AFGHANISTAN For the Taliban, migrants are ‘martyrs’, but they are fleeing the worst humanitarian crisis

According to UN statements yesterday, Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs exceed those of Syria and Turkey after the earthquakes. The Taliban exhorts the population not to use illegal migration routes, but 28 million people (out of a population of 42 million) need help.

Kabul ( / Agencies) – “It is with great sadness that we learned that 80 Afghan refugees, including women and children, traveling from Turkey to Italy in a wooden boat, drowned in the sea in southern Italy,” the ministry said. Taliban Department of Foreign Affairs, after the failed rescue of a group of emigrants who left Izmir caused dozens of deaths that recovered near Crotone. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan prays for the forgiveness of the martyrs and for the suffering of the families and relatives of the victims, once again urging all citizens not to go abroad through irregular immigration,” he added.

After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the reconquest of the country by the Taliban, the living conditions of the population deteriorated drastically. As stated yesterday at a press conference by Ramiz Alakbarov, United Nations Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, some 700,000 people have lost their jobs in the last 18 months. In the same period, the gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 35%, while the cost of food increased by 30%. At least 28 million people (including more than 15 million children out of a population of less than 42 million) depend on humanitarian aid and “Afghanistan continues to have the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis in 2023, despite, of course, the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,” Alakbarov said. Furthermore, he added that 75% of Afghan household income is spent on food.

The UN agencies declared that they need at least 4.6 billion dollars to deal with the humanitarian situation. It is also estimated that by 2023 at least $18.3 million will be needed to clear mines and dismantle explosive devices. After decades of conflict, Afghanistan is, in fact, one of the most contaminated countries by explosive devices in the world, with an estimated 15% of the population having some type of disability due to mines, the poverty and lack of access to basic services.

As for restrictions on women, there has been no “encouraging progress” in education, Alakbarov continued, but added that the Taliban made some exceptions to women’s participation in certain sectors, such as health. In the past four months, the Taliban authorities have also interfered in the distribution of aid to the population: “Most of the access problems, and what is leading to the temporary suspension of humanitarian programs in recent times, are related to the directives against Afghan women working for national and international NGOs,” the deputy special representative explained. “It is not related to security issues and we still have good physical access throughout the country,” he added.