Floods in Sindh: aid denied to Christians and Hindus
(September 17, 2011) Among the flood victims of Sindh (South of Pakistan), Christian
and Hindu "Dalits" families, considered the "untouchables", are thrown out of refugee
camps set up by the government and do not receive humanitarian aid. This is the complaint
which comes from the diocese of Hyderabad and sent to Fides, confirmed by non-governmental
organizations engaged in solidarity. Torrential rains hit the region of Sindh, and
will continue over the next few days, causing widespread flooding. Out of the 23 districts
of the province, 22 are strongly affected and the flood victims are over 5 million
Aid has started to move, with the Pakistani civil protection, as well as NGOs that
are at the forefront. Franciscan Fr. Samson Shukardin, General Vicar of the Diocese
of Hyderabad in Sindh, and diocesan Director of the Commission "Justice and Peace",
told Fides: "We have an emergency, the entire diocese has been hit. We have 16 parishes,
all 16 parish priests have asked for help. The displaced people are mostly Hindus,
but there are also thousands of Muslim and Christian families. Caritas and NGOs are
distributing food aid, medicines, tents. I visited some affected areas: the population
has been put to the test and is discouraged. The local church also reports cases of
discrimination in the distribution of humanitarian aid, a terrible thing that was
already registered unfortunately during the floods in 2010. The victims are mostly
tribal. In the district of Badin, on the border with India, inhabited by Parkari tribes,
a pastor told me that in the two refugee camps set up by the Government, Christians
have been rejected because, what is said is, 'Western missionaries think about you'.
in the district of Badin the Hindus of lower castes were not accepted in public refugee
camps, because "the Dalits cannot be next to Muslims". Thousands of Dalit flood victims
live thus still "open", without any shelter, although the heavy rains continue. NGOs
call for a decisive intervention from Mohan Lal Kohistan, Provincial Minister for
religious minorities in the province of Sindh, to end such discrimination.