In front of a house ruined by floods, an Afghan woman holds her baby Enamulla in her arms and tries to calm his cries: her home is one of the 10,000 houses that were destroyed by natural disasters in the village of Dara e-Shaikha, in May 2024.
When rushing waters smashed thousands of doors and windows in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province, Said Khanim fled as fast as he could to get his five children to higher ground – but his four-year-old daughter, Atifa, became separated from the group in the chaos. His body was found hours later near a sewer..
The story of Said Khanim and his children It is repeated daily. According to the latest UNHCR Report “Global Trends 2023”, although girls and boys make up 30% of the world’s population, rThey represent 40% of the total displaced persons by force.
Every day, thousands of families are forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other territories. However, the safety they find is often limited, as the children of Dara-e-Shaikha must take classes in the open air due to the destruction of shops and institutions in their village. This leaves them exposed to the elements, but they continue with their education despite the adversities.
After decades of conflict, millions of people in Afghanistan live in poverty and hunger. The situation is further complicated by frequent natural disasters and widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls.
In Afghanistan 3.25 million people have been displaced due to conflicts within the country and 23.7 million people urgently need humanitarian aid.
“No one escaped the suffering brought by the disaster,” laments Said Khanim. His daughter Atifa is one of the 237 people who lost their lives as a result of the catastrophic rains and flash floods in Afghanistan. Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and excessively high temperatures, are becoming more frequent and intense, so much so that, by the end of 2023, almost three quarters of forcibly displaced people lived in countries with high or extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.
It is because of these stories of survival that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and other humanitarian organizations have been providing vital assistance such as emergency shelter, food and medical care, to help communities in the recovery process and accompany the most vulnerable, such as the girls and boys who had to leave their homes, schools and friends.
He Climate change has been exacerbating the needs and the protection risks faced by displaced people; it has also led to new and successive protracted displacements.
The inequality is so great that it not only leads to displacement, but increases vulnerabilities such as povertyprotection risks and hinder the enjoyment of human rights, particularly for women and children, since 49% of internally displaced persons are boys and girls.
In Afghanistan, Said Khanim’s home, 62% of internally displaced persons are childrenThis alarming figure shows that it is the second country after Somalia with the highest proportion of children in this situation.
Today, the Afghan family has found refuge in a neighboring home, but they are still recovering from deep damage beyond the physical wounds and psychological consequences of fleeing.
Afghanistan is going through One of the largest humanitarian crises in the world: More than half of the population needs humanitarian assistance, the health system is about to collapsethe effects of climate change are deepening poverty and accentuating food insecurity.
The protection of children forced to flee their homes around the world calls us all. War is not a game. Peace is urgent. That is why, in the framework of Children’s DayFrom the UNHCR Argentina Foundation we call on society to join in The Blue Ponchos already sign for peace in ponchoazules.org in support of all refugee and displaced children in the world
