Stranded Afghans’ fate lies with international community

The movement into Tajikistan of 10,000 displaced Afghans marooned on the islands of the Pyandj River on the Tajik-Afghan border will only be possible if the international community can assure their health and food supplies, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Tajikistan, Matthew Kahane, told IRIN on Thursday. Kahane’s comments come after the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday made a formal request to the Tajik government to temporarily admit and protect the displaced population amid fears of deteriorating health and security conditions. The displaced, mainly women and children of Tajik and Uzbek origin, have been camped in clusters on the river bank for up to two months. They have been subjected to frequent shelling from the Afghan Taliban forces positioned across from a closed Tajik border which is patrolled by Russian border guards. Kahane told IRIN that Tajikistan was itself in the grips of the worst drought in 70 years and, with the onset of winter, did not have the resources to cope with a refugee influx. “There is no spare coping capacity in the Tajik communities, the government or the Russian border guards to provide food or much-needed medical treatment for 10,000 people,” he said. Tajikistan is the poorest former Soviet republic, with 85 percent of its 6.1 million population living below the poverty line. Financial needs as a result of the drought tripled in September and, by October, the donor community had only contributed half of the $111.4 million requested. Kahane said UNHCR’s appeal to the Tajik government was under review. Meanwhile, the Tajik authorities are faced with many concerns, one of which is the illegal transit of drugs with the displaced Afghan population into Tajikistan. So far this year, 4,000 mt of narcotics including 1500 kg of heroin have been seized on the Tajik-Afghan border, which is “substantial” according to Kahane. “This has been a prime route for the smuggling of illegal narcotics,” said Kahane. “In this past year, the Tajik authorities and Russian border forces have considerably stepped up their efforts to stem the flow of drugs grown in Afghanistan with substantial success. Therefore, any opening of this border would have to ensure the same level of control.” The issue is further complicated by the presence among the displaced of armed ex-fighters of the opposition United Front (also known as the Northern Alliance), which was driven by the Taliban from the northeastern Afghan city of Taloqan, capital of Takhar province, in September. If they were seeking asylum in Tajikistan, they would have to surrender their arms, Kahane said. The Tajik government also has to consider the potential movement of other displaced populations inside Afghanistan, Kahane told IRIN. “Eight weeks ago the IDPs [internally displaced people] inside Afghanistan wanted to stay where they were, near their homes and their families. The issue now is whether they are of the same mind given that winter is upon them. Their need for shelter has grown.” UNHCR reported that the Afghans stuck in “no-man’s-land” on the islands were drinking water from the river and some were suffering from diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid and malaria. Relief agencies had begun to distribute aid including blankets, clothing, plastic sheeting and some food supplies. However, sporadic shelling and the general insecurity along the border area were making deliveries of regular assistance extremely difficult, UNHCR officials said. Food stocks carried by the Afghans when they fled their homes had reportedly been exhausted. Mustapha Djemali, the Geneva-based UNHCR director in charge of Tajikistan, said: “These Afghans, especially the women and children, have to be brought to safety so that they can be protected from sporadic shelling, the fast approaching winter and the danger of flooding.” UNHCR said it was dispatching staff from its Geneva headquarters to better monitor conditions in the border region but said there would be no adequate solution for the thousands of Afghans unless they could reach safety in Tajikistan. Kahane stressed that despite the efforts of non-governmental organisations in mobilising what little resources they had, the humanitarian situation was now urgent and should be resolved as rapidly as possible. Public awareness of the issue, particularly within southern Tajikistan where any displaced people accepted into the country would most likely be located, was extremely important, he said.