In the early hours of last Wednesday, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the
Afghan provinces of Paktika, Paktia, and Khost, and the Pakistani province of
Qabailistan. The earthquake, along with many other earthquakes around that part
of the world, was caused by the India plate slowly pushing into the Eurasia plate.
Many people affected by the earthquake were unsure of their future. “I am
too sad for us all. We either have to wait for aid to rebuild our house, or we’ll be
displaced and have to leave everything that’s destroyed here. I think we’ll leave to
continue our life. But then we have to start again from zero,” said Ali Mohammad,
a 40-year-old who lost three cousins.
Some others had given up on the future and were experiencing suicidal
thoughts. “I lost everything, my whole world, my whole family, I don’t have any
hope for the future. I wish I had lost everything, that we had all died, because there’s
no one to take care of us, to find money or food for us now.” said Hawa, a 30-yearold mother who had lost three sons, one daughter, and 17 other relatives.
Even those who were physically unaffected were ensnared by the terror of the
event. “My wife and children were scared and screaming, but we made our way to
the corner of the house and still did not know what had happened. Thankfully, we
were not harmed.” said Mr. Qanuni, a 35-year-old father of five.
The earthquake also acted as a reminder towards the uncertainty of the war
in Afghanistan. “Now there is nothing — our houses are destroyed, we have nothing
to eat, nothing to drink, nothing. We were happy that war was over. We were not
expecting destruction like this could happen,.” said Abdul Hanan, a 70-year-old who
lost 17 relatives.
A desperate cry for help has been echoed across the affected regions. “Relief
agencies’ assistance included health assistance, food, tents, and blankets, but the
crisis is widespread in the area and is not enough. We call on the aid agencies to
provide more food, health, and humanitarian assistance,” said Sanaullah Masoum,
a spokesman for the provincial governor in Paktika Province, where the worst
damage appeared to be.
Political issues have unfortunately delayed aid from Western nations. The U.S.
has “been looking very hard at ways to do that that are not a direct benefit to the
Taliban, but that can bring benefits to the people,” said Secretary of State Antony
J. Blinken said in public remarks on June 1.
Countries with similar ideologies as Afghanistan have already sent aid to
Afghanistan. The Taliban government has announced that supplies from Iran and
Qatar have arrived by air and supplies from Pakistan have arrived by land. According
to Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government, 8 truckloads of
supplies have already arrived at affected areas, and more had arrived at Kabul, the
capitol of Afghanistan.
Due to the remoteness of the region, not many hospitals and clinics were
available to treat wounds. So, the Afghan Defense Ministry sent seven helicopters
and a medical team to act as a squadron of flying ambulances, ferrying injured
civilians to hospitals.
But differing ideologies haven’t stopped some countries from donating.
South Korea and the humanitarian aid department of the European Commission,
the European Union’s executive arm, have already donated around 2 million USD.
The UN has also stepped in to help. According to António Guterres, the
secretary general of the United Nations, aid teams have already been deployed to
affected regions to assess what help is needed, as well as provide initial help to the
people. Along with the UN, other international aid organizations have provided
health and nutrition teams, medicines, blankets, tents, kitchen utensils, tarpaulins,
mattresses, and pillows. Even the World Health Organization has provided aid through sending 10 tons of medical supplies.
But Afghanistan is still far from having enough aid to recover. According to an announcement made by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 15 million USD would be needed to properly respond to the
earthquake for the next three months.
Links to Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/23/world/afghanistan-earthquake
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000hj3u/executive
Afghan provinces of Paktika, Paktia, and Khost, and the Pakistani province of
Qabailistan. The earthquake, along with many other earthquakes around that part
of the world, was caused by the India plate slowly pushing into the Eurasia plate.
Many people affected by the earthquake were unsure of their future. “I am
too sad for us all. We either have to wait for aid to rebuild our house, or we’ll be
displaced and have to leave everything that’s destroyed here. I think we’ll leave to
continue our life. But then we have to start again from zero,” said Ali Mohammad,
a 40-year-old who lost three cousins.
Some others had given up on the future and were experiencing suicidal
thoughts. “I lost everything, my whole world, my whole family, I don’t have any
hope for the future. I wish I had lost everything, that we had all died, because there’s
no one to take care of us, to find money or food for us now.” said Hawa, a 30-yearold mother who had lost three sons, one daughter, and 17 other relatives.
Even those who were physically unaffected were ensnared by the terror of the
event. “My wife and children were scared and screaming, but we made our way to
the corner of the house and still did not know what had happened. Thankfully, we
were not harmed.” said Mr. Qanuni, a 35-year-old father of five.
The earthquake also acted as a reminder towards the uncertainty of the war
in Afghanistan. “Now there is nothing — our houses are destroyed, we have nothing
to eat, nothing to drink, nothing. We were happy that war was over. We were not
expecting destruction like this could happen,.” said Abdul Hanan, a 70-year-old who
lost 17 relatives.
A desperate cry for help has been echoed across the affected regions. “Relief
agencies’ assistance included health assistance, food, tents, and blankets, but the
crisis is widespread in the area and is not enough. We call on the aid agencies to
provide more food, health, and humanitarian assistance,” said Sanaullah Masoum,
a spokesman for the provincial governor in Paktika Province, where the worst
damage appeared to be.
Political issues have unfortunately delayed aid from Western nations. The U.S.
has “been looking very hard at ways to do that that are not a direct benefit to the
Taliban, but that can bring benefits to the people,” said Secretary of State Antony
J. Blinken said in public remarks on June 1.
Countries with similar ideologies as Afghanistan have already sent aid to
Afghanistan. The Taliban government has announced that supplies from Iran and
Qatar have arrived by air and supplies from Pakistan have arrived by land. According
to Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government, 8 truckloads of
supplies have already arrived at affected areas, and more had arrived at Kabul, the
capitol of Afghanistan.
Due to the remoteness of the region, not many hospitals and clinics were
available to treat wounds. So, the Afghan Defense Ministry sent seven helicopters
and a medical team to act as a squadron of flying ambulances, ferrying injured
civilians to hospitals.
But differing ideologies haven’t stopped some countries from donating.
South Korea and the humanitarian aid department of the European Commission,
the European Union’s executive arm, have already donated around 2 million USD.
The UN has also stepped in to help. According to António Guterres, the
secretary general of the United Nations, aid teams have already been deployed to
affected regions to assess what help is needed, as well as provide initial help to the
people. Along with the UN, other international aid organizations have provided
health and nutrition teams, medicines, blankets, tents, kitchen utensils, tarpaulins,
mattresses, and pillows. Even the World Health Organization has provided aid through sending 10 tons of medical supplies.
But Afghanistan is still far from having enough aid to recover. According to an announcement made by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 15 million USD would be needed to properly respond to the
earthquake for the next three months.
Links to Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/23/world/afghanistan-earthquake
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000hj3u/executive
