One of the initiatives is Sadaka Reut, and this is what they say about their program:

With the majority of Palestinian and Jewish youth physically segregated from one another (in separate communities and schools) and fears, racism and prejudice the result, we look to build alternative models for interaction between the two groups. The ‘Building a Culture of Peace’ program seeks to create a space in which both Palestinian and Jewish youth may feel equal, respected and recognized as individuals and as national collectives.

The members of their program have also been participating in the One Minute Video Project, where they learn about video activism during a one-week workshop. Here are some of the results, and you can see the rest by clicking through to their site:

Arab:

AM/FM:

Few Love Singing:

Another initiative is the Windows for Peace project, which started back in 1991 as an effort to produce a bilingual and bicultural magazine for youth as a way for them to connect and learn about the conflict, promote equality and empower youth. However, it hasn't been easy, as they explain on their site:

It is no simple task for Israeli and Palestinian youth to overcome the vast amount of misinformation and stereotypes they are taught about one another. The limited availability for interaction, a result of living in mostly segregated communities and exacerbated by the ongoing violent political conflict, perpetuates the historical fears, prejudice, and hatred that divide the two peoples. Windows is therefore dedicated to fostering large scale change in the way Israeli and Palestinian youth see themselves, “the other” and the conflict. Participants in Windows programs go through experiences that promote conflict transformation among both peoples, towards a peaceful reality with which both sides can live. We believe that a just and lasting peace must be based on democratic values, human rights, and mutual knowledge and acceptance of “the other.”

They are also working on a new initiative called Through the Lens, where 15 to 17 year old youth who “graduate” from the magazine continue developing skills to create short films, news pieces and other video productions to further “productive, peace-building dialogue and positive interaction”.

Here is a video where the participants of Windows speak about their experience in the group and how they have dealt with the challenges it represents to get out of their comfort zone and speak about difficult topics such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine:

As the children in the video state in so many words: they may have a hard time dealing with many of the opinions and perceptions other children express, but having the space to discuss issues in a safe and secure manner helps them understand the world they live in with a possibility to interact, learn and share with other children and youth and even change these perceptions.

On foot, these internally displaced people (IDP) of South Waziristan have reached to D.I. Khan after traveling for hundreds of miles and their plight is very dismal. Rudimentary camps have been established in D.I Khan area, but these camps don’t have enough food, medicine and shelter and  drinking water. Still the special support group officials are not in these areas and a human tragedy is in making.

Meanwhile a report of Dawn highlights the ill-treatment of locals fleeing from the battlefield. Most of these people are reportedly facing discrimination and don't seem much hopeful about the ongoing offensive.

Hina Safdar at Chowrangi is hopeful that the government would take immediate steps in preventing a refugee crisis.

Refugees fled to Dera Ismail Khan and Tank, the two major towns in North-West Frontier Province on the border of South Waziristan. Aid workers said humanitarian access to the refugees remains the key challenge for the government given the area’s volatile security environment. The government denies there is any refugee crisis, saying it had made arrangements for the displaced, including a system to provide them with cash support and food items. It wasn’t feasible to set up camps, in part because of concerns about tribal violence because of traditional rivalry. The displaced are mostly staying with relatives or clansmen(..)I hope that Pakistan army will once again succeed and nip the evil forever so that we would not witness any refugee crisis again.

The crisis in Waziristan appears to be quite different from that of the Swat Valley region. Regardless of the number of people displaced the most important factor remains is the handling and keeping checks on people to avoid Taliban infiltration in the camps. However with reports of agitations from the locals and lack of proper camps keeping track seems extremely difficult.

In a post titled “Questions to ask before South Waziristan Battle” at Pakspectator , Altaf Khan gives voice to the concerns of the majority.

• Is the army prepared, in terms of equipment, training and tactics, for the kind of guerrilla warfare that it is likely to come up with?
• How the local population will be differentiated with the terrorists, especially how the Mehsud tribe will be segregated from the Mehsud militants?

These remain few of the many questions in the mind of the most as the battle continues. Although the people appear to be supportive of the offensive the concerns about the handling of IDPs and how to prevent a humanitarian crisis linger on. In my own blog I raised concerns and posted an analysis about the ongoing situation and the problems that need to be tackled:

The fact is, the attitude of the authorities and the public at large towards the Mehsuds is one of caution and fear more than sympathy and concern. Such prejudice only bolsters the Taliban agenda, fueling recruitment from among Mehsud ranks. But the war cannot be won if the Waziristan locals show indifference towards the need for combating Taliban and their infrastructure. Without winning the hearts of the people, the military’s victory will only be temporary. If we want this to be a ‘decisive blow,’ we have to overcome our insecurities and let sympathy overcome prejudice.Dire situations such as these require us to rise as a nation. Let us extend our support to the IDPs of Waziristan, regardless of their past and their support for the Taliban. This is our chance to help our people break free from the shackles of the Taliban. Let’s take the path of salvation together.

