Village life left in ruins after deadly Afghan quake

Village life has always been tough for Afghans in the rugged mountains of the east, but compared to what they are enduring today it was paradise.

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake rumbled through the area last Wednesday, killing more than 1,000 people, injuring three times that many, and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

"If life before was not really good -- because for years there was war -- the earthquake has made it even harder for us," says Malin Jan, who lost two daughters in the quake.

All 14 houses in his village of Akhtar Jan were flattened, and survivors -- including some from outlying hamlets -- are now living in tents among the ruins.

Two small makeshift camps have been set up in dusty gardens, with stunted grass grazed by three cows, a donkey, two goats and a flock of chickens.

In tents pitched in a circle, about 35 families -- more than 300 people including many children -- are trying to survive.

Living in such close proximity to non-relatives is anathema to Afghans -- particularly in the conservative countryside where women rarely interact with strangers.

Sanitary conditions are likely to deteriorate rapidly -- there are no toilets, and people have to draw water from a well to wash.

"Before the earthquake, life was nice and beautiful," says villager Abdu Rahman Abid.

"We had our houses and God was good."

He gives a gruesome count of those he lost in the rubble -- his parents, his wife, three daughters, a son and a nephew.

"The earthquake killed eight members of my family and my house is destroyed," he says, looking weary.

"There is a big difference now. Before we had our own houses and everything we needed. Now we have nothing and our families are living in tents."

Neighbour Malin Jan is already looking ahead, fearful of what the future holds.

The harsh winter, which lasts almost five months in this remote mid-mountain region, will arrive in September.

"If our children stay in this situation their lives will be in danger because of the rain and snow," he says.

Massoud Sakib, 37, who lost his wife and three daughters, also fears for the months ahead.

"Even living in a house is difficult during winter, so if our houses are not rebuilt by then our lives will be in danger," he says.

On Saturday, the UN's top official in the country, Ramiz Alakbarov, arrived from Kabul by helicopter to visit the region -- including the village of Akhtar Jan -- with representatives of each UN agency.

Alakbarov was moved to tears as he met a young girl and was offered tea by a survivor, praising the "resilience and courage" of the people.

But their tenacity only stretches so far.

Interviewed by AFP, the Afghan minister of health, Qalandar Edad, warned of the "mental and psychological" suffering of victims.

Malin Jan said the villagers were doing their best to help each other through the crisis.

"When a family is hit by a tragedy, the others naturally come to surround and support them," he said.

"Everything is affected... we console each other."

But they cannot do it alone, adds villager Abdul Rahman Abib.

"We ask the world to help us as long as we need it. It must share our pain."

Quake-hit Afghan village struggles back to life as aid trickles in
Wuchkai, Afghanistan (AFP) June 25, 2022 - A ruined village in eastern Afghanistan, just 10 kilometres (six miles) from the epicentre of this week's deadly earthquake, is struggling back to life as aid trickles into the isolated region.

Wuchkai, three hours away from the nearest town of any substance, can only be reached by a narrow, rutted dirt road -- with space for just one vehicle in places.

Isolated, without electricity and water, the village sprawls over a large basin surrounded by imposing hills and bisected by an almost-dry river.

Many of the village dwellings, workshops and stores were destroyed by Wednesday's 5.9-magnitude earthquake, whose epicentre was recorded on the other side of the hills that flank it.

More than 1,000 people were killed in the quake -- the country's deadliest in over two decades -- with Wuchkai alone accounting for at least three dozen.

Now the survivors are trying to find shelter in the ruins of their homes, desperately dependent on the aid convoys that have started to arrive.

"I ask and expect the world and the government to provide us with the basic things we need to live," says Raqim Jan, 23.

- Almost every family lost someone -

Jan lost 11 members of his extended family when their single-storey dwelling caved in on them as they slept early Wednesday.

Almost every family lost at least one member -- and most lost many more -- so they are coming together to share resources.

Jan now lives with four other families -- including 15 women and about 20 children -- in three large tents set up near their ruined homes.

Help has arrived, but he worries for how long it will last.

"The tents, food and flour that we have received for a few days are not enough," Jan says, as a communal fire for cooking sends smoke spiralling above the makeshift campsite.

Nearby, children are playing -- seemingly oblivious to their plight -- while babies wail for attention.

A cow tied to a pole ruminates as chickens strut around the dusty compound, pecking at nothing in the dust.

The village men make occasional forays into the ruins of their houses, looking to salvage whatever valuables can be found in the debris.

But they tread gingerly, as any walls still standing are cracked -- threatening to collapse at any moment -- and aftershocks are still being felt.

A violent tremor killed five people in the same district early Thursday.

- Aid vehicles arriving -

In the centre of Wuchkai, a steady stream of aid vehicles arrive, kicking up clouds of dust from roads that are finally drying after days of torrential rain.

While the big operators appear organised -- such as the World Food Program and Doctors Without Borders -- smaller Afghan-led distribution is more chaotic.

Tempers flared as dozens of villagers scrambled over the back of a truck Thursday, trying to grab bags of beans that had been donated by a businessman from Kabul.

A platoon of armed Taliban grabbed one particularly exuberant young man and roughed him away in their vehicle.

Not far away, bent double under the weight of the bundle, Kawsar Uddin, 20, and his uncle carry a tent that will become the family's temporary home.

Faced with the influx of aid that is now arriving, Uddin is sceptical of the motivation and accuses aid organisations of staging "photo ops".

"They have distributed food and tents... but some are doing business on the blood of Afghans," he says.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
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Rescuers scramble to reach Afghan quake survivors as foreign aid arrives
Sharan, Afghanistan (AFP) June 23, 2022
Desperate rescuers battled against the clock and heavy rain Thursday to reach cut-off areas in eastern Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake killed at least 1,000 people and left thousands more homeless. Wednesday's 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east, downing mobile phone towers and power lines while triggering rock and mudslides which blocked mountain roads. "Getting information from the ground is very difficult because of bad networks," Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of infor ... read more