Afghan Survivor: If Another Earthquake Doesn’t Kill Us, Poverty Could Be | earthquake news

GHAYAN, Afghanistan – When a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last week, the captain lost his home and nearly his entire family. His parents and four siblings are now buried on a hilltop overlooking the remote Gayan district of hard-hit Paktika province. The 11-year-old now has only one sister, a swindler, who is four years old.

The little girl, glued to his side, quietly listens as her brother remembers the June 22 disaster.

She was buried under the rubble with a spotter. We were screaming. My uncle came and helped us out of the destroyed house. It was dark, but I saw that no one in my family was screaming. They are all dead.”

In the morning, the captain watched the relatives wash the dead bodies before burial. It happened in a blur, his eyes filling the memories with tears. Confessing that his sister was confused, he once asked her when her parents would wake up, and the next moment he announced they were dead.

A total of 35 people died in the extended family of children; 45, some seriously injured.

The Captain’s story is very common. More than 1,000 people were killed and 2,000 injured in what has been recorded as the worst earthquake in Afghanistan in 20 years. According to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, 35 entire villages have been destroyed or damaged. In Gayan alone, at least 250 people died.

Families affected by the disaster now say they are struggling to see a future in the already impoverished region that has long been cut off from the rest of the country, with no electricity and only a weak phone signal.

Since the earthquake, aid agencies, Taliban and Afghan officials from across the country have flocked to help. Dozens of helicopters brought in aid and evacuated the wounded, while trucks loaded with food, blankets and tents plowed all the way from the capital, Kabul, about a nine-hour drive away.

“This area witnessed heavy fighting during the war, so only a few people came to it,” said the captain’s uncle and closest relative, Rahmatullah Rahmani. He was referring to the fighting between the US invasion in 2001 and its withdrawal in 2021, in which government forces, backed by the US and other Western forces, fought the Taliban.

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took control of the country.

The Taliban destroyed a lot, and so did the Americans. “It was dangerous and that’s why we don’t have good roads, schools or clinics here,” added the 42-year-old, who lost his wife and two daughters last week.

“We used to manage before, but I don’t think we can after the earthquake. In the past few days, people have arrived to bring food and tents, but how long will they stay? Soon we will be left alone and don’t know how we are going to rebuild our homes.”

Qalandar Abbad, the Taliban’s public health minister, acknowledged the challenge. “The situation is critical. People have lost their homes, but they are also affected psychologically. Many children have seen their family members die, and this is painful.”

He added that the Taliban would support reconstruction efforts and psychological care for the victims, but he also hoped it would help the Afghan people.

“I don’t think any other country has more humanitarian workers than Afghanistan,” he claimed, squatting in a tent in Géante, where he met other senior officials, representatives of aid agencies and Afghan volunteers.

Since the Taliban’s seizure of power, Afghanistan has descended deeper into a pre-existing humanitarian crisis, which has seen the deteriorating economy, high levels of poverty, and widespread unemployment.

In Jayan, a rocky, mountainous region unsuitable for agriculture, men traditionally sought employment in other Afghan cities, sending cash home whenever possible. Now they say they will stay home, and work to rebuild their lives.

Immediately after the earthquake, the United Nations estimated that $15 million would be needed to meet the people’s immediate needs. The international organization has now appealed for $110 million to cover the earthquake response as billions of dollars in Afghan funds remain frozen in US accounts and international sanctions hamper efforts to help those most affected.

Rahmani confirmed that the Taliban had promised him 100,000 Afghanis ($1,300) for each death in the family, saying that while he did not know when he would receive the money, he was grateful and hoped to put it into rebuilding his home. He would choose a stronger house than the adobe building he had previously lived in.

I do not know where the money will come from, because such a house is more expensive. It’s the only option though I want to keep my family safe,” he said, explaining that he would also raise an orphan captain and his sister as a swindler.

Malawi’s Jayan district governor Rahmatullah Darwish – who was formerly the Taliban commander of more than 100 soldiers – said he would also help.

“Immediately after the earthquake, I organized 40 of my office staff to help clear the rubble, exhume people, and call ambulances. We will help rebuild these homes too — with our own hands,” he said.

Some locals remain skeptical and claim that the Taliban has already prioritized providing aid to its supporters in the area rather than sending it to those most affected – and that people from remote areas not affected by the earthquake have fraudulently applied for food aid.

Rahmani said most people in his village were trying to move on, even though they had given up hope.

Standing amid the ruins of his house. A walled compound next to where the captain once lived with his parents.

“If no other earthquake kills us, it could be poverty. I don’t know what the future holds, but I have to work hard to rebuild our lives – for my family.”

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