HOPES to Settle here.. . SIKANDAR from DADDU

DATE: 4 September, 2010

AREA: Hawks bay, Keemari Town, Karachi

VISIT# 2

Name: Sikandar

Family members: 6

Marital Status: Unmarried

City: Daddu, Sindh

Days at the Refugee Camp: 16

Views about the upcoming flood: Sikandar believed that it was there mistake that they believe in the Government, they dint realize the situation. He said that this happens every year, the nearby villages are asked to be evacuated in account of precautions of the upcoming flood. But they rarely do it, because they had been used to of it now. But this time when they were asked to evacuate; they thought that Karachiites dint evacuate when they were asked to during the STORM. He realized that this was a big mistake and is ready to take his belongings specially those who are important enough to be taken with his life.

General View about the refugee camp: For Sikandar, these refugee camps are a temporary setup, he wants government to provide them with proper housing and settlement here. They have been placed here and it’s obviously not better then what they had have back home. Sikandar is not comfortable enough to sleep on the Chattais, with mosquitoes humming all night and biting them. According to him, as far as they are living in a place like this, they should consider it their home and instead of being dependent on others everyone should help themselves. He believed that he would let his women work, because if these craft is being of some use, it’s good and it should be promoted.

Occupation/ Ability: Along with his uncle and cousins, Sikandar used to work on about 16 acres of land at Daddu, they had different crops cultivated there. The land they worked on was not owned by them, but was rented. For his family, there were 7 earning heads and they were having a real good time. His younger siblings go to school and they are being educated, but he believes that it’s of no use cause at the end of the day they also have to do what sikandar had been doing.

Services he can offer: He had been here for over 15 days now, and has found a place to work as well. The owner of this roadside café gives him 130 Rupee per day which is good as a starter. He had worked a lot with wood making home utensils like charpraai and he can still do that here. If the landlord (at Daddu) called him back, he would go readily.

PROBLEMS/ ISSUES: For him, the biggest problem at the refugee camp was that of proper bedding, and he said that had been transported here by the government, in some buses they don’t even know about. So, right now they have a little contact about the ones living back home like his father, but he wants to go back if his father shows him a green signal else stay here n work.