Act now to ensure that the civilians of northwest Pakistan won't be forgotten : Amnesty International USA

[M.T. Al-Mansouri, Ph.D.]

The few days we don’t hear gunfire or explosions, we feel really happy."

Shield Pakistan’s civilians from the horrors of living inside a human rights-free zone.

Dear M.T. , Northwest Pakistan, including the Swat valley - once known as the "Switzerland of Pakistan" for its scenic and natural beauty - is now the center of a deadly triangle between the Taliban, Pakistani army forces and U.S. drone attacks. Relentless fighting between these groups has left millions of civilians homeless and unable to care for their families. Countless more have lost their lives in this appalling, human rights-free zone. As Parveen, a girl's school teacher who now holds her classes in a tent after the original school building was bombed by the Taliban, sees it: "The few days we don't hear gunfire or explosions, we feel really happy." The innocent men, women and children trapped in the middle of this violence are not acceptable casualties of war. The harm caused to them during such indiscriminate attacks is a clear reason why we must draw a line now. Act now to ensure that the civilians of northwest Pakistan won't be forgotten. The human impact of conflict in Pakistan Young girls stand outside makeshift tents which now act as schools after the Taliban bombed the original building site. © Amnesty International video "As if Hell fell on me" We created the website eyesonpakistan.org to help give private citizens and policy makers access to these previously inaccessible conflict zones. Our thinking was that if we could help people visualize the extent of the violence and human rights abuses in the region, then decisive action would be taken to correct it. In just a matter of weeks, thousands have visited the website and by using our interactive maps have been able to see the destruction of Pakistan's schools, hospitals, and homes with their own eyes. The BBC, Huffington Post and other news sites have reported widely on our efforts to expose abuses committed against civilians in the region. Now that attention is finally starting to focus on Pakistan's civilians, we must ensure that clear action steps will follow. Your support means that we can continue to provide compelling imagery and analysis of human rights abuses in Pakistan. This research reinforces our case that the Pakistani and U.S. governments must do more to protect human rights in their strategies for northwest Pakistan. With your help, we can keep our eyes on Pakistan's civilians, even when it seems like the rest of the world has forgotten them. Thank you for taking action, Christoph Koettl Crisis Campaigner Amnesty International USA