By Andy McElroy in Kabul, Afghanistan
Twenty-three years of war, three years
of drought and finally a massive earthquake. That has been the lot of the
80,000 people of Nahrin, Afghanistan. Surely, enough tragedy for several
lifetimes but a numbing fear persists in this isolated district in the
country's east that all is not over yet.
Four months after the massive earthquake devastated the town and killed 800 of their loved ones and neighbours, families greet every sunset with trepidation, wondering if the roof will again come crashing down.
Fortunately, one thing remains intact - just, and that is the spirit of the people. They have made remarkable progress, rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. There is a physical semblance of community again as the people slowly patch up old Nahrin town and put their hope for the future two kilometres up the road, in new Nahrin.
A few hardy organizations are here too, helping locals reconstruct a new beginning, of which the Afghan Red Crescent is one. At the bottom of the town where the rocky track runs out and the pasture begins, mothers and children of Nahrin sit under a rudimentary shelter, waiting to see one of the health workers at the Afghan Red Crescent temporary clinic.
Every day, next to the grazing goats, Red Crescent staff provides basic health care to about 50 women and children. Dr. Rafi, has just arrived. He is in charge of medical services at the clinic. "It's very important that we are here as the local people have next to no health support," he says.
"Nahrin is very isolated and it's too expensive and difficult for many people to take transport to Pol-i-khumri, the nearest major town. We have limited resources here but we make the best use of them and it does make a difference, I can see that."
The daily ritual of townspeople gathering in the tarpaulin-covered waiting room is the latest - but not the last - chapter of a remarkable story that began within hours of the earthquake. With many townspeople still lying injured and others wandering around dazed, Red Crescent volunteers, supported by the International Federation, were on hand to provide lifesaving assistance.
The mobile medical health teams from Mazar-i-Sharif and Pol-i-khumri were among the first to arrive from the outside. Picking their way through the rubble, volunteers cared for 1,760 people in the first week.
As the medical teams were working around the clock, 17 truckloads of food, blankets, clothing and other relief items, supplied by the Federation, were arriving. The ICRC also distributed food to 3,400 families during this emergency phase.
Schools were among the many buildings destroyed. Four months on, most classes are still being conducted in tents. In the summer heat, it is far from ideal but in the coming winter it would be too risky for children to be in such flimsy shelters for hours on end.
As such, the Afghan Red Crescent is currently in a race against time to build some schools before the bitter cold strikes. The extreme weather is not the only complication affecting rehabilitation. The only road into town is an often impassable road that snakes east off the main Kabul-Mazar highway, crosses a windswept high plain - home to some of Afghanistan's nomadic Kudji people - before descending into Nahrin. Mines are another hazard. The earthquake dislodged many in the area, which was a frontline during the Soviet-Mujahdeen war.
Fazil Hack, the district governor, made clear the depth of gratitude the people of Nahrin feel for the support they receive from the Afghan Red Crescent and announced the donation of a central piece of land for the construction of a new, permanent Red Crescent clinic.
"We are truly thankful for the humanitarian effort that you have made on behalf of the people here. We will always remember your support and you will be forever guests in our town," he said.