The beauty and brutality of life in the shadow of Kashmir killings

Persian headquarters translates centuries often repeated in the Indian director Kashmir into: “If there is a paradise on the ground, it is here, it’s here.” Many Kashmiris insist that he wrote with Paalgam’s position in mind.

The small town, which is located between the long Himalayas with the Ledder Goring River, is called through it, to the mini -Switra in India.

The valleys and promoters here have long presented amazing sites for the romantic spirit of Bollywood and attracted tens of thousands of tourists who flee from the heat and dust of Indian aircraft.

But on April 22, the calm valley reached the headlines of the international newspapers when the sprawling Marj here turned into killing fields.

The gunmen allocated male Hindu tourists and killed 25 of them in front of their families in Bayzran, about 7 kilometers from the city. The local Muslim dowry therapist who tried to help tourists was also shot.

The massacre of India brought nuclear armed and Pakistan to the edge of the war. India blamed Pakistan for the killings – an accusation that Islamabad denied – and the two countries attacked each other with missiles and drones over four days in May, after which a fragile truce was agreed.

But in Paalgam, it seems that the time may slow down and the residents try to pick up the pieces and move forward.

When I visited Paalgam recently, gaining a large majority through tourism, I found land and its people trying to deal with collective shock, mourning for loss of lives – and ways of living. The tourist peak season here is from April to June – and this year, most of it has already lost.

“What happened here is condemnation … inhuman work. Innocent people have been killed,” says Javid Burza, head of the Feendan Hotel and Restaurants Association in Bahamel.

He stands in the back promoter of his hotel, watching the last Lidder roar. On the other side, there are huge mountains covered with a thick carpet of trees. It is this type of vision that made this valley in southern Kashmir a required destination.

Mr. Burza says that visitors came from all over India to its lakes, forests, meadows and iceotens – and they are interested in the local population and generous hospitality.

“People here are poor, and they live manually, but they are known to be nice and very useful. Now we all face the consequences of this meaningless violence.” “We had reservations until the end of June. But then everything collapsed like a package of cards. Not much left here now.”

The prime minister of the region, Omar Abdullah, said, following the direct attack, the tourists fled the city and the people who were proposing the cancellation.

To persuade tourists to give Pahalgam another opportunity, he visited the city within weeks of the attack, held a meeting in the cabinet there, and ignored advice from security officials, across the streets.

For Mr. Abdullah, Pahalgam’s luxury is personal.

“It is the place where our school’s outputs were, and we are likely to flood fingers in the running water first. For some of us, this is the first time that we go to brutal in the white waters or hunting in the thickness of the knocked salmon. For others, it is a visit to a day or a night overnight. For us, it is part of our growth.”

Mr. Abdullah says it is always difficult to present predictions, but he hopes that Paalgam will see “where he was on April 21 this year.”

On that day, Fiat Ahmed says, he was full of tourists, who sells brooms and dresses embroidered in Al -Kashmiri on the main market in Pahalgam, with stores lining up on both sides of the only road that passes through the city.

Many remain closed, but a few of them have begun to open in the hope of attracting customers. The day I met him was the first to open his store since the killings.

Ahmed says that the last three seasons-in the afternoon-were distinguished by the visits of Al-Wafir.

“Every morning at least 3000 cars will arrive at 11 am. There will be two to three hours of traffic jams. Many tourists may say they cannot find residency.”

His store is sometimes crowded so that a waiting list is formed from shoppers abroad. “The work was quickly,” he said. But now he had to allow three sellers to leave. He said they would not be renewed unless she chooses businesses.

He left him targeting tourists. Since 1989, when the strict fighting of India was attracted to the Kashmir Valley, Mr. Ahmed says, “The situation was really bad here.”

“We were afraid to get out of our homes, but the tourists who chose to come here never hurt. We cannot understand the reason for targeting them now. Who can do such a thing?” He asks.

