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Kabul, 23 Feb (Xinhua) -- In the Bamiyan province of central Afghanistan, cold air pours along the Hindu Kush Mountains into the Bamiyan Valley, which averages 2,500 meters above sea level. For returning Afghan refugees suffering from war and poverty, the long and cold winter is particularly difficult.
During the 20 years of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, 174,000 Afghans were killed, more than half of Afghans faced extreme hunger, and nearly a third of Afghans became refugees. Abdul Azim, 50, is one of the war refugees. In 2005, to escape the fighting, Azim and his family fled from Bamiyan to Pakistan, where they spent four years begging on the streets.
In 2009, as the security situation in their hometown improved, the Azim family of 10 returned to Bamiyan, but years of displacement left the family without a regular source of income. Azim said that on his first return to Bamiyan, he had no job, no water or electricity at home, and every winter was the most tormenting day for his family.
This is a snowy scene taken on February 9 in Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Safrahman Safi)
"The winters here are very cold, and we face a lot of problems, not even the fuel to heat the fire." "In the past few winters, our family was only three or four people huddled in a blanket to keep warm," Azim said. ”
After the withdrawal of US troops, the United States continued to impose sanctions on Afghanistan, resulting in a shortage of foreign exchange in Afghanistan, rising prices, increased poverty among the people, and the inability to buy firewood and coal for the winter.
According to the Afghan Interim Government's Ministry of Refugees, more than one million refugees have returned home since August 2021. Yumiko Takashima, UNHCR's acting representative in Afghanistan, told the media this month that 98 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line deemed by the United Nations and more than half of the population needs emergency assistance.
Residents of Afghanistan's Bamiyan province live in caves on February 8. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Safrahman Safi)
In the bitter cold, warm currents from China crossed the Pamirs and came to Afghanistan. After the changes in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Chinese government announced that it would provide emergency humanitarian assistance worth 250 million yuan to Afghanistan, including food and wintering materials. At present, all the materials promised by China have been handed over to Afghanistan.
For the Achims, aid from China has made the winter less difficult. In winter, Azim received blankets and cotton clothes from China.
"When I came home with this aid, the children were happy because it made our life this winter different and they didn't have to go from the cold." Achim said.
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The Tahrai family has been wandering around Afghanistan for more than a decade, settling in a mud house next to the Bamiyan Buddha site until last year. After receiving assistance from China, she said, "living conditions are relatively better, and my daughter and I sleep with blankets at night."
Saifra Ayar, acting head of the refugee department in Bamiyan province, said that 8,000 returnees who had gone to other countries and 500 families who had been displaced in other provinces in Bamiyan alone were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, and "in the past year, we have distributed Chinese aid to 844 families who have returned home."
"Thank you China for your help!" Shakir Tahir, head of the Department of Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs in Bamiyan province, said. (Reporting by: Aria ; Editor: Sun Shuo; Editors: Zhang Dailei, Diao Ze)
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency's International Communication Integration Platform