South Waziristan. Image via Wikipedia.

Operation Rah e Nijat (path to deliverance in Urdu) is the latest attempt of Pakistan army to inflict a final blow upon the Tehrik i Taliban in Pakistan, the group which has terrorized Pakistan. The buildup for this operation started when the Pakistan army recovered the Swat Valley area from the Taliban militants back in June 2009. On 19th of June Pak army started the gathering of forces on the border of South Waziristan. After three months of blockade and minor skirmishes with the Taliban eventually the army launched a full scale ground assault on the 19th of October 2009. The Pakistan army has a total of 28000 troops and 500 special commandos on their side while the Taliban have 10 to 15,000 troops and 1500 foreign fighters. The fighting is intense and arduous and each day brings reports of the Pakistan army inching forward another few steps deep into a very difficult and dangerous terrain.

Ahsan Waheed at Pakistanpal gives credence to the difficult terrains of South Waziristan:

We could see in the distance the regions where al-Qaeda has taken refuge. It’s an almost lunar landscape of dry, trackless peaks with a sparse stubble of trees along the ridges. If you were looking for a place to hide, so rugged and inhospitable that outsiders would tremble at entering, Waziristan would be it. In the days of the Raj, maps of Waziristan were mostly blank; even the intrepid British explorers usually stayed away.

Great Satans Girlfriend gives importance to mobilizing the masses for this operation:

“The death of hope must never be allowed to cast its shadow, and that will only be prevented if the state pools all its resources to energize the masses against terrorism.”

Abdullah Saad believes that the foreign militants in the Tehrik i Taliban (TTP) have run out of places to disappear:

My take though is that there is too much at stake in Waziristan. Principally, TTP cadres may be able to trickle into settled areas to avoid a traumatic fate or to live for another day … but that luxury is not available to their “guests”. The Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs etc will have to fight it out because if they are caught, they’ll be sent home on the first available flight and in a country like Uzbekistan, they’ll be sent straight to a firing squad.

Mustufa Qadri at Newmatilda feels that Pakistan is impossible to defend against militants:

The inconvenient truths of this narrative make for sobering reading. A spate of terrorist attacks in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar have reminded us that while it is very difficult to protect every square inch of a country beset by an insurgency, it is next to impossible to do so in Pakistan, where disposable young men with explosives strapped to their chest are all too readily recruited.

The above statement is all too true as fallout from operation Rahe-e-Nijat has been direct counterattacks on civil society aka suicide bombing as well as the spread of fear and panic in the whole country. This lead to the closure of all education institutes and putting in place heightened security all over the streets of this country. We wake up daily to reports of not just war on the Waziristan front but shocking details of how it is being fought out on our very streets as well.

Brig (r) Junaid Zaman at “Pakistan Spectator” writes about the futility of closing schools in Pakistan:

We need not to panic and we need not to make our children coward and fearful. We need to talk to our girls and boys, let them know about the threat, ask them to keep vigil, make them understand the danger our country is in and about the menace of terrorism. Make them strong and bold and make them learn to live in the tough times. When they will emerge from these times, they will be far ahead to face the life as compared to other kids of this world.

On Taragana Zarrar khan speaks of a part of public perception that blames other players for these attacks on civilians:

Many students did not accept that militants were responsible for the attack and instead blamed shadowy forces out to discredit Islam or weaken Pakistan — variations of conspiracy theories that are often heard here after bombings.

Glenda at Berry picker reflects on the will of a society still carrying on in spite of the terror citing an example from a concert in Islamabad:

They didn't have to stop Thursday night. For at least one hour, Arieb Azhar and his band of four asserted the power of music's universality, diversity and tolerance in a city that only four days before had once again felt the power of terror to subdue the human will to fight for what is true and beautiful in life.

Bilquis puts it all in perspective at CHUP (Changing Up Pakistan):

Many scholars and politicians, particularly Imran Khan, have argued that the people in these areas have lived in traditionally lawless societies  for centuries. Given this ground reality, they say, we must respect their traditions and work within this context. I disagree. As T.S Elliot aptly noted, “A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.” These traditions ignore issues that have allowed a zealous ideology to mushroom all across Pakistan, especially in rural Punjab. Take the the young girl who was flogged by the Taliban in Swat, for example. Do we want these traditions? Do we want men/women/girls being bartered to resolve disputes? Do we want our people to see a continuously distorted narrow vision of what the world is? I certainly don’t.

So here we are, hopeful but terror stricken, our schools closed and our future uncertain but we will not give up. We have to fight not just the menace on the ground with our army but the silent infestation of the Taliban ideology among our societies. I just hope the world is behind us, because if we fail its your turn next.