- Title: Afghan family struggles in Pakistan border town
- Date: 4th September 2021
- Summary: CHAMAN, PAKISTAN (SEPTEMBER 4, 2021) (REUTERS) AFGHAN CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE TENT ERECTED AGAINST WALL OF BROKEN SHOP MALE FAMILY MEMBERS COMING OUT OF MAKESHIFT HOME CHILDREN OF EXTENDED FAMILY OUTSIDE MAKESHIFT HOME MAN SITTING INSIDE TENT WITH TWO CHILDREN FAMILY MEMBERS STANDING OUTSIDE TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MAN WHO HAS FLED FROM HELMAND WITH HIS LARGE FAMILY, JUMA KHAN, SAYING: "War was raging all around. We fled from the war along with our children, leaving behind our homes, our cattle, our belongings, and entered Pakistan. Here we are, with our children in tattered tents and ruins." CHILDREN WALKING BESIDE BAGS AND SACKS OF BELONGINGS (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MAN WHO HAS FLED FROM HELMAND WITH HIS LARGE FAMILY, JUMA KHAN, SAYING: "We went to Quetta, spent 5 nights there, but no one helped us. Except someone gave us some bedding, or someone gave us clothes, or mats. After five nights Quetta, we came here and are lying around. No one has helped us or offered any assistance." CHILDREN OF EXTENDED FAMILY PLAYING OUTSIDE MAKESHIFT HOME MAN SITTING WITH CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MAN WHO HAS FLED FROM HELMAND WITH HIS FAMILY, SAID REHMAN , SAYING: "Our difficulty is that we have nowhere to go. We have small children and sick people. We are asking all Muslims to help us in whatever way they can." PEOPLE AT ZERO POINT NEAR CHAMAN BORDER BURQA CLAD WOMEN GETTING INTO VANS PEOPLE AT BORDER
- Embargoed: 18th September 2021 11:53
- Keywords: Afghanistan Pakistan family pitching seeking refuge
- Location: CHAMAN, PAKISTAN
- City: CHAMAN, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001ETAY7GN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: An extended Afghan family that fled the fighting in Helmand is facing extreme hardships on the Pakistani side of the border.
Juma Khan, along with his brother, and their vast family of 38, including grandchildren, said they fled the fierce fighting in Helmand in the hope of finding safety and comfort in Pakistan.
"War was raging all around. We fled from the war along with our children, leaving behind our homes, our cattle, our belongings, and entered Pakistan. Here we are , with our children in tattered tents and ruins," Juma Khan told Reuters TV on Saturday (September 4), more than a week after they had crossed the border.
Now living in a half-demolished shop on the outskirts of Chaman, the family is reduced to abject poverty.
"We went to Quetta, spent 5 nights there, but no one helped us. Except someone gave us some bedding, or someone gave us clothes, or mats. After five nights Quetta, we came here and are lying around. No one has helped us or offered any assistance," Khan said.
Pakistani officials claim that their borders are closed to all except those with valid paperwork for medical reasons, work or to see family on either side.
But hundreds of Afghans, like the Khan family, have crossed in Pakistan through the Chaman-Spin Boldak border into the Pakistani border town of Chaman.
"Our difficulty is that we have nowhere to go. We have small children and sick people. We are asking all Muslims to help us in whatever way they can," said Rehman, another member of the family.
According to UNHCR, Pakistan hosts more than 1.4 million registered Afghans who have been forced to flee their homes.
In 2018, UNHCR's in Pakistan worked with the authorities to give refugees access to health and education services, strengthening social cohesion between refugees and their host communities and helping refugees who decide voluntarily to return home. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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