Internally displaced Pakistanis stand near their tents at the Chota Lahore relief camp, displaced from the Pakistan Army's offensive against the Taliban in Swat and Buner on May 21, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistani people are displaced as a result of the on-going military operations against the Taliban. The refugees have fled from Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir facing extremely harsh living conditions in the searing heat in over crowded camps.

Pakistan was hit by intense violence throughout 2009. Conflict between the Pakistani army and the Taliban (armed opposition groups) in the North-West Frontier Province and in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) displaced more than two million people, while numerous bombings in major Pakistani cities killed hundreds and injured thousands. This essay looks at the community of the displaced. Forced out of their villages into over-crowded refugee camps, their everyday life has become a struggle to survive. As the days worn in the punishing heat of the summer, the aid organizations, set up temporary schools, men bathed in the canals and the people attempted to carry on with some kind of normal life.