16 October 2001
Human Smugglers Newest Threat to Afghan Refugees
(Aid, supplies pushed on multiple fronts as cold weather
approaches)(800)
By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reports that Afghans with money are now turning to human
smugglers to get them into Iran or Pakistan, countries that have both
officially closed their borders with Afghanistan.
In an October 15 report, the U.N.'s lead agency for issues surrounding
refugees and displaced persons expressed concern about smugglers'
potential exploitation of Afghans as they attempt to escape the
turmoil in their Central Asian nation. After traveling to border
regions from distant places elsewhere in the country, UNHCR reported
that would-be refugees are forced to turn to smugglers for help in
exiting the country, paying them about $100 per family, "a huge sum in
Afghanistan and well beyond the reach of most families."
Offering a broader report of the humanitarian effort, UNHCR notes
progress in the construction of facilities to accommodate an expected
outflow of refugees who may flee bombing and further violence. Work is
progressing at four camps in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province,
and two new camps are expected to begin in a few days.
Progress in this work is notable because UNHCR last week reported
several days of delay caused by security concerns and other logistical
obstacles.
Delivery of food into a country where famine looms as a real
possibility is another priority for the many agencies mobilized to
prevent a humanitarian disaster in Central Asia. The U.S. government
reports that as of October 15, the Department of Defense had
airdropped almost 276,000 humanitarian daily rations into the country.
Transporting food supplies into the country on overland routes will
provide the greatest relief to those Afghans at risk. International
relief agencies estimate that 5 to 7 million Afghans could face
starvation this winter after three years of drought have destroyed
crops and diminished food supplies.
The World Food Program (WFP) is coordinating convoys of food to move
into Afghanistan from points in Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan. On October 15, WFP started moving 1,500 tons of supplies
from Peshawar, Pakistan to the provinces around Kabul. In the west
from Turkmenistan, plans are under way to transport 5,200 tons of
wheat to the western Afghan city of Herat.
Not all aid shipments move smoothly, however. The U.N. Office of
Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs reports October 16 that no food
convoys are moving from Quetta, Pakistan into southwestern Afghanistan
because the Taliban has demanded significant fees as the trucks have
attempted to cross the border. Upon the first report of this
irregularity October 12, WFP described these attempts to impede
delivery of the aid as isolated incidents. WFP vows it will not pay
any type of duty on humanitarian deliveries, so the future use of this
route remains uncertain.
The prospect of starvation and the onset of winter creates great
urgency in the aid deliveries. In the higher elevations of
Afghanistan's mountainous regions, winter snows can begin in November.
The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) is especially concerned about how
harsh weather can endanger the youngest victims.
National projections about the potential for fatalities caused by
harsh conditions are impossible to calculate because of the difficulty
of information gathering. But at one refugee camp alone last winter,
UNICEF did record the deaths of 100 children due to exposure.
"We're quite concerned about how little time remains before winter
arrives in full," said Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF.
"We've got basically one month left to purchase and deliver twice as
much relief as we've already sent in. Time is not on our side. We all
have to move as fast as possible."
On October 13 a five-truck UNICEF convoy with children's sweaters,
blankets and household family kits reached Kandahar. Three flights
arrived in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan between October
10-15, carrying more than 15,000 blankets, 60,000 units of therapeutic
food, safe water containers for 20,000 families, emergency health
supplies for two million people for three months, and school supplies
for 50,000 primary school students.
According to data compiled by the U.S. Agency for International
Development, relief flights operated by UNHCR, the United Kingdom's
Department for International Development and the Government of Japan
have transported more than 1,700 tents, 21,000 blankets and almost
20,000 plastic sheets into the region to further prepare the Afghan
people for winter.
The U.S. government has provided more than $15 million in aid to the
international effort for Afghanistan just since October 1. The U.S.
contributed about $180 million last year, and has pledged more than
$300 million for the current year.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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