KANDAHAR -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided cash assistance to some 500 vulnerable individuals in Kandahar, as many Afghans continue to suffer from poverty and hunger.
The recipient families include the needy, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees returning from neighbouring countries, disabled people and families who have lost their head of household.
On February 2, some 47,700 AFN ($530) in cash assistance was given to each of these families.
Naqibullah Momin, acting director of the provincial Refugees and Repatriations Department, said the vulnerable families were from Kandahar city and some districts in the province.
![A man (left) receives cash assistance from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) local workers in Kandahar city on February 2. [Rahimullah Khpelwak/Salaam Times]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/02/09/40680-k_1-739_416.webp)
A man (left) receives cash assistance from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) local workers in Kandahar city on February 2. [Rahimullah Khpelwak/Salaam Times]
"A survey was conducted to identify the needy people. They are very poor and in serious need of help. If such an assistance package were not provided, their lives would have become more challenging and difficult," he said.
Thousands of households have been saved from severe hunger in Kandahar with the assistance provided by relief organisations, he added.
Mohammad Qasim, 38, is a resident of Kandahar city and a recipient of the cash assistance. He is a labourer and the sole breadwinner of his six-member family.
He said he used to work daily and could earn enough to afford his household expenses, but has been unemployed in the past year and plunged into poverty.
"Many nights we do not have food, and we have to spend the night eating a piece of bread with tea. I hardly can earn enough to buy a loaf of bread for my family," said Qasim.
"My father passed away three months ago from an illness. I could not afford to pay for his treatment. My mother is ill and needs an operation."
"I have decided to use part of the cash assistance to pay for my mother's treatment and buy flour, cooking oil and rice with the remainder," he said.
He said the cash assistance has saved his mother's life and his family from starvation.
Fighting hunger
Other vulnerable Afghans who received cash assistance from the UNHCR say the assistance will save their families from poverty and hunger.
Sardar Mohammad, 61, is a resident of Maiwand district, Kandahar province, and the head of a seven-member household.
He came to Kandahar city to receive assistance and is very happy that he will be relieved from hardship and starvation for a while.
"We are confronting multiple economic challenges. We have never experienced so much poverty. Everyone in the district is poor like me and cannot even afford one meal a day," he said.
"The prices of food items have almost doubled in the market compared to the past. We do not have money to buy the food we need. We are having a very difficult life," he added.
He added that the cash assistance provided by the UN will enable him to buy food and other necessities for his family for a few months, and that he can stop worrying about his children going hungry for a while.
Abdul Qadir, 42, a resident of Kandahar, who is responsible for a family of six, also said he is happy to receive the cash assistance.
"If the assistance were not distributed, it would have been very difficult for us to deal with poverty and vulnerability," he said.
"I am going out every morning to look for a job. I spend the entire day out there, but there is no work, and I have to return home empty-handed at night."
"I have become very poor because of unemployment. We do not have proper food at home," said Qadir, who is a labourer.
He said his family spends nights without food or eats only some rice, which is all he can afford.
The importance of humanitarian aid
As poverty and hunger spread in Afghanistan from economic crisis and unemployment, the humanitarian aid provided by the international community has helped save millions of Afghans from starvation.
Sikandar Baheer, an analyst of political affairs in Kandahar city, said the international community's assistance has prevented an imminent human catastrophe in Afghanistan.
"Now that most people have lost their jobs and income, there is a serious need for urgent aid from the international community. The aid package provided by the international community has rescued many poor people from dying of famine," he said.
"Locals have access to the assistance provided by humanitarian organisations in remote villages and districts. If there were no such assistance, people could not afford to prepare even one meal a day," he added.
Baheer said humanitarian aid from the international community is the only hope to save Afghans from poverty and starvation under the current circumstances.
Khoshal Noori, a civil society activist in Kandahar city, said the international community has extended its support at a time when the Afghan people have no other hope.
"The Afghan economy has shattered, and people have lost their incomes and jobs. Most Afghans have lost their purchasing power and cannot afford to buy food for their families. In such a situation, the assistance of the international community is very vital and crucial," he said.
"Afghanistan became more prosperous and living conditions improved over 20 years thanks to the assistance provided by the international community," he said, referring to 2001–2021.
"In the current situation when Afghanistan is facing a crisis, the international community has remained committed to stand alongside the Afghan people and continue to help them," he said.
I am against providing cash aid and food aid because it has turned us to beggars. If help is being provided, it would be better to identify the needy people and provide them with work means. For example, those who know a profession should be given tools related to that profession, and those who have not learned any profession they should be given handcarts so that they can earn a living with their efforts and their work can last. It is hoped that these points will be taken seriously.
