WUNRN
Swat is a valley and a district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of
Pakistan.
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"In
the last two years over 100 schools, mostly girls' schools, have been torched,
according to Pakistani media sources."
PAKISTAN:
Swat Valley Violence Shatters Education Hopes
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Violence in Swat has shattered education hopes for many
children, particularly girls |
SWAT, 21 October 2008 (IRIN) - "My dreams of
becoming a doctor have been all but shattered," said Sara Khan, aged 18,
at Swat Public School. Her college had been open twice a week - providing there
was no curfew or bombing.
But now things have got worse: "The school
administration says the situation in Swat is so dangerous that they cannot take
the risk of calling in the students. So they have closed it indefinitely,"
said Sara.
Sara's younger sister has not been going to her Sangota
Public School (a missionary school in Swat set up in 1965) for the past five
months after threats from militants closed it down. A week ago it was burnt
down by militants, along with the boys' school where her brother was studying.
"We saw the school being blown up right in front of
our eyes," said Abu Junaid, Sara's father. "Even the security forces
do nothing; they remain quiet bystanders," said Sara.
“Some Sri Lankan and Irish teachers left. Once there
were no teachers, the school closed, and now that the school is no more, I
don't know what will become of these kids," said a Junaid, a government
officer, whose only wish is to provide a "good" education for his
five children, including three daughters.
The district of Swat, about 150km northeast of Peshawar,
with a population of 1.8 million and known for its idyllic valley, has seen
intense fighting between the Pakistan army and anti-government militants over
the past year.
Owing to the unrest, pupils feel they will not be able
to complete their courses in time for them to sit the admission exams for
professional colleges.
"I don't know how we will be able to compete with
the rest of the students of the province [North West Frontier Province] when it
comes to taking the entrance test for the medical colleges, when we have not
been able to study," Sara said.
“Nobody seems to care”
"Nobody seems to care about the predicament we are
in," she said. "Do you think President [Asif] Zardari would have let
all this happen if his children were studying here?" she said.
Swat’s educational institutions are either bedevilled by
disruption due to unannounced curfews, shelling and bombing, or the schools
have been targeted by militant arsonists. In the last two years over 100
schools, mostly girls' schools, have been torched, according to Pakistani media
sources.
"When the army came in, people welcomed them with
open arms and put garlands around their necks. We thought of them as our
saviours. But they have done absolutely nothing to bring peace," said
Roshan Khan, a rights activist in Swat.
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