We are surviving on green tea, says Afghan woman displaced by fighting in the country

Record ID: 1633824

  • Title: We are surviving on green tea, says Afghan woman displaced by fighting in the country
  • Date: 26th August 2021
  • Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 26, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DISPLACED AFGHAN FAMILIES SITTING IN THE OPEN DISPLACED CHILDREN MAN CARRYING MATS ON HIS SHOULDER INFANTS AND CHILDREN SITTING ON MAT WITH MOTHER (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) DISPLACED PERSON FROM NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, AHMED WASEEM, SAYING: "You can see the situation of the people, the condition that they are in, we are in an open field and in the heat. Therefore we hope that the central government will pay attention to this." DISPLACED WOMEN MAN WITH CHILD IN HIS LAP WOMEN AND CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) DISPLACED HOUSEWIFE, ZAHIDA BIBI, SAYING: "I'm in a bad situation. I do not understand the words and my head hurts. I feel very bad, there is nothing in my stomach and I had only drank a glass of tea and that's it." CHILDREN PLAYING WITH CARTON OF JUICE FAMILIES (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) DISPLACED MAN, PHALWAN SAMEER, SAYING: "The situation was very bad and there were a lot of fighting and bombing as well. That's why we came here. The houses were burned and we became homeless." MORE OF DISPLACED PEOPLE SITTING IN THE OPEN
  • Embargoed: 9th September 2021 08:33
  • Keywords: Afghanistan Kabul children displaced families floor mats housing provinces tents
  • Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ERX0E2V
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Scores of families, displaced by recent fighting in Afghanistan, were squatting in the open in Kabul on Thursday (August 26) and in desperate need of help as a humanitarian crisis unfurls in the country.
    "I'm in a bad situation," said Zahida Bibi, a housewife sitting under the blazing sun with her large family. "My head hurts. I feel very bad, there is nothing in my stomach and I had only drank a glass of tea and that's it," she added.
    The Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday (August 15) after rapidly taking over much of the country, prompting chaotic scenes at the airport as crowds scrambled to escape.
    It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars melted away.
    "The situation was very bad and there were a lot of fighting and bombing as well. That's why we came here. The houses were burned and we became homeless," said Phalwan Sameer from Northern Afghanistan.
    The U.N. says more than 18 million people - over half Afghanistan's population - require aid and half of all Afghan children under the age of five already suffer from acute malnutrition amid the second drought in four years.
    The World Health Organization says it has only enough supplies in Afghanistan to last a week after deliveries were blocked by restrictions at Kabul airport and it is concerned the upheaval will push up coronavirus infections.
    The Taliban have assured the U.N. it can pursue humanitarian work, but the world body will insist on women's rights and access to all civilians.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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