Visiting flood refugees

Wednesday 24 November
Just before lunch I go with Rafiq, junior PILER staff member, across the road to the Labour Colony, a giant thousand flat housing complex built for workers that has been empty over five years as government bureaucrats fight over who should control what has been built with money from social security contributions. Initially, it housed about 15,000 flood refugees , a third of whom have now gone back. I’m taken to meet the teachers, mostly very young women; their classes are mostly around eighty children, sitting on the floor, many studying English. Very basic equipment and books but the atmosphere is good. For many of the children, particularly the girls, this is the first time they’ve ever been to school and for many of the families; this is the best housing they have known. Having lost their homes, livestock, farm tools, and seed for the next season, it is hard to see them going back to their villages so long as they can stay here.

Outside there is a set of large water filters that PILER has helped put up with a queue, mainly women, waiting to fill large containers. When I suggest to Rafiq that these might be too heavy for them to carry, he laughs at my naivety. Water fit for human consumption is expensive in Karachi. Many areas are dependent on water tankers run by the ‘water mafia’. No mafia here.

From talking to Karamat this evening, as well as the comrades at the week-end, it seems the left is finding things tough, mainly because the security situation and the fear it creates which makes mobilising people harder.

Tonight the students in Britain are on the TV news. I don't remember such a day when I was waiting so impatiently for things to happen and felt so good when they did. Since lunch I haven’t done much else apart from sitting on the internet. Tomorrow I fly to Lahore.