Reply7 Comment
On this day, the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan. 34 years ago on this day, on February 15, 1989, the last group of the former Soviet Union forces led by General Boris Gromov crossed the Amu River through Hairatan port and the occupation of Afghanistan ended. The Soviet Union, which began its invasion of Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, completed the process of withdrawing troops in accordance with the Geneva Agreement in one year. During the nearly decade-long invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet army, about one million Afghans and at least 14,000 Soviet soldiers were killed and more than 50,000 Soviet soldiers were wounded. In this war, about one million Afghans were injured and most of them were permanently disabled. As a result of the Soviet invasion, millions of Afghans migrated to the neighboring countries. Most of the villages in Afghanistan were destroyed, the development process was stopped and the way was opened for the interference and exploitation of the neighbors in the affairs of Afghanistan, which no one has stopped so far. The end of the former Soviet war in Afghanistan was the beginning of another war in our country. Two years after the withdrawal of the Red Army, the Mujahideen won, and soon a civil war broke out in Afghanistan, as a result of which more Afghans were injured and killed, and many more emigrated. When the last Soviet officer General Boris Gromov crossed the Amu River, he reportedly did not look back. This military general desc
Reply7 Comment
This situation that Afghans are currently facing with is really painful and terrible. In all provinces and even in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, more than 70% of the people suffer from poverty, disorder and lack of law. All this happened as a result of the coup launched by the Taliban/Pakistan and according to a number of analysts by Britain, which prevented peace and reconciliation and forced the Taliban to seize the capital by force. Yesterday, Thomas Nicholson, representative of the European Union for Afghanistan, said during his visit to India that, if the Taliban would accept some of the proposals of the international community, the international community is ready to get engaged with them. This is a green light for the Taliban, but unfortunately, the Taliban do not have a political mind and it is not clear whether they will befriend with the international community or not. If they accept the conditions of the international community, it will be in the interest of the common Afghans and our dear country Afghanistan, and if they would not accept, it is very possible that Afghanistan, God forbid, will become more miserable. May God have mercy on our people. Amen
Reply7 Comment
This humanitarian aid of the United Nations or the UNHCR agency; this cash aid of AFN 47,700 can build the future of these poor families. In this difficult situation that Afghanistan is in, the only aid from the United Nations can save the poor people of Afghanistan from the threat of starvation. May God happen as the countries of the region have been careful in their survey and have actually registered the needy people for this aid of AFN 47,700. The people of Afghanistan have lost their income and jobs. Afghanistan's economy is shattered. Many people, who used to work for and got paid by the government are currently sitting in houses with no works, and they have no other income. They are looking only at the humanitarian aid of the United Nations. We Afghans will never forget the humanitarian aid of the United Nations and European countries. The United Nations has always stood with the people of Afghanistan.
Reply7 Comment
Helping the poor is appropriate work; however, I have a concern. During the 20 years of the republic, when the power was almost all with the warlords of the former Northern Alliance, they would take 80% of the foreign aid to their regions and leave nothing to the Pashtun-populated regions. This created hatred in the hearts of Pashtuns. Because the Pashtun areas, especially the villages, only received bombs from government planes, bombs from NATO forces, and suicide bombers from the Taliban. This way, everything in the Pashtun populated areas was destroyed. My concern is that besides Kandahar and other Pashtun-populated provinces, non-Pashtun-populated areas should not be ignored. It is necessary to assist the Hazaras of Bamiyan. Aid should also be provided to the Tajik and Uzbek populated regions as well. Once upon a time, the policy of the hypocritical regime of Pakistan was to arrest non-Pashtuns (Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras) in Torkham and loot their money. The fact that the employees of the Pakistani government in Torkham were Pashtuns, for this reason, the non-Pashtuns of Afghanistan used to hate the Pashtuns. Through Salam Times, I request the rulers of Afghanistan and foreign organizations not to ignore the non-Pashtun areas. Sincerely, Mohammad
Reply7 Comment
These donations will surely have reached the hands of the Taliban or their relatives. The latest information shows that most foreign aid goes to the Taliban or their supporters, and the common people stay where they are. It is necessary as this aid gets distributed by a neutral foundation to reach the poor. The Taliban, from time to time, say that they have committed jihad and I have made efforts, and this way, they get all the aid and privileges.
ReplyHi, my name is Akhond Zada from Kandahar Afghanistan, Since August 2021 no one helps and no reply to my emails, since 2 years i am trying to get foodstuffs and dry milk for my children, but no one helps us, please try your best and help my children, we are in very poor and bad situation in Afghanistan, need emergency foodstuffs and dry milk for my children, My Cell phone #: 93700330452. The same number is my whatsup number.
ReplyI am living in Kandahar Province District 11th
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