Aid to help 225,000 displaced Afghans survive deadly winter

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan government and the United Nations on Wednesday, January 7, began distributing blankets, clothes and fuel to about 225,000 people displaced by violence nationwide as the bitter winter sets in.

In recent years, scores of Afghans living in slums, tents or makeshift shelters have died of cold despite billions of dollars in international aid for nthe country.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has co-ordinated efforts to reduce fatalities this winter.

“We know it (aid) is not enough,” said Fazal Ahmad Azimi, the deputy refugees minister.

“All over Afghanistan we have a lot of displaced people, they are very needy.”

The annual programme helps 2,300 families around Kabul alone, providing a winter kit of coal, children’s clothes, cooking equipment and other supplies.

“We really hope and believe that this programme can provide support through the months of winter and (ease) the suffering that follows the very serious temperatures,” said Bo Schack, UNHCR representative in Afghanistan.

“We see the number of people in these areas only increasing and often people arriving from hostile situations.”

Among those waiting for supplies was Hayatullah, 53, who moved to Kabul from Wardak province southwest of the capital, due to the insurgency that has rocked Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.

“I’m thankful for this assistance,” he said. “In the past they would give us flour and cooking oil. But this year they have cut that down. I have six children and no house.”

Abrisham, 66, said: “We are poor people and it is difficult for us to buy these items for winter. These three coal sacks might last around two months.”

The UN says about 782,000 people have been displaced by decades of conflict in Afghanistan.

More than 130,000 individuals were recorded as newly displaced in 2014, the last year of NATO’s combat mission against the Taliban.

Civilian casualties hit a new high last year with about 10,000 non-combatants killed or wounded – 75% of them by the Taliban, according to the UN. – Rappler.com