STRESS AMONG INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS OF JALOZAI CAMP:

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

By
Dr. Fauzia Khurshid
&
Fahmida Muhammad Aslam Khan Achakzai
Department of Applied Psychology
National University of Modern Languages
Abstract

After the 2001 Military operation against the Taliban the problems of IDPs in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan has captured the attention of Pakistanis.
Due to this operation the inhabitants of FATA had no other option except of becoming
IDPs and fleeing away from the war zone. According to Fata Disaster Management
Authority (FDMA) latest population of the displaced due to ZARB-i- Azb operation, has
reached to 0.8 million (800,000). But the present study is limited only to Jalozai camp
which is consists of 6,348 families (38,088 individuals); all these families belong to
Khyber Agency. The present study aimed to investigate the causes and consequences of
stress among IDPs of Jalozai Camp. The twenty four IDPs were divided into four groups
for the purpose of taking an interview on the bases of age and gender. Each group
consisted of six members. These semi-structured interviews were taken by using open-
ended questions, which helped to explore the deplorable plight of their lives in camps.
The results of study showed that IDPs in camps were more affected by inadequate
shelter, inappropriate food, lack of education, bad health, unemployment, severe weather
conditions, lack of clean water, limited medical facilities. They were suffering from
mental distress, depression, restlessness and stress. The main reason of stress was
prolonged unsatisfactory living in camps.