Allied retaliation in Afghanistan
extends already catastrophic health, food crisis
Bombing results in new flood of refugees, further cripples aid agencies
in-country
[10-9-01]
by Chris Herlinger, Church World Service and Jerry L.
Van Marter
LOUISVILLE - 8-October-2001 - Allied air strikes on the Taliban's and
Osama bin Laden's strongholds in Afghanistan, which began Oct. 7, has
sent a fresh wave of Afghan refugees cascading into Pakistan, Iran and
probably other neighboring countries, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis
that was already catastrophic.
In a statement last week, the United Nations said that
"a humanitarian crisis of stunning proportions is unfolding in
Afghanistan." The UN cited 20 years of war, three years of severe
drought, large-scale human rights abuses and significant population
movements spurred most recently by events in the United States, as
having left "more than five million civilians, the vast majority of
them women and children, with a fragile grip on survival. The onset of
winter will loosen that grip even further."
Reuters and other news agencies who continue to have a
presence in Afghanistan, reported late Oct. 7 that the day's attacks on
Kandahar in southern Afghanistan caused a mass exodus of Afghani
civilians from that city - which is the headquarters of the Taliban -
across the border to the desert town of Quetta, Pakistan. Pakistani
officials in Quetta told Reuters there was "a flood" of
refugees during the day.
Two communicators from Action by Churches Together
(ACT) - a Geneva-based ecumenical relief agency through which the
Presbyterian Church (USA) contributes international humanitarian aid -
who traveled to Afghanistan in July concluded that Afghanistan was
facing a humanitarian crisis in which the very health of its people was
deteriorating: malnutrition was common, starvation was becoming more
prevalent and medical conditions were abysmal. Events since Sept. 11
have only caused the situation to deteriorate further, as well as
placing a tremendous burden on neighboring countries that are taking in
the refugees. President Bush is making some effort, airlifting food,
medicine and supplies to remote areas of Afghanistan even as U.S. and
British warplanes bomb military targets.
With the mass exodus of Afghanis to the nearest
border, however, the question remains whether there are any civilians
left in those areas to make use of the much-needed provisions.
The statistics are sobering enough: Afghanistan has
the worst infant mortality rate in the world - 161 deaths per 1,000
births, according to the United Nations. Life expectancy averages a mere
46 years. Among the causes? Besides the worsening drought, endemic
poverty and poor infrastructure after two decades of war is the
inability and sometimes outright refusal of the ruling Taliban
government to do anything about the worsening humanitarian crisis.
"In some places, there is nothing left," one
aid agency worker said of drought-stricken areas, referring not only to
lack of crops but the depletion of livestock. Afghanistan has become
dependent on the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but the
relationship has often been uneasy and unsettled. Now with NGOs leaving
the country, the country's social "safety net" is dissolving.
"Everyone here has a bleak future," said one relief worker.
The resulting chaos will leave many Afghans to fend
for themselves - a perilous situation given the extremes already being
felt before the current crisis. Though hard to confirm, reports of
people eating grass just to fill their stomachs were already commonly
circulating in July.
"You can see the coming disaster," said
another aid worker. A full fifth of the nation -- more than 5 million
people -- are already dependent on outside food assistance. And it is
questionable how much food remains in the country to feed the hundreds
of thousands who have moved from drought-stricken areas to camps for
internally displaced persons (IDPs).
One of them, the Mashlak camp outside of Herat, is a
brutal, unforgiving place: dusty, windy, it is now home to some 200,000
IDPs. Mashlak owes its name to an abandoned slaughterhouse, which seems
eerily apt: rural villagers come there en masse, hoping for better
conditions. But they soon come to realize that the camps are often worse
than the rural areas they have abandoned.
The arrivals at Mashlak - such as those from the
village of Ghamai - have sold crops and cattle at a loss to make it to
the camp and now live in tents and small mud structures. "This is
all we have," said Abdul Haq, 45, pointing to one of the mud huts.
The recent arrivals find that food is often limited to
rations of flour; not even cooking oil is provided. Aid workers try as
best they can to cope, but they face enormous problems: Mashlak has
large numbers of malnourished children, with increasing numbers of them
dying from diarrhea. In July, several children with tell-tale signs of
hunger -- sunken eyes and bloated stomachs -- were treated at a camp
clinic; it is impossible to imagine that conditions will not worsen in
the coming months.
But the situation in the camps tell only part of the
story. In the cities, Afghanistan's urban hospitals are dingy, dreary
facilities. The Ali Abbud Hospital, in the capital of Kabul, is typical
of wide-spread neglect and impoverishment: operations are performed only
twice a week; there is not the proper equipment needed for adequate
care; water is unsafe; medicines are scarce.
One patient told of having to bring in his own bed
sheets and can't afford the medicines he needs. "We are so
poor," he said, speaking from his bed in a crowded hospital ward.
ACT member agencies have provided bedding and other supplies to Ali
Abbud and other such hospitals. But given overwhelming needs, the
agencies can do only so much.
Doctors are frustrated, too, stymied by the poor
facilities. Asked what he could use, one doctor quickly rattled off a
list: good medicines, safe water, clean beddings, nourishing food,
modern equipment. And ambulances, he said. Emergency patients are
brought in on taxis. "Medical care is a human right," he said,
shaking his head at the numerous obstacles he and other care-givers
face.
Now the problems are even greater: In July, it was
clear that even the smallest of changes could have dire consequences for
Afghans. "People are much more vulnerable to any kind of 'blip': a
decrease in aid, armed conflict, anything that could exacerbate
problems," said Simon Richards of Christian Aid. "People are
holding on by a thread." In recent weeks, the thread has become
thinner still.
Now it may have broken.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has sent $450,000 to Church
World Service (CWS), the relief arm of the U.S. National Council of
Churches, for its relief work in Pakistan. An additional $50,000 has
been sent to the Middle East Council of Churches for its refugee
assistance work in Iran. As always, PDA is working in close cooperation
with CWS and ACT.
CWS/Pakistan has been providing a Christian witness
and assistance to Afghan refugees for a number of years. Staff were
offered an opportunity to leave, but choose to continue serving the
refugees even though their lives might be a risk by being identified as
both Christian and associated with an American organization.
Those wishing to contribute to PDA's response to this
tragedy should make a check payable to the Presbyterian Church (USA),
mark it "Account #9-2000038: Afghanistan/Pakistan" and give it
to your local church or mail it to Central Receiving Services, Section
300, Louisville, KY 40289. To make a credit card donation log on to the
PDA web site at www.pcusa.org/pda
or call PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283.
