Afghan Refugee Girl

Photo: Afghan refugee girl waiting for clothing and school supplies

This is a photo of an Afghan refugee girl taken on 10 April 2012 in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. She was one of the 400 refugee children who were waiting to receive clothing and school supplies being made available by international donors in association with Aschiana School in Kabul, run by one of the country’s well respected NGO.

According to the United Nations, about 35,000 internally displaced persons live in camps in Kabul as of 2015, with only tents and mud huts as their homes. Winters are very harsh, given the living conditions and standard of living in the country, though geographically being mountainous, Kabul winter is described as mild. But last year, January witnessed the harshest winter in two decades with night temperatures plummeting below 20 degrees.

Kabul occasionally is hit by heavy snowstorms that worsen the plight of the camp-dwellers, with the porous walls and roof letting in cold winds and moisture and the un-cemented mud floors getting wet.

The children are the worst sufferers, who already suffer because of lack of proper schools, healthcare, food shortages and all kinds of shortages that can be associated with depravity.

The death rate of children in these camps is the highest, much more than the figure for the country, which has one of the worst statistics in the world in this regard. With another January round the corner, it is time for the governments, NGOs and even the able among Afghan IDPs to plan and get prepared for facing the winter hardships.

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