Ghor widow begs for her children’s survival

FIROZKOH (Pajhwok): A widow in central Ghor province, who begs for the survival of her children, has asked for immediate help, saying her children would die if they did not receive assistance.

The widow, named Fatimah, a resident of Allah Yar area of Firuzkuh, the capital of Ghor province, told Pajhwok Afghan News that her husband was killed before the fall of the republic government and she has been taking care of her children since the loss of her husband.

The woman, who cannot read or write, says that after the death of her husband, she was able to feed her children by working with other people for some time, but she was no longer recruited due to growing poverty.

Referring to her sick children, Fatimah said that her children fell sick due to coldness as she had nothing to heat her home.

“If the government and aid agencies do not help us, I will lose all my children,” she said, adding that she knocked at the doors of many institutions but no one heard her voice.

She said that she had repeatedly requested for help from aid organizations, but no one assisted her. She said that her children would have died if her neighbors had not helped her.

Ahmad Asef, one of Fatimah’s neighbors, said that local people were not in a good economic situation and could not afford to treat the children of the widow.

He also called on charity organizations and local officials in the province to provide immediate assistance to the family and children who he said were suffering from pneumonia.

“The government should provide assistance to this family as soon as possible so that the children of this family do not die of cold and hunger,” he added.

On the other hand, officials of the Ghor Refugees and Repatriations Department say that they are trying to provide assistance to needy families and those living in extreme poverty.

Mulavi Sultan Mohammad Hamas, head of Ghor Refugees and Repatriations Department, said that they had assisted over 5,000 families in cooperation with aid organizations in the province since they took power. He said that they were working to find the most needy families and include them in aid programs.

mds/ma