Akhtar Jan, Afghanistan, June 26 (AFP\/APP): 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In tents pitched in a circle, about 35 families — more than 300 people including many children — are trying to survive.<\/p>\n
Living in such close proximity to non-relatives is anathema to Afghans — particularly in the conservative countryside where women rarely interact with strangers.<\/p>\n
Sanitary conditions are likely to deteriorate rapidly — there are no toilets, and people have to draw water from a well to wash.<\/p>\n
“Before the earthquake, life was nice and beautiful,” says villager Abdu Rahman Abid.<\/p>\n
“We had our houses and God was good.”<\/p>\n
He gives a gruesome count of those he lost in the rubble — his parents, his wife, three daughters, a son and a nephew.<\/p>\n
“The earthquake killed eight members of my family and my house is destroyed,” he says, looking weary.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Neighbour Malin Jan is already looking ahead, fearful of what the future holds.<\/p>\n
The harsh winter, which lasts almost five months in this remote mid-mountain region, will arrive in September.<\/p>\n
“If our children stay in this situation their lives will be in danger because of the rain and snow,” he says.<\/p>\n
Massoud Sakib, 37, who lost his wife and three daughters, also fears for the months ahead.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.
\nBut their tenacity only stretches so far.<\/p>\n
Interviewed by AFP, the Afghan minister of health, Qalandar Edad, warned of the “mental and psychological” suffering of victims.<\/p>\n
Malin Jan said the villagers were doing their best to help each other through the crisis.<\/p>\n
“When a family is hit by a tragedy, the others naturally come to surround and support them,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Everything is affected… we console each other.”<\/p>\n
But they cannot do it alone, adds villager Abdul Rahman Abib.<\/p>\n
“We ask the world to help us as long as we need it. It must share our pain.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Akhtar Jan, Afghanistan, June 26 (AFP\/APP): 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 […]<\/p>\n
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