Frigid winter a new danger for Afghans

Unusual cold snap adds to problems of struggling citizens

Sakhi left his wife and five young children at home one day this month and went to his job as a night-shift guard at a bank.

The 40-year-old from Jowzjan province in the north of Afghanistan had been working as a construction worker, but that job disappeared after the Taliban seized control of the country again.

Sakhi, who has just one name, took the outdoor guard job as his family’s only breadwinner. But this night was frigid, and Sakhi would not make it home from work.

“It was a cold night and he got ready and went to work, but the next day we received his frozen body,” said his wife, Hasina.

“Now I live with Sakhi’s father, who is 80, and our life situation is disastrous,” she said via WhatsApp, speaking in Persian. “We have no other option.”

Afghanistan is suffering one of its coldest winters, with temperatures plummeting to as low as -28 C in early January — far below the nationwide average of between 0 and 5 C for this time of the year.

Freezing weather has killed more than 120 Afghans in the past two weeks, according to the official statistics from the Taliban.

About 70,000 livestock also died in what is the coldest weather in a decade, the Taliban Ministry for Disaster Management said in a news release.

In its latest report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said the country faces an unparalleled humanitarian crisis, and the regime could risk collapse.

The organization said it has helped 5,657,000 people with clothes, heating facilities and shelter this winter. But it said Afghans need more.

The organization said 28.3 million people in Afghanistan need lifesaving aid in 2023 — a 350 per cent increase in just five years.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted in response to UNOCHA’s report that the system will not collapse. “A country that has experienced such a long war and frequent aggression may have economic problems,” he said, vowing an economic rebound.

But Mujahid did not say how the Taliban would help people facing widespread poverty.

According a December report of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, an estimated 70 per cent of the population is dealing with food insecurity due to the rule of the Taliban and the international aid cuts.

The World Food Programme said in a report in August that poverty and unemployment have taken a toll and nine out of 10 families lack access to enough food.

In addition to receiving food aid from a number of international organizations, Afghanistan also receives $40 million (U.S.) in cash every week in the name of international humanitarian aid, which has reached nearly $2 billion, but there is no transparency.

Some say that this money goes to the Taliban. The claim is rejected by both the Taliban and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Hasina says that except for a bag of flour and a can of oil from the WFP, her family has not received help from any organization, including the Taliban.

“With the rule of the Taliban, there is no hope left for life, and with the death of my husband, life has turned into hell.”

The Taliban, who took over on Aug. 15, 2021, have not been able to fight the growing poverty and unemployement.

The Taliban regime, which is not recognized internationally and is seen as illegitimate by many Afghans, has also faced a major decrease in international aid.

Prime Minister Mullah Hassan said: “We did not promise food to the people, God will deliver the food. The nation should not be ungrateful.”

Farshid Hakimyar, an expert in economic affairs and banking, said that the Taliban may have been strong on the battlefield, but are poor at governing.

“The Taliban’s weakness in internal affairs, especially banning girls from going to school and excluding women from economic affairs, is the biggest persecution of the rights of women and the economy of Afghanistan,” Hakimyar said from Virginia.

Hakimyar, who worked in Afghanistan as a private economic adviser and journalist, said there are no regular reports available on the use of aid.

“The continuation of this situation in Afghanistan will lead to the collapse of the Taliban’s regime.”

‘‘ It was a cold night and he got ready and went to work, but the next day we received his frozen body.

WIDOW OF MAN WHO DIED AT HIS OUTDOOR JOB