War-displaced families in Badakhshan without shelter

FAIZABAD (Pajhwok): More than a thousand families have been displaced this year due to insecurity and natural disasters in northeastern Badakhshan province, officials said on Sunday.

Haunted by a sense of insecurity, they are reluctant to return to their houses. Public representatives say the displaced households belong to Warduj, Juram, Yawan and Yaftal districts.

Ahmad Javid Mujaddedi, a provincial council member from Juram, confirmed to Pajhwok Afghan News residents had been displaced from Far Ghamanj, Kabe, Katib and Khastak villages to insecurity.

The families are currently living on the outskirts of the Baharak district centre in tents. He said the aid from government and foreign organisations had been insufficient and could not solve the problems of the families.

“I have urged governmental organs and charities several times to deliver enough assistance, but none of them has paid any attention to my requests,” Mujaddedi lamented.

Some of the displaced people said they could not go back to their homes due to threats from the Taliban. “If we return, the militants would kill us on the flimsy pretext of supporting the government,” said Abdul Wakil from Khastak village.

He added the presence of Afghan and foreign militants in the district prevented them from returning to their homes. In Juram and Warduj, dozens of rebels and security forces have been killed or wounded.

Provincial police chief Gen. Baba Jan claimed more than a hundred foreign militants including Uzbeks, Tajiks and Chechens had sneaked into the province, where they trained Afghan militants in making bombs and using weapons.

Some three months back, 29 foreigners, including women and children, were detained by police soon after they entered Badakhshan. Afghan air force recently killed three foreign nationals including two Tajiks and a Chechen in Juram.

Security officials have said clearing operation were underway to eliminate rebels and pave the ground for the displaced families’ return.

An official of the refugee department, Wajihullah, said 420 families had been driven from Argo, 242 from Juram, 51 from Yaftal, 106 from Warduj and 60 families from other parts due to insecurity. Another 71 families have been displaced by natural disasters.

He acknowledged the affected families had been faced with a variety of problems, including homelessness and lack of food.

But Abdullah Faez, head of the Afghanistan (ARCS) for Badakhshan, said that they had recently distributed food items and winter clothing to 140 displaced families.

 He added the food aid included rice, cooking oil, sugar and beans. The warm clothes included blankets, shawls and carpets worth 2 million afghanis. The families had been displaced from Jurm and Warduj to Ishkashim and Baharak.

Meanwhile, legal director to the refugee department said around 900 families had been displaced across province this year. Food items, clothes and cash were distributed to the households by UNHCR.

He said each family received 147 kilograms of floor, three cans of cooking oil, 17 20 boxes of cookies, six blankets, water, soap and 3,450 afghanis in cash.

Some of the displaced people said they had lost their homes to war and militancy and did not have a proper place to live in.

Mohammad Kabir, a representative of 45 families from the Ghachan village of Warduj district, said: “We need shelter on an emergency basis. Many of the displaced households are living with relatives.”

He acknowledged that government provided land plots to some of the affected people and NGOs had built homes for them. But shelter-related problems are yet to be resolved.

Jahidullah verified that 70 war-hit families had been provided homes, having two rooms and a bathroom and a living room. The cost of each house is $1,400.

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