CRS continues work in Afghanistan

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December 2001

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CRS continues work in Afghanistan
Winter is fast approaching and Afghans are still on the move between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although tens of thousands of refugees are still in camps in Pakistan and many continue to make their way into the country every day, movement back into Afghanistan has increased over the last few weeks.

At one border crossing, the rate of return to Afghanistan is 2,500 a day, more than twice the number coming into Pakistan, according to field workers for Catholic Relief Services. The refugee movement focuses even more attention on the needs of the nomadic population within Afghanistan. As temperatures continue to drop, it becomes ever more important that supplies reach needy populations as soon as possible, say CRS workers.

CRS's distribution of emergency aid inside Afghanistan has begun in Wardak and Logar provinces, south of Kabul. The safe delivery of the relief supplies, consisting of nearly 20,000 blankets, marks the onset of CRS' targeted assistance to hundreds of thousands of Afghans inside Afghanistan with material items and food.

"Right now food and winterization materials such as blankets are critical as severe weather approaches," said Paul Butler, CRS Emergency Coordinator for the Afghan Relief program.

Butler added that the supplies were delivered after long and complicated negotiations and that CRS was prepared to face additional potential complications as its distribution network extends deeper into Afghanistan. Continued fighting and instability inside Afghanistan, he noted, in addition to the prevalence of landmines in the country, has increased security concerns.

CRS is currently implementing its Afghan relief program out of its offices in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta, Pakistan, where the agency has worked since 1954, including ongoing work in Afghan refugee camps. CRS has been assisting the people of Afghanistan for the past 10 years. In 1997, the agency joined the newly formed Caritas Organizations for Aid to Afghanistan. This cooperative effort on the part of CRS, Caritas Germany, Caritas France and Caritas Denmark focuses on humanitarian assistance, health, education and infrastructure rehabilitation.

"This immediate delivery inside Afghanistan is certainly where our focus lies right now, but we understand the needs of Afghans will stretch long past this winter. For instance, the education, health and agriculture sectors have all crumbled in recent years, and these areas will need to be revitalized," Butler said.

Catholic Relief Services seeks to raise $50 million to feed and house Afghan refugees in Pakistan through the upcoming winter, to help the Afghan people in the post-war recovery in Afghanistan and to support countries throughout the world affected by the current instability.

Fore more information:
Catholic Relief Services

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