August 29, 2022
News
30 August marks the one-year anniversary of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, after which the Taliban shortly retook power in the country. This has exacerbated the already poor security situation in the country and significantly deepened the humanitarian crisis. Large numbers of Afghans have been left with no option but to flee the country. We are helping those who have fled Afghanistan to Turkey to provide the basic necessities so that they can stand on their own feet in their new country.
The humanitarian crisis is also affecting neighbouring countries
Refugees from Afghanistan have long been one of the largest refugee groups ever. Since the start of the war, some 5.9 million Afghans have lost their homes and fled across the border or to other places in the country. Since the departure of US troops, some 770 000 more people, most of them women and children, have had to leave their homes. The UN warns that up to 24 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian aid.
"The people of Afghanistan have long been subjected to violence, displacement and poverty. Due to the deteriorating security situation, in 2021 alone, there were over half a million internally displaced people in the country, 80 per cent of whom are women and children," explains Jiří Škvor, Head of Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation at Caritas Czech Republic. For this reason, in September 2021, Caritas Czech Republic announced a fundraising appeal to help Afghan refugees and made CZK 300,000 available from its own resources for this purpose.
The refugee crisis is mostly affecting neighbouring and nearby countries such as Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. It is in Turkey that Caritas Czech Republic is helping Afghan refugees thanks to Czech donors who have contributed to the Caritas for Afghanistan fundraising appeal.
Turkey currently hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, 3.8 million. The work of humanitarian organisations such as Caritas Czech Republic is therefore needed. We help Afghan refugees by providing the basic necessities of life, but also cover their rent.
In Turkey, we help with food and rent
We are supporting Afghan refugees in Turkey through our partner organisation IBC (International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation). At the moment we are already:
- Distributed 300 vouchers to buy food and general consumer goods,
- distributed 300 hygiene kits for vulnerable women,
- helped 38 families with 2 months' rent payments.
One of the people we supported is a 22-year-old refugee who left Afghanistan with her children aged 1 and 3 years old. “I was absolutely devastated when I could not even buy milk for my children, but thanks to your help we managed to overcome the obstacles and I feel stronger myself.”
The war in Afghanistan lasted 20 years
In response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the UN Security Council declared the Taliban regime in Afghanistan an international security threat. US troops, with UK support, launched Operation Enduring Freedom on 7 October to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy the Islamist Taliban regime. During the following years, the country was administered by a government supported by the US and other Western countries.
The planned withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has been taking place since May 2021 under an agreement signed by US President Donald Trump. In August of the same year, the Taliban regained full control of the capital Kabul and thus the entire territory. For many local residents, especially women, this meant the end of normal life and a social setback of decades.
