A little girl stares blankly ahead. Her downy thin hair betrays her young age. She wears large white earrings, which strangely enough still seem clean. The woolly cardigan she wears doesn’t seem to match the green dress that comes from underneath. Her face is covered with a layer of dust.
That dust comes from the house behind her, where the upstairs wall has been knocked out. In front of the house is a mountain of stones. Also a lot of sand. The photo of the girl has a text. “This baby is probably the only living member of her family. No living relatives have been found. We estimate her to be three years old.”
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She is one of the many victims of Tuesday’s earthquake in Afghanistan. Authorities report that at least 1,000 people have been killed. This number is likely to rise because many people are still under the rubble. Another 1,500 people were injured. Thousands of people have lost their homes.
Remote areas
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the city of Khost, in the East Afghan province of the same name. Help comes slowly. The worst affected province of Paktika is extremely remote. It is a mountainous area that makes it difficult for humanitarian troops to reach victims. The provinces of Khost and Nangarhar also have the same problem. Helicopters have been deployed to better search for people.
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The massive earthquake comes at a time of crisis in Afghanistan. Millions of Afghans are starving. 14 million children are malnourished. The country is in a huge economic crisis, there is almost no money for large-scale rescue operations. Images from news agencies show that people are trying to remove victims from the rubble with their hands. It is unclear whether there are any excavators at all.
Assistance difficult
Afghanistan has asked the rest of the world for help, but relations have been strained since the Taliban returned to power. There are almost no international aid workers in the country anymore. Pakistan, Japan and South Korea are the only countries to pledge aid. The greatest aid will have to come from the United Nations. They indicate that they are on their way with emergency aid, such as food, medical material and emergency personnel.
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The girl covered in dust has become the face of the disaster in Afghanistan. Her story is linked to a crowdfunding campaign set up to provide financial support to earthquake victims.
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