Afghanistan Earthquake: An opportunity for the International intervention?
It was already expected that Afghanistan, in the absence of foreign aid, the country is just an event away from total humanitarian catastrophe. That very sad event just happened yesterday.
More than 1000 people were killed, 1500 injured and hundreds of houses were destroyed in a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan. Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern province of Paktika, where 255 people were killed and more than 200 injured. Also, 25 were dead and 90 injured in the province of Khost. The dilapidated government ministries face immense difficulties to reach remote mountain villages which can further increase the number of casualties.
The quake was the deadliest in Afghanistan in two decades. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the south-eastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations was fully mobilized, assessing the needs and providing initial support. “We count on the international community to help support the hundreds of families hit by this latest disaster. Now is the time for solidarity,” he said in a statement.
Afghanistan is located in a tectonically active region and is prone to earthquakes. The vulnerable country lies over a number of fault lines including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault, and the Darvaz fault. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports more than 7,000 people over the past decade have been killed in the country in earthquakes. There are an average of 560 deaths a year from earthquakes alone.
Decades of conflict, a crippling economy, and lacking disaster management apparatus at all levels have made it difficult for the impoverished country to improve its protection against natural disasters.
The housing stock in rural Afghanistan comprises unstable, poorly built mud houses, which historically tend to cause significant damage after every earthquake. A country vulnerable to climate change is already under a food crisis, more than a third of people can’t meet basic needs. The recent disaster will certainly aggravate the miseries of the poorest of the poor. Earlier this year The United Nations launched a funding appeal for more than $5 billion for Afghanistan, its largest request ever for a single country in humanitarian distress. Even before the current government was in power, some 80% of the budget came from foreign assistance and the agencies and governments reduce their assistance programs in the country.
The Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute issued an estimate of Afghanistan war costs of $2.26 trillion to the US. Out of which only $1.15 billion was spent on International Disaster Assistance (IDA). Subsequently, the US and NATO left Afghanistan without any functional government
Just a few years ago the US was spending $300 Million Per Day in Afghanistan, today a fraction of it can save many lives in conflict and disaster-hit country. Let us put the ideological differences aside and help the poorest of the poor in their desperate need.
The international community cannot afford to leave vulnerable people in their desperate hours to fall into the wrong hands. It is imperative and in the interest of the international community, and especially the regional countries, not to let Afghanistan turn into a militancy hub, again. Any country that will face fallout from Afghanistan is Pakistan. One doesn’t need to open the history books to know the reasons why.
Today unemployed young Afghans are more inclined to extremism under a crippling economy than ever. However, earthquake humanitarian interventions can provide the window of opportunity to bring the humanitarian agencies and aid back into the country to build community resilience and incremental economic recovery.
Afghanistan today needs immediate assistance in rescue and relief, food, medical, and rehabilitation. Later on continuous assistance in capacity development, and financial technical assistance in disaster risk reduction measures. The required mechanism can be developed to protect the aid going into the wrong hands with extended transparency and further engagement in the country.
If the international community turns its back on its commitment to humanitarian support to the vulnerable around the world, Afghanistan will be further alienated and will become a ticking bomb.
Furthermore, it is the responsibility of regional countries to extend their help and prevent the looming disaster that can fuel another wave of militancy in the region.
