Till last week 14-year-old liaqat Ali went to school to shape his destiny. For last two days he is camping in his class room this time to save his life.
liaqat, hailing from Jeora farm located close to the International border took shelter in the Govt Higher Secondary School, Chakrohi as shelling intensified in the area late Tuesday night.More than 80 families from Jeora farm were relocated in the school building by the district administration to prevent further loss of life.
Two people were killed in Pakistani firing in Jeora farm on August 23,2014. Six others were injured on Wednesday.liaqat is not the lone child who is staring at an uncertain future ahead. like him hundreds of children of his age are currently camping in the school buildings as refugees.Throughout the day they roam freely wearing shabby looks. Their parents have not brought enough clothes with them to look after them properly. Health of children is also affected as they are spending rest less nights without catching good quality sleep.
A junior doctor camping in Govt Higher secondary school building told The Pioneer, children are suffering from fever, chest infection, severe cough and constant headache. He said the health department has set up counters and we are providing them medicine after proper check up.Before stepping out of their homes the children could not pick their school bags and now more than nine days after they were uprooted from their homes they are eager to return home and attend their classes.
In the wake of escalating tensions on the border the State Govt has set up relief centres in the school premises to house displaced border residents. Two months ago the children had to stay away from schools due to spiraling border tension.Then heavy rains in Jammu region wreaked havoc and school buildings were destroyed or badly damaged.According to official sources over 1,200 school buildings suffered damages across Jammu region. Of these 121 were located in Jammu district alone.
A Class III student of Govt Middle school Chakrohi Farmida Bi, said she has been staying away from classes and not feeling good away from her home. She said they feel scared and could not sleep properly during the night as shelling takes place and their parents stay awake to prevent any loss.Brinda, another Class VIII student hailing from Chandu Chak village said," since they are studying in govt schools they are at the receiving end. "Our teachers do not take regular classes and they will not take pains to complete the syllabus before the final examination".
Hasaan Mir, a senior citizen of Jeora farm appealed to the State to provide them safe shelter as they are living under the constant fear of death due to increasing incidents of cross border firing. His neighbour Faqir Hussain said we are nomads, we need more space to look after our cattle stock.There is no security here in Jeora farm. We need to move out to save our lives, he added.