Help schools, victims of terror attacks and IDPs

According to the European Civil Protection and Human Aid operations, 28 million people in Afghanistan are expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2023, including 13 million children. Approximately 20 million suffer from hunger, and nearly 6 million survive on less than 1 meal per day.

The Taliban regime recently issued an order to bar women from working at NGOs. The order stated "all female employees who are working in their respective departments should stop their work until further notice,” it also warns that does not comply with this order risks having their license to operate in Afghanistan revoked, according to Afghan news outlet Hashtesobh. This draconiain order will have severe consequences for women who are losing their basic human rights under the Taliban regime. Major aid organizations have suspended their operations as a result.

Though all Afghans suffer, the situation is increasingly dire in the marginalized and persecuted communities due to race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Hazaras, long stigmatized due to race, religion and their support for moderate norms during the US intervention, continue to bear the brunt. In regards to the humanitarian aid alone, the privileged groups – those associated with Afghanistan’s current rulers by race, religion and political ideology – continue to receive the lion’s share of the humanitarian assistance while marginalized communities are either sidelined or receive significantly smaller amount of aid, whether in the form of inferior quality food ration or significantly smaller cash assistance. In some Hazara communities, there are reports of rotten food distribution to at-risk families (please see the provided link).

Despite our limited reach within the aid community, the Bamyan team and our Hazara diasporic communities are doing what we can to highlight the endemic racism and sectarian dynamics of Afghan society to aid agencies and donor nations. In addition, using our small platform, we have continued our fundraising efforts to support at-risk families and vulnerable youth, particularly girls, in the discriminated Hazara areas in Afghanistan. 

Our team on the ground have surveyed at-risk families in Kabul and in a remote province. We have dispatched a humanitarian aid package that includes assistance for 120 families in Kabul and 140 families at said remote province. The aid package also includes funds to support nine students, who were injured during the devastating attack on Kaaj Education Center on September 30th that killed 57 Hazara students, mostly girls. The injured students have travelled to a neighboring country to receive medical treatment. The aid package further includes scholarship funds to support our students, teachers and schools in Kabul and Ghor.

We will provide a detailed report in our next update.

And last but not least, your support presents a lifeline and allows our team to provide lifesaving assistance to some of the most vulnerable families in Afghanistan’s marginalized Hazara communities - at times, we are the only help they have. We thank you for your support during this difficult and heartbreaking time.

With gratitude,

Timor + the Bamyan Foundation team

Links:

• Bamyan food packages deliver rotten flour to families
• Aid agencies halt operation in Afghanistan
• European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On April 19, 2022, multiple bombings targeted Abdul Rahim Shahid high school and Mumtaz Education center in the Shia Hazara areas of Kabul, Afghanistan. According to local sources, approximately 25 school children lost their lives with many more injured. Abdul Rahim Shahid high school is one of the most populated schools in Kabul. The first attack occurred at the end of school hours when students were leaving the campus. The second attack occurred when people were moving the victims to hospitals.

With the help of our representative on the ground and community leaders in Kabul, our team identified those who were severely injured and prioritized getting them help. Bamyan Foundation provided a humanitarian package in the amount of 8,529 USD (717,750 AFN). In May 2021, our team provided cash assistance to the victims, as follows:

• 10 individuals were severely wounded in the school attacks. Our representative distributed 15000 AFN per individual for a total of 150,000 AFN.
• Given the urgent need, our representative distributed 10,000 AFN again for 8 of the severely wounded for a total of 80,000 AFN.
• Our representative distributed 10,000 AFN for 34 individuals whose injuries weren’t life-threatening, for a total of 340,000 AFN.
• Our representative distributed 20,000 AFN and 15,000 AFN respectively for two women who were severely injured in the attacks on public transportation vehicles - Total amount: 35,000 AFN.
• Our team distributed an amount of 10,000 AFN for a student of Mawoud Academy. She is still battling severe health issues as a result of the attack on Mawoud academy in 2018.
• Our team provided an amount of 21,000 AFN for a woman, who was severely injured during a targeted attack on Hazaras in Herat. 
• The program cost for this initiative amounted to 21,650 AFN.
• Our team is left with 60,100 AFN as emergency funds for the next round of humanitarian efforts.

On April 21, 2022, a devastating mosque bombing in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif took the lives of at least 50 Shia Hazaras with scores injured. There were sporadic attacks on public transportation vehicles in Kabul that took the lives of several Hazaras. This summer has seen the continuation of agony for Hazaras as systematic attacks have unprecedently increased against the community - in August this year, during the month of Muharram, five devastating attacks targeted Hazaras within a week that left at least 120 dead and injured.

To provide more context and raise awareness, we are providing links to an event hosted by United States Institute for Peace USIP) about "Preventing Mass Atrocities in Afghanistan", and an inquiry about "The Situation of the Hazara in Afghanistan" by the British Parliamentarians.

And last but not least, please know that this project is currently participating in a generous matching campaign, where donations are matched 50% by GlobalGiving while matching funds remain. The donations will support survivors of terrorist attacks, students, at-risk women and vulnerable families in the Hazara communities in Afghanistan. 

Thank you for your continuous support during these difficult times. 

