Returnees need urgent assistance

Thousands of Afghans uprooted by the war against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan have begun to return home, although many returnees find life in their devastated villages very hard.

According to the United Nations, 90,000 people fled Panjwayi and Zhari districts in Kandahar province in September 2006 when NATO-led forces launched a military operation against Taliban fighters. Afghan authorities say in recent weeks about 28,000 people have returned to the two districts.

Said Mohammad, 53, and his 17-member family were forced to flee Lakanai village in Panjwayi district, 30 km west of Kandahar city, when heavy fighting erupted. “I have lost everything, including a garden [full] of grape [vines], which was the only source of income for supporting my family, during the fighting,” Mohammad told IRIN in Panjwayi.

“We have received very little food and have a few blankets from the government which is not enough for us. We need shelter and more food [to survive on] until our houses and farming land are rehabilitated.”

Mohammad returned home after he heard from other villagers that the fighting was over and the government had started several relief and development projects for local people.

Fazal Rahman, 35, who returned on Sunday to his village of Sperwan in Panjwayi district, said the returnees needed urgent help. “First we need shelter and food, because we have lost our home, crops and even our fields during the fighting,” he said.

Agha Mohammad Nazari, deputy director of Refugees and Repatriation Department of Kandahar, acknowledged the problem. “Undoubtedly, the most significant problem of returned people [to Panjwayi and Zhari districts] is currently the lack of shelter,” he said.

We are very afraid … the Taliban will again come to our village and there will be fighting again, so we hope the government will take strict measures to avoid the infiltration of Taliban in our areas.

Few aid agencies are working in the southern region due to insecurity and statistics are hard to come by, but many returning families are said to be in a similar situation.

Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul, said the UN was stepping up efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghan families displaced by the insurgency in Kandahar province.

"The UN agencies are currently pushing ahead to help local authorities deliver essential humanitarian assistance to the displaced families," Siddique said. The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided 2,000 metric tonnes of food; the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) have contributed 4,000 blankets, 2,000 plastic sheets, and 2,000 family kits containing kerosene lamps and other essential cooking utensils. "This distribution started 14 days ago and will continue over the next three to four weeks,” Siddique said.

Assadullah Khalid, governor of Kandahar, said the districts of Panjwayi and Zhari had been cleared of Taliban insurgents during recent military operations. "Now all displaced families living in Kandahar city can return to their homes and villages without any fear or threat,” he told IRIN.

But some returning residents in Panjwayi said they feared that fighting could resume.

“We are very afraid … the Taliban will again come to our village and there will be fighting again, so we hope the government will take strict measures to avoid the infiltration of Taliban in our areas,” Khalil Ahmad, 43, who returned to his home in Zangawat village in Panjwayi district on Monday, told IRIN.

About 16,800 people have returned to Sperwan and Tolokan villages and 8,400 people to Zangawat in Panjwayi, while about 3,600 people have gone back to Zhari district in recent weeks, according to Khalid.

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