AFGHANISTAN-SNOW

Headline

Poor Afghan families face harsh winter at makeshift homes in Kabul.

Intro

Afghans living in mud houses and makeshift tents look for government help to survive chilly winter.

Story

STORY: Snowing and harsh winter conditions have made life miserable for poor Afghan families living in dilapidated mud houses and makeshift tents in the capital Kabul.

They plead for government’s help to survive in bitterly cold weather.

“We are living in such conditions that our kids move in cold and chilly weather. We have no firewood to warm our kids as God will help us. We request the government to help us,”said a woman Lailuma.

The mud houses and tents are not strong enough to withstand high winds, rain and snow and many families have no money to buy firewood to heat their houses in the chilly weather.

“It is cold weather, and the roof of our house is in dilapidated condition. We have no money to warm our room and buy wood. We burn papers instead of wood which has very bad dust,”said a 7-year old boy Ameen.

Life for Afghanistan's poor has always been hard. Many also cannot feed properly and lack the basic daily needs.

“Winter is very difficult for us as there is snow everywhere. I use wheelbarrow to earn money and get around 60 to 80 afghani daily. I can only feed my children when I get work. I can’t feed them when there is no work. We have no money in our home. In case of any mishap or incident or any patients, we have no money to go to hospital.” Said Yousuf Ali, a wheel-barrow labourer.

The recent rain and snow have aggravated the plight of Afghan people in need of food and clothing, and the economic sanctions imposed by the United States have made Afghanistan face serious challenges.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that the number of people facing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan is at least 18.8 million, which is expected to rise to 22.8 million during the winter months.