War! What is it good for?

The ramped up fighting in the province of Surhud (North West Frontier) has displaced several thousand people from their homes. They survive as refugees in their own country. My university has taken up a collection to aid our fellow Pakistanis as well as other organizations both foreign and domestic. But by the looks of it we’re in over our heads.

Pakistani children wait for hours in line for dinner at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Pakistani girls stand near their tents at night May 31, 2009 in Jalozai camp, 15 k from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A displaced girl looks out from her tent in Shah Mansour refugee camp, in northwest Pakistan, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A girl stands next to her tent as wind and rain pound the massive tent city June 2, 2009 at Jalozai camp, 15km from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

A boy looks away as grieving family members and friends surround the casket of Umer Amin, age 23, at his funeral June 7, 2009 in the village of Phoolgrah, just outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. Amin was a security policeman killed during the previous night's bomb blast attacking a police emergency helpline. The suicide blast which killed two police officers and wounding 3 was the latest in a series of attacks on civilian and security targets seen as retribution by the Taliban for Pakistan's and on-going military operations. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

A Pakistani girl is held by her mother as Doctor Adnan Khan listens to her chest at a medical tent June 2, 2009 at Jalozai camp, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Bena, a 12-year-old internally displaced Sikh girl, fleeing military operations in the Swat valley region, bends over to kiss a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh faith, while seeking refuge in the Sikh temple Gurdwara Siri Punja Sahib in Hassan Abdal, Pakistan on May 31, 2009. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)

Pakistani children wait for hours in line for dinner at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

During the cold war Pakistan played host to Afghan refugees fleeing the fighting in their country. They to were allowed to setup refugee camps and fend for themselves. However with no relief in sight and no recourse those tent cities soon became permanent establishments. Soon brick houses were erected and the refugees became permanent residents.