Impotent government fuels fear of return of Taliban among Swat residentsSeptember 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - With the Taliban's fear and their diktat slowly wearing away in the Swat Valley, women in the region have started coming out of their homes shunning their clumsy garb, but one can still feel a peculiar uneasiness among the people in the picturesque war ravaged valley. The military operation in the Swat and Malakand Divisions forced the Taliban out of the region, and women, who were the biggest sufferers during the Taliban's barbaric rule, have now started to return to their public life.
Taliban bomb co-ed primary school in PeshawarSeptember 23rd, 2009 PESHAWAR - Extremists have bombed a co-ed primary school in Peshawar destroying the three room building completely, Pakistani security officials said. There were no immediate reports of any casualty in the bombing as the school was closed on the occassion of Eid -ul-Fitr.
Pak PM wants Swat girls schools to be restored on war footingSeptember 8th, 2009 PESHAWAR - Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said steps will be taken on war-footing for restoration of girls schools destroyed by the extremists in Swat. Talking to media after attending an informal meeting of the NWFP cabinet, Gilani said the constitutional committee will arrive at a decision regarding changing the name of NWFP.
Florida court will send runaway Ohia Muslim teen home despite honor killing fearsAugust 21st, 2009 FLORIDA - A judge is expected to rule Friday to send 17-year-old Rifqa Bary, a Muslim, back to her home in Ohio, despite her fears that may become a victim of an honor killing for taking to Christianity and abandoning her parents' faith. Bary hitchhiked to an Ohio bus station earlier this month and then took a charter bus to Orlando.
34 militants arrested in PakistanAugust 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces have arrested 34 militants in northwest Pakistan, the army said in a statement Tuesday. The militants were captured during search operations in Swat and Malakand division by the security forces and pro-government militias in the past 24 hours to Tuesday evening.
Taliban has destroyed 238 schools in SwatAugust 9th, 2009 SWAT - The Swat education department has said that the Taliban has destroyed 238 out of 1,576 schools affecting more than 56,250 students in the province. The department has demanded a grant of 2,203 million rupees from the provincial government, for the reconstruction of more than 238 school destroyed by the Taliban, The Dawn reports.
Pak's Swat Valley fears dark battles aheadAugust 3rd, 2009 Mingora (Swat, Pakistan), - Beneath the surface of relative calm in the Swat Valley, there is a sense of both fear and hope over whether peace will ever return to the area in the wake of the military offensive against the Taliban. According to a New York Times report, Mingora, the battle-scarred capital city of the Swat Valley, remains tense, and Pakistan's efforts to restore normalcy is being seen as a vital test of the government's resolve to stand up to the Taliban.
Swat landowners reluctant to return fearing Taliban retaliationJuly 28th, 2009 NEW YORK - Hundreds of people who were forced to flee their homes due to the military offensive in Swat and Malakand Divisions have started to return, but the wealthy landlords of the Valley are reluctant to return as they fear retaliation from the Taliban. As none of the top Taliban leader is killed or nabbed in the military offensive, these landlords fear another uprising of the extremists.
Children brainwashed, trained for suicide attacks arrested from SwatJuly 27th, 2009 MINGORA - Pakistani security forces have seized 14 vehicles equipped for suicide attacks and arrested nine people trained for suicide bombings and other subversive activities. Mingora Operational Commander Brigadier Tahir Hameed said several children were brainwashed and trained for suicide attacks had been retrieved from the captivity of militants.
Pakistani troops kill 27 Taliban in restive Swat ValleyJuly 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least 27 militants were killed in the on-going military operations in Pakistan's restive Swat Valley and two adjoining districts, security officials said Wednesday. The latest killings came as the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke announced an additional $165 million for nearly two million people uprooted by the offensive in Swat and surrounding areas.
Taliban bombs girls' school in South WaziristanJune 26th, 2009 PESHAWAR - In what may be seen as a show of defiance against the military which has launched a major offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in the region, the Taliban has blown up a girls' school in South Waziristan. The incident took place in Shin Warsak town situated about 13 kilometres away from Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, The Nation reports.
