Kabul: AfghanistanThis week’s devastating earthquake struck one of the poorest corners of the country, hollowed out by rising poverty. Even after receiving more aid on Saturday, many residents have no idea how they will rebuild the thousands of homes destroyed in villages surrounded by mountains.
The quake, which state media say killed at least 1,150 people, was hardest hit in an area of high mountains where Paktika and Khost provinces meet the Pakistani border.
There is little fertile land, so residents do whatever they can, relying on money sent by their relatives who have moved to Pakistan, Iran or abroad for jobs.
Wednesday’s earthquake engulfed nearly two dozen houses each in a village called Miradin.
On rainy nights, several hundred of its residents are sleeping in a nearby forest and they still had not received the aid that was slowly making its way into the earthquake-prone areas.
Residents of Miradin told the Associated Press they are concerned whether they will be able to rebuild before the harsh winter hits in just a few months. The summer is short in the mountains, the nights are already cold.
A fear has been felt in the quake-hit region, where around 3,000 homes are believed to have been destroyed.
Daulat Khan, a resident of Paktika’s Gyan district, said, “We are facing many problems. We need all kind of support, and we request the international community and Afghans to come forward and help us.” can do.” Five members of his family were injured when the house collapsed.
A representative of the UN Children’s Agency in Afghanistan said 121 children were among those killed in Wednesday’s quake and the figure could rise further. He said around 70 children were injured. The tremors on Friday claimed five more lives.
A total number of 1,150 dead and at least 1,600 injured were reported. afghan State news agency Bakhtar.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs put the death toll at 770. Any toll would make the quake the deadliest in two decades in Afghanistan.
On Saturday more help was coming.
In the main city of Urgan in Paktika province, UN World Health Organization medical supplies were unloaded at the main hospital. In earthquake-affected villages, UNICEF supplied blankets, basic supplies and wire for the homeless to use as tents.
On Saturday, UNICEF distributed water purification tablets along with soap and other hygiene materials in Spera district of Khost province. Aid groups said they feared damage to water and sanitation systems could lead to cholera.
Officials said new cargo flights of aid supplies arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The government of Pakistan and a Pakistani charity had already dispatched 13 trucks carrying food, tents, life-saving medicine and other essentials, and Pakistan has opened some border crossings to bring the injured for treatment.
A majority of aid agencies said the disaster underscored the need for the international community to reconsider Afghanistan’s financial cut-off. Taliban The country was occupied by rebels 10 months ago.
That policy, withholding billions in development aid and piling up vital reserves, has helped push the economy into collapse and plunge Afghanistan into humanitarian crises and near famine.
Efforts to help the victims have been slow due to both the geography and the dilapidated state of Afghanistan.
The rough roads between the mountains, which were already slow moving, were made worse by earthquake damage and rain.
ICRC spokesman in Afghanistan Lucien Kristen said the International Red Cross has five health facilities in the region, but the damaged roads have made it difficult to reach them in the affected areas.
Aid groups said that while they are rushing to help earthquake victims, keeping Afghanistan just above devastation through humanitarian programs is not sustainable.
“We’re basically going to starve 25 million Afghan people if we’re not able to make a living with this financial blockade,” said Rossella Michio, president of the aid organization Emergency, which operates a health service network. does. facilities and surgical centers across Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s economy was already dependent on international donor support before its takeover by the Taliban last August as the US and its NATO allies withdrew their forces, ending a 20-year war.
World governments withheld billions in development aid and deposited billions more in Afghanistan’s currency reserves, refusing to recognize the Taliban government and demanding that they allow a more inclusive regime and respect human rights.
Former rebels who have resisted pressure by imposing restrictions on the liberties of women and girls remember their first in power in the late 1990s.
The cut-off took the props out of the bottom of the economy. Now almost half of the population of 38 million cannot meet their basic food needs due to poverty. Most civil servants, including doctors, nurses and teachers, have not been paid for months, and salaries remain sporadic.
UN agencies and other remaining organizations have kept Afghanistan off the brink of starvation with a humanitarian program that has fed millions and kept the medical system alive.