India blamed gunmen backed by Pakistan in the massacre in an area that fully claims both countries, but only controls parts.

Delhi accuses her neighbor of feeding a long -term rebellion killing tens of thousands in the Indian director Kashmir. Islamabad has long denied the support of the militants there.

In recent years, the rebellion has faded, bringing millions of tourists and a growing feeling that the region has eventually become safer. But this has changed now.

“Paalgam Ke Naam Par Dhabba Lag Gaya [Pahalgam’s name is stained]”Nisar Ali, an 80 -year -old, regrets his livelihood by selling Mache products.

He asks: “People have taken loans to open stores and buy taxis, and now everyone is staring at an uncertain future. What has happened to us.”

Just two kilometers from the market, a banner indicates the unbridled road that reaches the Baisaran, a 5 -kilometer journey covered on foot or dowries. The CONCESTIA cord used in the road basin has been transferred to one side, and sheep flocks can be seen making their way.

Before killings, it was one of the most popular places for tourists. The Marj, which provides a great view of the valley, was open from 8:00 to 17:00 and will get thousands of visitors daily in the summer.

But he is still out of the border now. Two men were arrested for claiming shelter to the fighters, but those who carried out the killings were not arrested – which led to fears of return.

Abdel Wahid Wanni, head of the Passam owners’ union in Paalgam, who was the first to arrive at the scene, says 1090 tourists went up to the meadow until 14:00.

At the time of the attack, there were about 300 tourists in Baisaran, as appreciated.

At 14:36, he says, he received a call from the police who asked him whether he had heard anything about an accident in Bayzran.

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Police and paramilitary forces arrived after 15 minutes. That night, Mr. Wani concluded at 02:30. He says what he saw there, keeping him awake at nights.

“I saw women and children crying and screaming. I saw corpses on the ground. I saw 10-15 people who were injured.”

In the first videos of its effects that have become viral on the day of the attack, Mr. Wani can hear as he tries to reassure the survivors, provides them with water, and tells them that there was help.

Other dowry treatments who arrived at the scene of the accident were called to help the evacuation of people – “carrying them on our backs and wooden pants” – and collecting bodies full of a vast field.

“I still can’t forget what I saw on that day. I felt panic; I felt palpitating. I have never seen anything like that before.”

When I met him in Bahama, he looked tired, and his eyes sank in his hidden face.

“For several nights, I couldn’t sleep and sleep still screaming at me. With the militants still in a state, I am concerned about what will happen if they came after us because we helped the people who were trying to kill them?”

But earlier this week, we exchanged messages and looked more optimistic.

The city returned to life, where thousands of pilgrims arrived to participate in Amarnath Yatra – the annual Hindu Hajj to the Amarnath Cave shrine. It started on July 3 and will continue until August 9.

Dozens of camps were created, and thousands of police and security forces were deployed along the way to ensure security.

Paalgam is one of the starting points for the trips to the shrine – and since many pilgrims rent the dowries to take them part of the road, there is a continuous stream of work for the master, I and his colleagues.

But hotel owners and store owners say they will have to wait for their role even after the end of the Hajj because most pilgrims remain in cheaper camps and rarely buy handicrafts.

But many take the heart from the fact that tourists have started to return to the area. In June, Ravi Josan, head of all liquidity organizers in India, says 40 % of more than 45,000 tourists who visited the Kashmir Valley who went to Bahasham.

On the day I visited, there were families stopping photographs under the “Paalgam Love” brand.

A young man and Hamid Jaafar, who visited last year at the same time, said he was very crowded and then had to wait for half an hour so that they could take a picture here.

“When we decided to come this year, our friends tried to inhibit us, saying he was unsafe,” says a young man. “But it is completely safe and my children are so happy that they say let’s move on to Kashmir.”

Mr. Jaafar says that their friends call them after seeing their pictures. “And I ask them to come here to spend a vacation. Where will you see this beauty? Where will you get this peace?”