Donors pledge more aid for Afghanistan

Social justice news
October 2001

An Afghani timeline
Arab Americans become targets for domestic reprisals
Does the U.S. understand the Muslim world?
Donors pledge more aid for Afghanistan as refugee crisis worsens
Pax Christi USA calls for a "healthy tension" between faith and citizenship
Some responses and resources related to September 11 attacks

Donors pledge more aid for Afghanistan as refugee crisis worsens
The Bush administration has authorized $320 million in new relief aid to Afghan refugees, as part of an effort to quell resentment in Pakistan as thousands of refugees pour over the border each day. Administration officials are also actively considering a plan to air- drop food into Afghanistan to forestall starvation as winter approaches. Ironically, while the threat of U.S. military strikes is largely responsible for this latest Afghanistani refugee crisis, the U.S. remains the beleagured nation's largest supplier of food aid, according to White House officials.

The $320 million will help Afghans who are already suffering from hunger and drought and may be in for more suffering when winter settles into the remote, mountainous country. White House officials said the aid package includes $295 million in new assistance combined with $25 million in emergency aid that authorized September 29.

President Bush said the United States would work with the United Nations, the Red Cross and other charitable organizations to see that the money gets to the people who need it instead of being siphoned off by the Taliban authority in Afghanistan. The money will also help Afghans who have crossed into Pakistan, Iran and other neighboring countries in anticipation of war.

Other leading industrialized nations on September 27 pledged to step up their aid to Afghanistan, as international agencies warned the country was facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. At an emergency conference in Berlin called by the German government, senior officials from 15 donor nations as well as some international aid bodies agreed initial financial pledges and fleshed out new aid programs. The conference coincided with a new donor appeal from the UN for $584 million for Afghanistan.

In Berlin, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima said the pledges at the September 27 meeting "were likely to come close to" the $150 million he estimated was needed immediately. This money, which would form part of the overall UN appeal, "was needed for food supplies, tents, water, vehicles, more staff and logistics." The resources were likely to be needed in Pakistan, Iran and other regions near Taliban-controlled parts of Afghanistan.

"The people of Afghanistan have probably never needed our help so much as now," said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, whose country chaired the meeting and pledged it would provide a "substantial" part in additional financing. He outlined two priorities: immediate humanitarian aid and longer-term assistance to rebuild war-ravaged Afghanistan.

"We should also look further to the future," he told delegates. "Today's meeting also has a major political dimension: we must send out a signal of hope."

Germany said it had already stepped up assistance to the region and Fischer noted that his country would contribute an additional $14.8 million. This would come from a special $1.4 billion anti-terrorism program unveiled by the government last week. The EU has also pledged some $25 million out of special reserves.

The UN High Commission for Refugees this week made an urgent appeal for additional support as it estimated more than 1.5 million Afghans would flee the country to join about 3.5 million to four million refugees already seeking shelter in Iran and Pakistan. Oshima said the scale of the humanitarian crisis would depend on the nature of the military action the U.S. took against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

In related news, BBC Online reports emergency supplies have started arriving in Pakistan for an anticipated mass influx of Afghan refugees. The World Food Programme (WFP) has sent planes carrying 100,000 tons of high-energy biscuits to the city of Peshawar.

The UN has been trying to put sufficient emergency supplies in place since it became clear that a huge number of people could flee Afghanistan. The WFP and other UN agencies fear that up to 1.5 million Afghans could flee into Pakistan if the US carries out military strikes in Afghanistan.

More on the humanitarian crisis from Catholic Relief Services: People on the Brink
"These potential refugees represent the majority of Muslims, friends of the United States and innocent victims of a horrible situation created by bands of extremists." This is how Sean Callahan, Regional Director for Catholic Relief Services in Asia, described the hundreds of thousands of Afghanis that have been moving towards the Pakistan border since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.

Although the borders are officially closed, many refugees are finding a way into the country, some walking across the rough terrain of the mountains. Due to the massive numbers of people now lining the border, there is also speculation that Pakistan may eventually be forced to open its borders, unleashing a flood of refugees into the country.

The situation for the Afghani refugees, many of them women and children, is tenuous at best. The Afghanis are crossing into Pakistan without food, clean water, clothes or shelter and it is expected that humanitarian organizations will help meet these needs. Catholic Relief Services is currently assessing the needs and services to be provided to the increasing number of refugees.

Escaping war and drought in their home country, the people of Afghanistan have been moving into Pakistan for years. Pakistan is already home to more than one million Afghani refugees, over 100,000 of whom are being housed in the Jalozai and Shamshatoo refugee camps. CRS has committed $167,000 in aid to these refugees, and has been working with local partner, Pak-CDP, to build latrines, construct temporary shade shelters, and provide health education in the camps.

It is estimated that more than 1 million people are currently displaced in Afghanistan, but recent United Nations statements indicate that that number could easily double in the coming months. CRS' initial needs assessment of the impending crisis shows that almost every type of assistance will be needed in the rapidly expanding camps, specifically: food, shelter, potable water, sanitation services and health education, non-food necessities such as cooking utensils and water containers.

Winter is also fast approaching and there will be a need for blankets, quilts, warm clothes and shoes. Needs will undoubtedly grow as the situation unfolds. In addition to its work with the refugees, Catholic Relief Services has been aiding victims of this summer's flash floods in Pakistan. The areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were the hardest hit areas. Houses in the poorer sections of the two cities collapsed and many areas were buried by mud and debris. Hundreds were either killed or injured during the flooding and many of those who survived have lost almost everything. CRS responded to the devastation by:

* Distributing necessities packs containing wheat flour, lentils, cooking oil, salt and soap, as well as water purification tablets to over 17,500 people.
* Working with local partner, Pak-CDP to offer sanitation services and health education in areas where the entire sanitation infrastructure has been washed away. In addition, CRS is distributing water purification tablets and health pamphlets to some 35,000 people to help prevent the spread of disease.
* Providing shelter material to 200 families who lost their homes.
* Giving further support in the education sector. As school resumes, more than 1,600 schoolchildren from the poorest families who not only lost their housing but also all their textbooks and school uniforms in the floods, will be able to continue their education through CRS assistance.

You make an on-line donation. Donations can also be made by calling:
1-800-736-3467 or by sending checks to:
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Maryland 21203-7090.

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