The twin plagues of war and drought have
caused hundreds of thousands of Afghans to flee their homes during the
last twelve months. Most of the Afghans forced to leave their homes have
remained in the country, taking refuge in places where they hope to receive
foreign food assistance.
The anti-Taliban region of northeastern
Afghanistan, centred on the small city of Faizabad, hosts about 100,000
displaced Afghans. Most of these people were displaced when Taliban military
forces captured the city of Taloqan in October 2000. A three-year drought,
however, is now causing additional people to flee their homes in search
of food. For example, a May 2001 survey of one drought-stricken district,
Shar-I-Buzurg, found that 10 percent of the population, about 5,000 persons,
had abandoned their homes.
The most exposed camps are those near the town of Dast-i-Qala, which is within sight of the front lines of the civil war only 10 kilometres away.
The summer climate in the low-lying area around Dast-i-Qala is hot and malarial. Thousands of families of the displaced are sheltered by plastic tents, which will become unbearably hot in the summer. Others are living with host families - a system which seems to work reasonably well - or in villages previously damaged by war and abandoned, but now partially rebuilt to accommodate the displaced. RI attended a meeting called by Afghan government authorities to discuss the problem of shelter with international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The government and NGOs seem to be working together effectively to find better shelter alternatives for the displaced. The Afghan government also expressed to RI a high priority need for anti-malarial programs. The incidence of malaria may increase to epidemic proportions this summer.
Conditions for the displaced ranged from fairly good (comparable with the general population of this poor country) to grim, especially for 300 families of recent arrivals who had arrived after the last WFP food distribution and had received little assistance of any kind.
A measure of the extreme poverty of this region, however, was the dozens of local families who trekked daily to the displaced person camps to wait around in the hope that there would be a food distribution and that they would receive a ration. It is clear that most of the local population is hardly better off than the displaced persons.
Although the nearby battle lines were mostly quiet during our visit, the situation for the displaced and local residents is inherently unstable. The Taliban will likely attack soon and if their forces gain ground, the already displaced may become re-displaced and they may be joined by additional persons fleeing the war. Moreover, the drought will likely be responsible for many more thousands of displaced persons, especially next winter and spring. Tajikistan is just across the river from the displaced person camps, but the Tajik government and Russian troops guarding the frontier have, thus far, denied entry to Afghans attempting to enter Tajikistan. The emergency food and other assistance needs for a growing number of persons displaced by war or drought in this region - plus the needs of an increasingly desperate local population - can be projected to increase substantially over the next twelve months.
The international resources in this isolated region are stretched thin. A handful of UN employees and international NGOs are coping with limited resources, long supply lines, and growing needs. The Afghan government has limited personnel and financial resources to assist.
TO CONTACT: RI =B7 1705 N ST NW =B7 WASHINGTON =B7 DC =B7 20036 =B7 202.828.0110 =B7 RI@REFINTL.ORG