Word: dera
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Under a blistering sun, the tribesmen queue impatiently for attention. Sweat drips from their head as they attempt to edge closer to the doors of the refugee registration center in Dera Ismail Khan, on the edge of the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan. As time slips by, so does their restraint. Waving angry fists with one hand and clasping their documents with the other, the group of men heaves toward the doors. Police officers on duty scatter the unruly crowd with forceful swings of their long bamboo sticks...
...having abandoned his home and possessions, the 30-year-old farmer is filled with uncertainty. As more than 155,000 refugees pour into Dera Ismail Khan, the government seems unprepared for the mounting humanitarian crisis. Diligent aid workers are busy registering the fresh arrivals and distributing sanitation kits. But food aid has yet to arrive. Last week, forms ran out, forcing the NGO-run registration centers to close for three days. There are no plans for camps to be established, even with the fears that the number of refugees could double. Instead, they will have to squeeze into relatives' homes...
...with the Swat refugee crisis earlier this year, the demands of hospitality can be heavy. In a rural suburb of Dera Ismail Khan, Hayat Khan, 55, gives a tour of a cramped, mud-walled two-room home where he brought 10 members of his family to join the 12 who already live there. A deep hole in the ground serves as a makeshift toilet. Barefoot children run around, their hair streaked red and large brown spots on their faces - both signs of severe malnutrition...
...Dera Ismail Khan traditionally welcoms the Mehsud tribe this time of year, as they vacate their homes in the chilly mountains in favor of the town's warmer plains. But the influx now is seen as fanning the flame of the town's existing ethnic and sectarian tensions. "It changes the dynamic," says Faiysal AliKhan, head of Fida, the main refugee support group in the area. "Dera Ismail Khan is already cash-strapped. There is a shortage of schools and water. There is a lot of crime. Some of the locals are growing resentful. They say that troubles will follow...
...commandos he spoke to inside the compound. Police commandos present elsewhere at the scene said the same, though the claims later appeared to be inaccurate. Still, in recent months there have been reports of groups of militant young women - some once belonging to Islamabad's Lal Masjid - traveling to Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab and deepening ties with groups there. (Read "Palestinian Moms Becoming Martyrs...