Hafsa*, 13, comes from a village in Buner in the North West of Pakistan. She is one of three million people who have been forced from their homes by fighting in the region. She fled with her family to the village of Char Gulli in Mardan District.
Like many other children Hafsa has been left traumatised by the conflict and is receiving psychosocial support and healthcare as part of Islamic Relief’s programme for displaced people in Mardan.
We are providing traumatised children with one-to-one and group counselling sessions, as well as using art, education and play to help children deal with their experiences.
In this article written by Hafsa, she explains why she had to leave her village and the affect of the conflict on her physical and mental health.
Bomb blasts
“I come from Buner which is a very lovely place where there are mountain ranges, rivers and orchards and the people are very beautiful. I came here to Char Gulli over one month ago because there was shelling and bomb blasts in my village. This was happening near to my home and my school.
Poor conditions
I have four brothers and three sisters, we fled from our home with our parents and came to this village where we are staying in a small house with lots of other people. The house belongs to my aunt but there are four other families living there.
My aunt and her family are very kind. They are giving us food and water but there is not enough for everyone. The conditions in the house are bad because there are lots of people and I want to go home.
Brother injured
My older brother was injured in the attacks on our village. He survived but he is still in pain. My younger brother is also sick. He has diarrhoea and an eye infection – I think this is because we are not eating very good food and it is dirty where we are living.
Very afraid
I don’t understand what was going on in our village but it made me very scared. I get very afraid whenever I hear loud noises or people shouting. Sometimes my body becomes numb and I collapse.
This happened when the war first started in my village and my mother told me that I remained unconscious for 20 minutes. Several times since moving to this village I have collapsed again especially when I get very scared, but I don’t know what makes this happen.
Nightmares
Most nights I have nightmares where I dream about war and people attacking each other. I wake up crying and shivering and my father tries to comfort me but I am unable to sleep.
Back home I had lots of friends and enjoyed going to school but I don’t know anyone here and I’m not going to school. I miss my lovely friends so much but I don’t know where they are.
Meeting a new friend
I came to the health clinic today because I have a fever and stomach pains. I don’t feel like eating because I feel sick. My mother is worried about me because I didn’t used to feel like this.
Today I met a new friend called Nazma at the clinic. She spoke to me about how I felt. At first I was scared to tell her but she was very nice so I told her how I felt sad and scared. I will come and see her again so that my mind will become relaxed.”
* Not her real name.
To help Islamic Relief continue its work with traumatised children in North West Pakistan please donate here.