Afghanistan Humanitarian Update No. 10
At a Glance:
- The first UNHCR emergency airlift flight carrying 44 metric tons of plastic sheeting arrives in Quetta, Pakistan.
- Thousands of Afghans are managing to cross the border into Pakistan, despite official border closure.
- UNHCR receives pledges of US $12 million so far in response to US $268 million funding appeal.
UNHCR Airlift Begins
The first UNHCR emergency airlift flight carrying 44 metric tons of plastic sheeting arrived in Quetta, Pakistan, Saturday afternoon. The Ilyushin-76 cargo plane carried 9,800 plastic tarpaulins from UNHCR's regional stockpiles in Copenhagen, Denmark. It landed in Quetta at 1:40 p.m. local time and will continue to shuttle between Quetta and Copenhagen, delivering more supplies in preparation for a possible influx of hundreds of thousands of Afghans. UNHCR Quetta is looking for an additional 3,000 square metres of warehouse space to make room for the additional supplies.
The 9,800 plastic tarpaulins on the first airlift could provide emergency shelter for more than 50,000 people. These plastic tarpaulins and the additional materials being airlifted on later flights will significantly boost UNHCR's shelter stocks in Pakistan. The agency already has 9,300 tents in Pakistan, and another 20,000 are being produced by local suppliers.
The emergency airlift is part of UNHCR's $268 million contingency plan for the region, covering a possible influx of up to 1.5 million Afghans into neighbouring countries. The plan, described by UNHCR officials as "worst-case," calls for preparations for up to 1 million additional Afghans in Pakistan; up to 400,000 in Iran; up to 50,000 each in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan; and up to 10,000 in Uzbekistan. Pakistan and Iran already host more than 3.5 million Afghans who have fled their strife-torn nation over the past two decades because of war, drought and looming famine.
Borders
While the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains officially shut, thousands of Afghans are trickling into Pakistan through the mountains. Most are staying with relatives and friends or trying to blend into existing Afghan refugee settlements in an effort not to attract attention.
One local man in Quetta said he was hosting 25 Afghan refugees while another said he accommodated 16. Those crossing are mostly women and children. The refugees say most men stay behind in Afghanistan to keep an eye on their property or accompany their families across the border and then go straight back to look after livestock and crops.
Some of the refugees who arrived in the Quetta region over the past few days told UNHCR they had started their arduous journey even before the September 11 attack, driven out by drought and extreme poverty. Others say they left in the wake of the attacks.
Afghans arriving from Kandahar say the city was gripped by panic on September 12 with thousands of people leaving hastily - some people did not even collect laundry drying outside their homes. One woman said that her husband returned home in such a panic that the family left the city in less than an hour, with their only belongings in an empty flour sack. They said prices of food in Kandahar nearly doubled in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Refugees say those leaving cities for the countryside have to brave banditry on the roads and extortion. Many of the people who have fled into the Quetta region are ethnic Pashtuns, but there are also representatives of ethnic minorities among them.
Funding
UNHCR's donors are responding well to the funding appeal launched earlier this week. The agency has so far received more than $12 million in direct pledges to UNHCR from several governments. They include: United Kingdom ($3.3 million), United States ($4 million), Germany ($3.5 million), Denmark ($1 million) and Greece ($500,000). American actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie contributed $1 million to the Afghanistan emergency - the largest donation ever to UNHCR by a private individual.
UNHCR has appealed for $268 million to tackle a possible large-scale emergency in and around Afghanistan, part of an overall United Nations consolidated appeal of $584 million. In the short term, UNHCR urgently needs $30 million to be able to handle a possible influx of the first 100,000 people.
Related news and stories
Women-run businesses in Afghanistan dealt a blow by deepening restrictions
UNHCR launches new appeal for Afghan refugees and hosts, urging partners to stay the course
I had to flee for my education, but refused to leave other Afghan girls to their fate
Former refugee, now volunteer teacher, helps other Afghan girls get an education
Families struggle for survival during Afghanistan's coldest winter in a decade
Afghan women affected by Taliban bans on work and study fear for their futures
Your search for « angelina jolie » matched 491 results. Displaying page 14 of 55 pages.
-
Statement by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie as Venezuelan refugees and migrants top 4 million
8 Jun 2019 ... In 2002, 2010 and 2012 I was in Ecuador visiting some of the many Colombians who had fled the conflict. I said to the families that I met that I looked forward to visiting Colombia itself, when peace ...... -
Angelina Jolie congratulates 2013 winner of UNHCR's Nansen Refugee Award
30 Sep 2013 ... Ahead of the presentation of the 2013 Nansen Refugee Award to Sister Angélique Namaika of the Democratic Republic of the Congo tonight in Geneva, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie sent a message of ...... -
Jolie discusses unaccompanied children with US senior officials
27 May 2004 ... WASHINGTON, D.C., May 27 (UNHCR) - UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has met with senior government officials in the American capital as a follow-up to her recent visit to unaccompanied ...... -
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie: no negotiated peace without human rights and dignity for the Syrian people
28 Jan 2018 ... Remarks in Za'atari camp in Jordan as delivered: “It is heartbreaking to return to Jordan and witness the levels of hardship and trauma among Syrian refugees as the war enters its eighth year. We in ...... -
Statement by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in Kutupalong refugee settlement, Bangladesh
5 Feb 2019 ... The events that unfolded in the aftermath of August 2017 showed us the best and worst of humankind that exist in our world today. In a matter of months, over 700,000 people were forced from their ...... -
UNHCR Special Envoy, Ms. Angelina Jolie Statement to the High-Level Pledging Event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
16 Mar 2022 ... Ten days ago, I was in Yemen to meet some of the four million people displaced by the conflict. I visited one informal settlement that was home to 130 families. Only 20 of them receiving any food aid ...... -
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie's mission in West Darfur
26 Oct 2004 ... UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is currently in West Darfur on a three-day mission to see for herself the situation of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs), ...... -
Remarks by Angelina Jolie Pitt on World Refugee Day
20 Jun 2016 ... Secretary of State, Ladies and Gentlemen – good evening. It is a pleasure to be with you – with people of different backgrounds, faiths and beliefs, all pulling in the same direction and sharing a ...... -
Syrian family dodge conflict, but struggle to outrun a deadly disease
15 Oct 2018 ... I don’t want the same thing to happen to my children.” In June, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited the family’s home in Domiz refugee camp, in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, and ......