In a gesture of solidarity, an NGO in Srinagar, Ehsaas Foundation, reached out and offered succor to as many as dozens of displaced Kashmiri Pandit families who lost everything in this recent fire at the camp in Mishriwala/Purkhoo camp in Jammu.
Their homes and belongings were caught in a sudden fire, consuming everything from their homes, belongings, and treasured memories. Ehsaas Foundation had erected a relief camp in Bohri Kadal, Srinagar.
This addresses the victims who are finding their way through the destruction and displacement. This, in fact, is a beacon of hope for the victims since it not only provides material assistance but also a sense of emotional bonding with the rest of the Kashmiri community.
Purkhoo/Mishriwala Camp in Jammu houses many families of Kashmiri Pandits displaced from their ancestral homeland. They live in makeshift facilities. Scarcity of resources, difficult ways of living, and years of hardship accompanied these families.
The fire to engulf the camp was given a hard blow when it dealt with an already vulnerable community as they saw their modest properties go up in flames into ash with no house, clothes, or what to use in daily means.
The incident has again brought out the memories of displacement and stirred up the deeper issues of the lives being led by the families in the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community.
The Ehsaas Foundation’s relief camp held at Bohri Kadal was not a mere welfare distribution event but an outburst from the Srinagar citizens to support their Kashmir brothers.
Volunteers gathered some of the following essentials: food, bedding, warm clothing, and hygiene kits to cater for the basic needs of their victims’ families. Some supporters and volunteers at relief camps were young students or the elderly residents who only wanted to help and raise people’s spirits after their losses.
Materially, the comfort was seen. Counselors and therapists arrived at the scene. They gave victims emotional strength who could not believe what they had been through and lost their homes again.
They could not believe this trauma of losing the home once more. As much as the fire took a toll on the physical lives of the families, it weighed on their psychological lives also. When such a tragedy repeats itself again, how even speak of it? inquired Ravi Kumar, who came in from Jammu to get some assistance for the family.
“We fled once in the 1990s, and every year since then has been a struggle to make a home. This fire took away what little we had managed to build.” Like many others, he expressed deep gratitude toward the Ehsaas Foundation for organizing relief in their time of need. “This is more than just a camp; it’s a reminder that we are not alone and that people care,” he said.
Ehsaas Foundation volunteer and Srinagar native Zahoor Malik spoke of his experience with the victims. “Every family has a story of resilience. When we provided support, it felt like we were healing wounds that transcended physical loss. It’s about reconnecting as a community, as Kashmiris who care deeply for each other, no matter where we are,” he said.
The relief camp was marked by people from all backgrounds and faiths coming forward. Compassion in Kashmir makes no distinction between faith or region. The volunteers from all different parts of Srinagar came together, which only showed unity and shared a sense of responsibility.
And here lies the essence—it shows how civil society has a role to respond to a crisis and presents a spirit of resilience and defiance. It gave way for discussions about the necessity to strengthen support for families that are still at risk from unforeseen disasters such as fires and floods, among others.
The event ignited questions regarding housing, security, and the urgency need for a sustainable rehabilitation plan for Kashmiri Pandits and other displaced groups within Jammu and Kashmir. It reflected the strength of a community in the hour of tribulation.
The Ehsaas Foundation provided that relief to the fire victims from Purkhoo Camp so that it could mirror to the world a spirit of togetherness defying the years-long clash. As the families repair their lives, the solidity of this relief camp ensures them a new sense of belonging. In this fashion, the people of Kashmir continue to prove that amidst all the resilience, humanness lies at the root of their identity.
