Afghanistan Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 85 | March – December 2021

Life is a struggle for 10-year-old Najia

Contribution from Community World Service Asia

Ten-year-old Najia had to flee her village of Char Qala, and the house she was born in along with her father and her siblings in March this year. The family had to leave everything they knew to escape conflict that had ravaged their once beautiful and peaceful home in Alingar’s district in Laghman province. The father and children relocated to an internally displaced persons (IDPs) site in Mehtarlam city which was 30 km away from their village.

“My eldest brother was a soldier and was killed in Hilmand province earlier this year (in January). We were still grieving him, when two months later our family was once again hit by an unimaginable tragedy: our mother died from bombing when she was tending to our livestock,” said Najia.

Najia’s father, Rehmatullah, worked as a mechanic and managed to earn a monthly income of AFN 5,000 (approximately US$62). As a child Rehmatullah was unable to go to school due to poverty which made him even more determined to ensure his children attended school.

“Before we relocated, four of my siblings and I went to a local school in Char Qala. I was a student in grade 3. The conflict in the village led to the closure of schools and the only health facility in the area. After my mother passed away, my father’s first and foremost aim was to protect us. We had no time to gather anything as we left our home in the night and walked for seven hours to reach the nearest IDP site,” said Najia.

“The families in the site make their own shelter with any materials they can find. I made a tent out of plastic sheets. There isn’t sufficient space to accommodate my family comfortably so we have to manage in the little space we are provided with,” said Rehmatullah.

Najia’s eldest sister takes care of her younger siblings when Rehmatullah goes out in search of jobs every day. “My father gets up early to look for work at the local market. He occasionally ventures outside of the city to find work too, but he has been returning without any employment. There are days when we just survive on dry bread and tea for meals that are distributed by the government or aid agencies working in the area,” said Najia.

Poor hygienic conditions in the camp are resulting in increased illnesses and diseases among camp residents. “My father became sick with COVID-19. We were really concerned when he became unwell because he was our sole caregiver. He was treated by the Mobile Health Team and made a full recovery. We were so relieved.” “My siblings and I now go to a madrassa which is a kilometre away from the site. My father wants us to be educated and to gain knowledge by any means.”

There are minimal economic opportunities for most of the internally displaced people in the sites. Rahmatullah added, “I really just want my children to have a good life and be able to go to school and attain education.”

Community World Service Asia provides emergency relief and supports the response of their partners in the crisis affected countries such as Afghanistan.