But with international donors lagging behind, UN agencies are facing a $3 billion funding shortfall this year.
The quake, which state media say killed at least 1,150 people, was hardest hit in an area of high mountains where Paktika and Khost provinces meet the Pakistani border.
There is little fertile land, so residents do whatever they can, relying on money sent by their relatives who have moved to Pakistan, Iran or abroad for jobs.
Wednesday’s earthquake engulfed nearly two dozen houses each in a village called Miradin.
On rainy nights, several hundred of its residents are sleeping in a nearby forest and they still had not received the aid that was slowly making its way into the earthquake-prone areas.
Residents of Miradin told the Associated Press they are concerned whether they will be able to rebuild before the harsh winter hits in just a few months. The summer is short in the mountains, the nights are already cold.
A fear has been felt in the quake-hit region, where around 3,000 homes are believed to have been destroyed.
Daulat Khan, a resident of Paktika’s Gyan district, said, “We are facing many problems. We need all kind of support, and we request the international community and Afghans to come forward and help us.” can do.” Five members of his family were injured when the house collapsed.
A representative of the UN Children’s Agency in Afghanistan said 121 children were among those killed in Wednesday’s quake and the figure could rise further. He said around 70 children were injured. The tremors on Friday claimed five more lives.
A total number of 1,150 dead and at least 1,600 injured were reported. afghan State news agency Bakhtar.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs put the death toll at 770. Any toll would make the quake the deadliest in two decades in Afghanistan.
On Saturday more help was coming.
In the main city of Urgan in Paktika province, UN World Health Organization medical supplies were unloaded at the main hospital. In earthquake-affected villages, UNICEF supplied blankets, basic supplies and wire for the homeless to use as tents.
On Saturday, UNICEF distributed water purification tablets along with soap and other hygiene materials in Spera district of Khost province. Aid groups said they feared damage to water and sanitation systems could lead to cholera.
Officials said new cargo flights of aid supplies arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The government of Pakistan and a Pakistani charity had already dispatched 13 trucks carrying food, tents, life-saving medicine and other essentials, and Pakistan has opened some border crossings to bring the injured for treatment.
A majority of aid agencies said the disaster underscored the need for the international community to reconsider Afghanistan’s financial cut-off. Taliban The country was occupied by rebels 10 months ago.
That policy, withholding billions in development aid and piling up vital reserves, has helped push the economy into collapse and plunge Afghanistan into humanitarian crises and near famine.
Efforts to help the victims have been slow due to both the geography and the dilapidated state of Afghanistan.
The rough roads between the mountains, which were already slow moving, were made worse by earthquake damage and rain.
ICRC spokesman in Afghanistan Lucien Kristen said the International Red Cross has five health facilities in the region, but the damaged roads have made it difficult to reach them in the affected areas.
Aid groups said that while they are rushing to help earthquake victims, keeping Afghanistan just above devastation through humanitarian programs is not sustainable.
“We’re basically going to starve 25 million Afghan people if we’re not able to make a living with this financial blockade,” said Rossella Michio, president of the aid organization Emergency, which operates a health service network. does. facilities and surgical centers across Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s economy was already dependent on international donor support before its takeover by the Taliban last August as the US and its NATO allies withdrew their forces, ending a 20-year war.
World governments withheld billions in development aid and deposited billions more in Afghanistan’s currency reserves, refusing to recognize the Taliban government and demanding that they allow a more inclusive regime and respect human rights.
Former rebels who have resisted pressure by imposing restrictions on the liberties of women and girls remember their first in power in the late 1990s.
The cut-off took the props out of the bottom of the economy. Now almost half of the population of 38 million cannot meet their basic food needs due to poverty. Most civil servants, including doctors, nurses and teachers, have not been paid for months, and salaries remain sporadic.
UN agencies and other remaining organizations have kept Afghanistan off the brink of starvation with a humanitarian program that has fed millions and kept the medical system alive.
But with international donors lagging behind, UN agencies are facing a $3 billion funding shortfall this year.