Pak minorities in Badin complain of discrimination in flood relief efforts

Badin, Sept 14(ANI): Members of Pakistan's minority communities and scheduled castes affected by severe floods in Sindh have complained of discrimination by organisations engaged in relief operations.

Organisations conducting relief efforts, and not just the religious ones, have been discriminating against the scheduled castes, said Mohan Kolhi, a community chief living near Khoski town in Badin district.

A religious organisation set up a relief camp in Khoski town, but not a single bag was distributed to scheduled caste community members, he said.

"When we visited the relief camp, the prayer leader of the mosque told us that the ration is only for Muslims," The Express Tribune quoted Kolhi, as saying.

He complained that they were not even allowed to drink water from fountains set up outside the camps.

"Sindh is our motherland and we have been living here for centuries. So what if we are scheduled castes? We are also humans," he added.indh's scheduled castes, including the Kolhis, Menghwars, Bheels and Oads, are predominantly employed as farmers in Badin district.

These Hindu farmers usually take loans from landlords and tend to the land with their families all year round to pay back, and therefore, they are most vulnerable to the devastating rains and ensuing floods.

"My landlord loaned 50,000 rupees and I used it to plant cotton on 20 acres. All my crops have been damaged. I don't know how I will pay back my landlord," said Kolhi.

Kirtar Lal Menghwar, an agricultural expert who works at the Laar Humanitarian and Development Program (LHDP), corroborated Kolhi's account, saying that organisations that have set up relief camps in towns are following in the footsteps of banned religious organisations and discriminating against minorities.

"They ignore the scheduled castes every time disaster strikes, whether it is cyclones, floods or heavy rains," said Menghwar.

The 50,000 scheduled caste members living in different villages across Badin are facing similar problems, he added.

However, Sattar Zangejo, who is affiliated with UK-based aid organisation 'Oxfam', said that they have received directives to focus on vulnerable segments of society, including non-Muslims and scheduled castes that have been ignored in the past. (ANI)