‘A human cannot live there any more’: Afghan quake survivors plead for help

Khas Kunar, Afghanistan – When the crushed shook beneath Andarlachak colony successful the Diwa Gul Valley connected August 31, the already precarious lives of its residents collapsed on with the walls of their homes.

“Our houses present person immense cracks oregon collapsed walls. We can’t enactment successful our homes. The beams person cracked,” said Abdul Wahid, a 33-year-old English teacher. “All our homes are uninhabitable. We each moved to antithetic camps astir the valley.”

Thousands of others crossed eastbound Afghanistan present look an uncertain aboriginal arsenic they unrecorded in  makeshift tents pitched successful the valley.

The magnitude 6 quake destroyed much than 5,000 homes and killed astatine slightest 2,200 people, according to officials. The United Nations estimated that fractional a cardinal radical person been affected.

For some, the earthquake turned already challenging lives into hopeless journeys. From Aireth, a upland colony successful Nurgal, Mohamed Khader walked for much than six hours with his household and neighbours to scope safety.

“Our colony is precise remote, precocious up successful the mountains, and the earthquake was precise powerful. There is nary spot to structure there. There was nary extortion near connected immoderate home. A quality cannot unrecorded determination immoderate more,” helium said. “But if the authorities volition assistance america rebuild, we volition decidedly spell backmost to our village.”

Authorities said exigency efforts are nether way. Trucks near down by United States soldiers successful their hurried 2021 withdrawal from the state are present being utilized to ferry supplies from a erstwhile US basal successful Khas Kunar converted into a authorities coordination centre.

Najibullah Haqqani, Kunar’s provincial manager for the Ministry of Information and Culture, said the authorities is pursuing a three-step plan: evacuating those astatine risk; providing food, structure and aesculapian attraction successful camps; and yet helping families rebuild oregon find imperishable housing.

But villagers said tents volition not support them from the long, harsh winter.

Azim Khan, a 37-year-old husbandman from Gagezu colony successful the Diwa Gul Valley, said each location successful his assemblage was damaged.

“We inactive person aftershocks, and the houses are successful information of collapsing,” helium said. “We cannot rebuild connected our own. We are each mediocre farmers. We inquire our authorities and the planetary assemblage to assistance america rebuild oregon assistance america with much imperishable shelter. Inside a house, we tin airy a occurrence to support lukewarm successful winter. How volition we support lukewarm successful a tent?”

Kunar Governor Mawlawi Qudratullah said currency donations are being directed towards reconstruction with promises of much enactment from NGOs and backstage donors.

“For the 3rd signifier of reconstruction, we necessitate the enactment of the planetary assemblage and NGOs. We person discussed with them already. Some NGOs person started immoderate surveys, and aft they volition bash their feasibility studies. They person made commitments to assistance with healthcare, reconstruction, education, h2o proviso and different services needed,” helium said.

For now, though, the uncertainty of the aboriginal weighs heavy connected the survivors.