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Increased fighting across the country, combined with the start of drought and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in severe illness and death and a significant economic recession and drastically decreased job options for Afghans. Many rural areas have become increasingly worried as a result, with families seeing no other option but to sell their cattle for quick cash or to pull their children out of school so they can work, and others being forced to flee their villages in search of safety elsewhere.

 

The situation is projected to deteriorate both for those in conflict areas as well as those that are not. In addition, the present dry weather conditions are expected to result in a poor harvest, further limiting job prospects for daily wage farm labourers. The conflict is spreading fast and will continue to spread even faster. As a result, the following months will be challenging, particularly for displaced families who have already lost their homes due to the fighting, have no belongings or support networks, and rely on informal daily labour for a living. As a result, the UN has warned of a “looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as the escalating conflict brings increased human suffering and civilian displacement.”

According to the UN, an estimated 400,000 Afghans have already been internally displaced since the increase in conflict, bringing the total number of displaced Afghans to 3.5 million, which said nearly half of Afghanistan’s 38 million people need humanitarian assistance.

 

Amid this increase, the proportion of women and children affected by violence has risen sharply since January, adding to the toll Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict has taken on people.

When families flee the terror, they often have no choice but to escape quickly, with very few or no possessions and leaving behind the livelihoods upon which they rely. In search of safety, families are left without access to food, shelter and essential items we take for granted.

 

In most cases, families with several young children and elderly will trek for several gruelling miles before they managed to board a bus to a provincial capital. Once there, they still have little hope of returning home any time soon. In most cases, their home would have already been destroyed and possession looted. So instead, they either live on the streets in makeshift shelters or look to move even further away from the ever coming violence and terror.

 

“There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood”

Khaled Husseini, The Kite Runner

 

Families are being robbed of their lives involuntarily. Young children have once again been robbed of their childhood.  More than ever, we need your support in assisting the newly displaced Afghans with emergency shelter, food, health care, water and cash assistance. We are providing critical assistance to the most vulnerable displaced families, including women-headed households and disabled people. These families will be able to put a roof over their heads, keep their children safe and healthy, and protect themselves from further dangers with your support.

Do not hold back. Help us to support those in need and try to provide a helping hand when they need it the most,  so they can become more resilient to inevitable future challenges.

 

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