Open Forum on the 29th and 30th of September, 2010 in district Peshawar

Peace Education And Development (PEAD) Foundation organized an Open Forum in collaboration with the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) for the students of the Open Minds Project in Peshawar on the 29^th and 30^th of September. The Open Forum was organized to assess the impact of the project on the participating students. The two day event was attended by male and female students from selected government schools and madaris. Various media personnel also attended and interacted with the students during the event. The Open Forum was chaired by Mr. Shaukat Khattak, bureau chief SAMAA on the 29^th and by Mr. Shameem Shahid, President Peshawar Press Club and bureau chief of the upcoming newspaper Pakistan Today on the 30^th of September. 

The Open Forum provided a platform for the students to express what they have learned and gained form the Open Minds project and share it with their peers. Students were gathered at a venue in Peshawar, where they delivered speeches, held discussions and debate, and participated in question and answer sessions. Students also shared stories from their personal lives and from their communities as well.

The students gave presentations on various topics which were assigned to them such as the role of women in the development of Pakistan, difference between Jihad and Extremism, Floods in Pakistan and role of media, and conflict resolution. Students were not only able to speak publicly in front of their peers and panel of experts sitting in front of them on the topics assigned to them but were also able to take questions from the audience and answer them with great confidence and authority.  The Students are now more aware of their surroundings and are in touch with the global community as a result of this project.

The two chief guests shared their experiences with the students and encouraged them to pursue journalism as a career. The entire event was a welcomed initiative which was appreciated by all the participants as well as the panel of experts.

Imran Afzal

Eid in a Camp

Hisam Khan, Class 8^th.

Today is the first day of Eid. I can hear children laughing and playing everywhere, the elders are hugging each other and wishing each other a Happy Eid, people are inviting each other for dinners and lunches. In this time of joy I am feeling very uneasy, it is not because I am sick or that I am not feeling well it is because of my visit to one of the camps which has been set up for the flood victims. One day before Eid I visited a flood relief camp in Charsadda. When I saw the condition those people were living in my heart filled up with sorrow. I saw a woman who had lost her son and husband in the flood and I could not bear the pain I saw in her eyes. The people living in the camps have lost their homes and the flood water took away their life savings in a matter of minutes. Most of the kids were suffering from various stomach problems and vomiting. The elders of all the families living in the camp were running all over in search of food.  These people had absolutely no concern about Eid or its celebrations, and why would they be concerned, they have no food to eat, no roof on their head and clothes to wear. The children at the camp had a look of fear and sadness on their faces instead of smiles and happiness. The government and NGO’s are trying to help these people but help is needed on such a large scale that it has made this effort a very tough job. The only way we can overcome this calamity is if all the people of Pakistan join hands to help all those affected by the floods. Please help these people to get back on their feet.  

Eid after Flood

Muhammad Ajmal.

My name is Muhammad Ajmal and the recent rains have destroyed my house. My family and I have been forced to leave our house and live in a very small rented apartment. There are quite a few people in my family and there is very little space for all of us to fit in the apartment. We do not even have a constant source of income at the moment. My father is very old but he still works in his condition and we are not getting any form of help from anywhere and no one is ready to give us relief. Eid for us was a very normal day because unlike other people we have nothing to celebrate about. Our concern at the moment is how food will be put on the table and not how we will celebrate Eid.

Flood Vicitims

Fazal Kareem, Pakha Gulam.

 My name is Fazal Kareem and I belong to Pakha Gulam. Recent floods have indeed caused a lot of damage but the heavy rainfalls which came before the flood caused many of the mud houses to collapse as well. My house was one of the mud houses which fell due to the rain and because of this we have been forced to live under the open skies without a roof on our heads. One of our relatives suggested that people are registering at G.P.S School no.1 for aid and shelter and that we should also go there. When we got there every one started staring at us and looked at us as if we do not belong here because we belonged to another village and that village was not hit by the flood. Most of the people who were there had lost their houses due to the floods; we have also lost our home just like them and have an equal right to be provided relief and aid. After spending a few days at the camp the government announced that all schools should be vacated as soon as possible so we had to pick up the little that we had and left the camp to go and live with one of our relatives. It’s unfortunate that despite the governments orders there are still a lot of people who are living forcefully in other schools and aid is still being given to them. We did not get a chance to celebrate Ramzan or Eid and we still don’t have a home to go to.

  

Happiness and Sarrow

Shakar Ullah Sahabzada, 9^th class.

Happiness and sorrow are both a part of every human’s life. It is your friends and family who support you and stand by you in times of happiness and sorrow. It is the sign of a true Muslim to help their Muslim brothers in times of need.  The rains that started right before Ramzan caused a massive flood and destroyed the homes of millions of people. The flood came so suddenly, that people did not even get the chance to protect their belongings and reach a safe area.  The flood did not stop for anything in its path and in a matter of days destroyed thousands of homes and made millions of people homeless in all four provinces of the country. Countless people lost their lives, animals and essentials.

It is the duty of every Muslim to help those who have been affected by the flood in what ever way we can. Everyone has the right to celebrate Eid whether they are rich or poor, old or young. We should all stand together and try to do whatever we can for these people to reduce their sorrow on this Eid and give them a little happiness in this sad time.