Jawzjan IDPs want basic living facilities

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): Displaced by the past conflict, some families on the outskirts of Shiberghan City, the capital of northern Jawzjan province, complain they lack shelter, electricity, healthcare, clean drinking water, education and other services.

Mullah Sher Mohammad, 60, who was displaced by the conflict from Kohistanat district of Sar-i-Pul province, said: “Four years ago, I migrated to Shiberghan after one of my sons was killed as a result of conflict.”

He added: “We have a difficult life in Shiberghan as we are deprived of several basic living facilities. We don’t have enough resources for our life.”

“We don’t have shelter, there is no school for our kids, no clinic and no electricity. All people living in this community are displaced persons,” he said.

“I want relevant authorities to pay attention to our situation and work for the resolution of our problems or facilitate our return to our homes. We have lost everything we had to the conflict,” he said.

Sibghatullah, another displaced person who migrated from Faryab province, said: “I hail from the Dawlatabad district. Our house was hit by a rocket four years ago during conflict between government and its armed rivals. I have one son and four daughters and we migrated to Shiberghan to protect our lives.”

He said: “Sometimes I work in order to help my son afford the daily expenses of our house.”

“My daughters sew cloths; we have family that needs food and other things. We are deprived of basic living facilities.”

He demanded to be returned to his own hometown and said: “The imported electricity cable goes on the top of us but we are deprived of electricity, our children grew illiterate due to the closure of schools and clinics are in far flung areas.”

He said: “Two times the Refugees Department distributed food items to us but nobody paid attention to our environmental problems”

Balkh Information and Cultural Affairs Department Director Dr. Helal Balkhi said less fortunate families and IDPs from Faryab and Sar-i-Pul provinces had been provided food and non-food aid.

He said other problems faced by IDPs would also be resolved through a proper strategy.

“First we managed to provide them with cash assistance by some foreign NGOs and we are doing all we can to resolve their other problems.”

He assured IDPs would be provided with health, education, clean drinking water and other facilities soon. “One of our plans is to generate jobs to enable these families stand on their own feet,” he said.

“We are trying to build at least two rooms, a corridor, a kitchen and a toilet and bring them back to their areas by raising funds for war-affected families in their neighborhoods,” he said.

According to Balkhi, recruiting people from IDP families on projects such as electricity, mines extraction and gas processing is one of our programs that we are working on, which, once implemented  will solve major problems of these families.

nh/ma

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