Children often complain about being unwell. Yet, most parents can’t afford medical treatment. Some Marri children in the IDP settlements died due to lack of timely medical treatment,” said one Marri tribesman.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_28