Energy News  
THE STANS
Afghan farmers fleeing drought face more hardship in camps
By Allison Jackson
Herat, Afghanistan (AFP) Oct 11, 2018

For only the second time in his life, Afghan farmer Murad Khan Ishaqzai has been forced to leave the home where he was born 80 years ago -- not by war but the worst drought in living memory.

Ishaqzai, wizened and weather-beaten by decades of working in his wheat field, is one of more than 250,000 people in western Afghanistan displaced by the months-long dry spell that has devastated crops, livestock and water supplies.

Beaten by the inhospitable conditions, many families in rural areas decided to travel hundreds of kilometres in the back of rented trucks through districts contested by Taliban fighters and government forces to reach the city of Herat.

There, they set up pitiful, makeshift tents on the rocky outskirts of the provincial capital.

"The farms were destroyed, our livestock perished, and we left our donkeys in the desert because we couldn't feed them any more," said Ishaqzai, who brought his family from Ghormach district in Badghis, one of the hardest-hit provinces in the country.

Conditions are miserable in the camps that have mushroomed across the unforgiving landscape in recent months as above-average temperatures and intense fighting forced more people to abandon their villages and livelihoods.

Dust whipped up by the relentless wind has become a second skin for camp dwellers. Children have little to play with except rocks -- when they are not filling their family's jugs with water delivered by trucks, begging or collecting rubbish in the city.

Men who used to proudly support their families now sit around with nothing to do, while their wives squat on the ground making bread -- the only food many of them can afford to eat.

"If I could have stayed there (in Badghis) I wouldn't have come here, even if you gave me all of Herat city," Ishaqzai said, a pristine white turban wrapped around his head.

A drought 15 years ago temporarily forced Ishaqzai and his family from their home, but this one is "the worst in my life", he said.

The rising number of displaced families has overwhelmed Afghan officials and foreign aid groups, which are struggling to meet demand for food, shelter and health services months after the crisis began.

- 'Everyone is starving here' -

As winter approaches, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan Toby Lanzer said more international funding was urgently needed.

"Over 5.5 million people are in need of emergency relief (due to drought and conflict)," Lanzer told reporters in New York last month.

"If we do not engage more on the short-term emergency relief requirements, the development gains that we have achieved over the past years... could be lost."

The drought affecting 2.2 million people across Afghanistan was triggered by a huge shortfall in snow and rain last winter.

Roughly 1.4 million people are in urgent need of food assistance -- the majority in the western region -- with only half reached so far, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

More than 70 percent of displaced families in the west do not have enough to eat and 33,200 acutely malnourished children under the age of five need "life-saving treatment", OCHA said in a September 20 report.

People at the camps told AFP they have been surviving on a diet of bread and tea for months because they do not have enough money to buy fruit, vegetables or meat.

"Everyone is starving here," Naw Khan Zamanzai, also from Ghormach district, told AFP as he sat in his tent surrounded by his six children.

"We didn't care about the war as it's been going on for years. We were happy, busy farming but because of the drought our children were starving."

Basic sanitation is also in short supply in the camps. While some people have access to latrines, hundreds more are needed. In the meantime, many defecate in the open.

"Leaving our homes is like leaving our parents," Abdul Razaq, 30, from Murghab district in Badghis told AFP.

After watching helplessly as his sheep began to perish, he sold the rest for a 10th of their original price and brought his wife and three children to the camp.

"We prefer to die here than go back to war and drought," he said.

Ishaqzai, whose health is failing, says he cannot afford the 10 afghanis (around 15 cents) needed to see a doctor.

He even fears he may not live long enough to see his home again.

"You can see that my life is almost over in this world."


Related Links
News From Across The Stans


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


THE STANS
Iraqi Kurds vote for new parliament
Arbil, Iraq (AFP) Sept 30, 2018
Iraqi Kurds voted on Sunday for a new parliament in their autonomous region, which is mired in an economic crisis a year after an independence referendum that infuriated Baghdad. Almost 3.1 million voters were eligible to cast ballots across three provinces in the northern region, where 673 candidates from 29 political movements contested seats in the 111-member parliament. Polling closed as scheduled at 1500 GMT and the results are expected within 72 hours. The vote passed off with only mi ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

THE STANS
How will climate change stress the power grid

Electricity crisis leaves Iraqis gasping for cool air

Energy-intensive Bitcoin transactions pose a growing environmental threat

Germany thwarts China by taking stake in 50Hertz power firm

THE STANS
New fuel cell concept brings biological design to better electricity generation

Efficient generation of high-density plasma enabled by high magnetic field

Flowing salt water over this super-hydrophobic surface can generate electricity

A new carbon material with Na storage capacity over 400mAh/g

THE STANS
Large-scale US wind power would cause warming that would take roughly a century to offset

UCSB mechanical engineer develops ways to improve windfarm productivity

Large-scale wind power needs more land, causes more climatic impact than previously thought

Wind turbines contribute to climate change: study

THE STANS
ASU researcher innovates solar energy technology in space

Chernobyl begins new life as solar power park

New Solar Bible Happily Includes CPUC Required Solar Information Disclosures in latest 265 Page Edition

HZB researchers are used to boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells

THE STANS
At Le Creusot, dimensional inspection of test pieces is going digital

New concept to cool boiling surface may help prevent nuclear power plant accidents

TVO joins FROG as EPR reactor operator

First fuel cladding tubes delivered for "Hualong-1" nuclear power plant

THE STANS
In pre-vote boost for farmers, Trump to ease ethanol fuel rules

A biofuel for automated heat generation

Climate researchers: More green space, less biofuel

How a molecular signal helps plant cells decide when to make oil

THE STANS
Russia minister considers joining OPEC unnecessary, unreasonable

Gas prices highest in four years for fall season

Crude oil prices tick up as Hurricane Michael targets the Florida panhandle

Total, Saudi Aramco sign accord to build petrochemical complex

THE STANS
UN warns paradigm shift needed to avert global climate chaos

Trump questions UN global warming report

Dutch court tells government to slash greenhouse gas

Avoiding climate chaos means 'unprecedented' change: UN report









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.