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NEW JERSEY, AUG 14 - They call themselves "Stranded
Pakistanis" - the forgotten ones, dreaming of "going back"
to Pakistan many have never seen.
Crowded into impoverished shanty camps across Bangladesh,
they are remnants of the mass migration that accompanied the
break-up of the Indian subcontinent along religious lines at
independence from Britain in 1947. And then came 1971 -
Bangladesh was born from the ashes of "East Pakistan" but it
left many of its Urdu speaking populace stateless, stranded.
East Pakistanis had revolted against West Pakistan and
won independence with India's help. The nine-month conflict
pitted the Bangla-speaking Muslim majority against the
Urdu-speaking Muslims who had fled from India at partition
and wanted to remain part of Pakistan.
They are mostly "Biharis", having migrated from India's
largest but the poorest state Bihar. They and many others
like them are collectively called the "Stranded Pakistanis"
aka "Stateless
Pakistanis" - a coinage that reflects their status, having
remained in political limbo for 28 years now. The UN
recognizes them as "refugees".
These "Stranded Pakistanis,'' about 500,000 of them decided
to depart for Pakistan rather than join newly independent
Bangladesh. But in 1993, Pakistan halted the repatriation
process, saying it did not have the money or land to house
them.
 Political and ethnic compulsions by succeeding Pakistani
governments, both civil and military, overrode humanitarian
or moral, even legal
considerations, say some observers.
That left some 250,000 refugees and their descendants to
languish in 70 government-run camps across Bangladesh. They
are not citizens and cannot vote or apply for government
jobs.
Camp Geneva also known as Camp 66, is their biggest habitat.
It is situated in the heart of the Bangladeshi capital
Dhaka.
``I've been dreaming of going to Pakistan for years,'' said
Mosammat Rahima, 50, to Associated Press, standing
outside the tiny hut she shares with seven other family
members. ``There they speak my language, Urdu.''
Rahima's camp has become another sprawling slum in the
capital of Dhaka, a city of 10 million people. Many live
without electricity, water or adequate health care.
Illiteracy, unemployment and malnutrition are rampant.
``Can you imagine, we have only 150 toilets for 25,000
people of the camp?'' says Abdul Jabbar Khan, who has led
protests and a media campaign for repatriation to Pakistan.
``Nobody thinks of us, not Bangladesh, not Pakistan,'' he
added. ``We know there's no hill of gold for us in Pakistan.
But still we want to try our fate there. We aren't accepted
here, we'll never be.''
 Barred
from applying for government jobs, many in the camp eke out
livings as day laborers or cleaners. Interestingly none of
them are beggars!
Rahima and her 60-year-old husband often sleep outside when
their shack becomes too crowded on muggy nights.
``Do you think we're human beings?'' she said. ``Even dogs
at many homes in this city live in better places.''
Bangladesh and Pakistan say they are looking for a solution,
though it appears remote.
``Both governments believe that we need to resolve this
issue,'' Iftekhar A. Chowdhury, foreign affairs adviser to
Bangladesh's interim government said. ``On a recent visit to
Pakistan, I raised the issue with my Pakistan counterpart,
and he was of the same opinion.''
"But Pakistan is facing many internal problems right now,
that's why we need time to discuss this seriously," he
added, according to AP.
As the years pass with no solution, however, the dream of
Pakistan grows increasingly less appealing to younger
generations. Many youth now speak Bangla and feel accepting
Bangladeshi citizenship may give them a chance at a better
life. Some have even applied for the
citizenship, "though reluctantly, and that's no permanent
solution", said Syed Ehteshamuddin Arshad, a Chicago based
Pakistani American and Chairman of Pakistan Repatriation
Council - a political support organization for these
"Stranded Pakistanis".
The older generation continues to dream of Pakistan.
 Says Abdul Jabbar Khan, who leads the campaign for
repatriation of "Stranded Pakistanis" to Pakistan, "Gen
Musharraf promised in his visit to Bangladesh (in 2004) that
he would resolve our problem". "Up there it is God...down
here it is me who will resolve this problem. I
will take care of it," Musharraf had said, thumping his
chest, Jabbar claimed with watery eyes.
Meanwhile,
some sympathizers have launched programs to economically
empower them. Obat Helpers, an Indiana based NGO, have
started a Coaching Center as well as a Computer Training
Center at Camp 66 - besides rebuilding schools, developing
sanitation and paying college tuitions for some of the
brightest of these stranded Pakistanis who otherwise would
not have been able to enroll in Dhaka's best colleges.
"We want to mix our charitable dollars and learned senses
with their dreams. We want to economically and socially
empower them so that they could become "valuable economic
immigrants" in the Middle East, Pakistan or anywhere else
they chose to go. Then, getting the nationality of Pakistani
or of any where else will be a matter of "choice" not a
"need", said Ehtesham in a voice over the phone choked with
anger but resolve.
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