Taliban forcing families to marry daughters' to their operatives in SwatMay 20th, 2009 LAHORE - Besides challenging the writ of the government in Pakistan, the Taliban is also forcing people to marry off their daughters to its operatives. An unit of the Pakistan Army has reportedly rescued a family which claimed that the outlawed group forced them to marry their daughters in Matta tehsil of Swat.
Madrassas becoming substitute of schools for Pak girlsMay 16th, 2009 LAHORE - With almost 1,900 registered madrassas for girls in the country, Pakistan is experiencing a boom in female madrassas due to the failures of the public education system. The female madrassas are expanding at a dramatic rate, educating almost a quarter of a million girls in the nation.
Underage Malay girls having sex to 'take revenge' from neglecting parentsApril 27th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Underage Malay girls are indulging in sex just to seek revenge on their parents for ignoring them, cops have revealed. According to Assistant Commissioner Suguram Bibi Munshi Deen, girls who previously alleged rape later confessed having given their consent for sex with their beaus, reports the Star Online.
Now, call the Taliban to marry against your family's wishes in Swat !April 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - After publicly executing men, women on charges of having illicit relations, the Taliban has now taken up the job of arranging marriages too. According to a BBC report, the insurgent group has set up a 'marriage centre' in Swat for those boys and girls who want to choose their life partners according to their own will, but their family members are against it.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 9:51 pm
EXPERT GROUP RELEASES FIVE CRITICAL SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUES LIST
The SERAPH Research Team which provides a biyearly school safety report for Congress has released its “FIVE CRITICAL SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUES list.
The list was developed from interviews with teachers, school security personnel, police and principals from 120 school districts throughout the United States.
1. LACK OF ACCURATE UNDERSTANDING OF SAFETY ISSUES – Many schools and school districts have performed poor assessments of their school safety as it relates to everyday management of the schools.
Schools have security audits performed which focus on physical security such as cameras and emergency plans. These audits do not address classroom management, sub cultural groups, educational objectives, special education, negative behavior cliques and sexual issues.
“School environments must be analyzed from an educator’s perspective”, says SERAPH Research Team leader Andreas Demidont, “Another aspect of this issue is that schools often have no real way of collating the data into a meaningful set of action plans.”
2. REACTION NOT PREDICTION – Many schools and school districts have policies against student aggression and criminal behavior but fail to develop clear management procedures to assist staff and administrators in predicting and preventing these problems.
“Because schools generally do not have effective school safety management plans they resort to a crisis with reaction rather than preventing a crisis from happening”, states Demidont.
3. POOR MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS - Management issues in school generally fall into several categories :
Poor time management. “Time is the currency of learning and it needs to be treated that way by the schools ,in the same manner as it is in the business community,” says Demidont.
Non-data based decisions. “Not because the data does not presently exist within the school but rather schools often lack an effective and efficient means of gaining access to it,” states Demidont.
Unwillingness to depart from conventional thinking.” If you always do what you have always done you will always get what you always have gotten,” states Demidont.
School boards being asked to make decisions without essential data.
Poor use of technology to handle the mundane tasks. “A complete lack of understanding of how technology can be utilized to assure that administrator and teacher time is spent on educating students,” says Demidont.
Lack of effective on-going interactive community wide communications. “School officials must actively and regularly interact with parents and the community in general,” states Demidont.
4. LACK OF EFFECTIVE PLANS TO COMBAT TRUANCY AND LATENESS - School Districts do not seem to be willing to engage local, state and federal social service agencies as real partners in assisting them with truancy and tardiness.
“A formal plan of action with local courts, social services, and law enforcement is critical to reducing and controlling this serious problem”, says Demidont.
5. POOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT – Many schools have emergency plans but fail to train their staff members in the management of an emergency situation. An example of the problem is the lack of training for school staff members in the handling of special needs children.
“Special needs students are being placed in regular education classrooms without providing regular classroom teachers with the necessary and proper training and support,” states Demidont. “Children with various emotional or mental issues will panic in emergencies; proper training must be performed to give staff the skills necessary to manage the inevitable chaos and emotion that occurs in an emergency situation.”