With Grattitude,

Timor + Bamyan Foundation Team

Links:

• Aid for victims of schools attacks and other targeted bombings
• Preventing Mass Atrocities in Afghanistan
• The Hazara Inquiry - The Situation of the Hazara in Afghanistan

Dear Friends,

This past winter was a harsh one in Afghanistan as there were severe food shortages and people were on the brink of famine. The situation was even more dire for Hazaras, who are stigmatized on the basis of race, religion and collectively punished by the Taliban due to the community's overwhelming support for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in the past 20 years. While humanitarian aid distribution is ongoing by major aid organizations; however, there are reports of abuse and selective approach to aid distribution on the basis of political loyalty and ethnic/racial affiliation. 

February 2022:

To mitigate some of the pain and agony of the Hazara community, Bamyan Foundation provided humanitarian assistance for 235 at risk families in Afghanistan (185 families in Kabul and 50 families in Daykundi province) this February.

This project was implemented in collaboration with Baba Mazari Foundation. Through a rigorous survey, our team on the ground had identified approximately 3000 vulnerable Hazara families in Kabul, and many more in the provinces at risk of famine and at the mercy of cold winter.

On February 5 and February 10, 2022, our team on the ground provided cash assistance in the amount of 9500 AFN per family to 156 families in the impoverished Hazara neighborhoods of West of Kabul. During a separate campaign in January 2022, with the help of a community leader, we provided cash assistance in the amount of 5000 AFN per family for 29 families in another underserved neighborhood in Kabul.

On February 02, 2022, our team in Daykundi province provided cash assistance in the amount of 9850 AFN per family for 50 families in Nili and Sharestan, Daykundi. 

Most of the aid recipients were widowed women, victims of terrorist attacks, and providers of their families who had fallen on hard times since the collapse of the Afghan government. Many were internally displaced who had lost their husbands to violence with their lands and property confiscated in the past six months.

Furthermore, the aid assistance included $4800 in scholarships for 15 Sayed-Ul-Shuhada students at Pegah High School (Sayed -ul-Shuhada Girls School was attacked in May 2020), and $2400 as COVID support for 24 teachers at Rahnaward High School.

Additionally, $5000 USD was distributed as cash assistance to approximately 50 refugee families in Quetta Pakistan.

The total aid package amounted to 33,260 USD.

From this aid package of $33,360 - $25,860 was from the Foundation's Humanitarian Fund and $7400 from the Foundation's COVID-19 Fund. 

This lifesaving assistance was possible due to the generous grants from GlobalGiving’s Afghanistan’s Emergency Response, Coronavirus Relief programs and the kindness of our supporters. 

April 2022:

In May 2021, a large explosion took place in front of the Sayed-ul-Shuhada girls' school in Kabul, killing at least 85, majority of them school girls with 280 wounded. Nine of the wounded were in critical condition who could have died or been disabled for life if not transferred to a well-equipped hospital.

With the cooperation of a group of benefactors inside and outside Afghanistan, the nine wounded traveled to Turkey with a companion. The sum of one hundred thousand US dollars was paid to Bashkend Hospital in Ankara, which was to be used until the end of the treatment of the wounded. But some of the injured cost more than the hospital initially estimated, given the number of injured. Eventually, after the fall of Kabul and the cessation of most activities, other aid agencies were unable to continue treating the wounded.

There are currently seven wounded in Turkey and some of them still need medical treatment - Shakila, who has a defective eye area, and Marzia, who has suffered serious injuries to both legs, need long-term treatment. However, the hospital is no longer continuing their treatment, and the families of the two injured cannot afford to pay.

Marzia is in Ankara and Shakila is in the city of Urdu. These traumatized girls need money to cover the cost of their treatment and basic necessities. 

The Foundation provided an amount of $1200 on April 16, 2022 to help with the operation on Marzia's legs. We wish her a speedy recovery (please see her photo attached). 

May 2022:

Tragically, the systematically targeted attacks continue on Hazaras on the basis of race, religion and due to the community's support for moderate norms and democratic values in the past 20 years. April 2022 was another difficult month for Hazaras. Multiple bombings targeted Abdul Rahim Shahid High School and Mumtaz Education Center in Kabul, and a devastating attack targeted a Hazara mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. These attacks took the lives of at least 80 with scores injured, according to local sources.

The Foundation has dispatched an aid package to cover the cost of medical treatment of those severely wounded in the Kabul attacks. A detail report will be provided in the next quarterly update. 

Once again, we cannot continue our work without your help. We are enormously grateful for your kind and thoughtful support during these difficult times.

Links:

• Bamyan Foundation Humanitarian Assistance Report
• The precarious situation of Hazaras in Afghanistan

This report contains Parts I and II. In Part I, we will provide a brief summary of Bamyan Foundation's humanitarian aid package. In Part II, we will share a report from the ground on the unfair distribution of ongoing humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and possible solution and recommendations.

Part I:

Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis this winter that is deteriorating every day. Millions of Afghans are at risk of famine and the mercy of winter weather. The situation is most dire and dangerous for those communities stigmatized by race and religion and who are systematically targeted by extremist groups. Hazaras, easily distinguishable due to their Asiatic features, are among these groups and continue to face attacks.

Our team has identified thousands of Hazara families in Kabul and many more in the provinces facing severe food shortages this winter. Recently, Bamyan Foundation dispatched an aid package for the amount of $33,260 USD for some of the most at-risk families in in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The supprt includes funds for two schools as well. This initiative is a community-led collaboration between Bamyan Foundation (United States), Baba Mazari Foundation (Australia) and community leaders on the ground in Afghanistan. The aid distribution is as follows:

• $16,260 USD for approximately 176 families in Kabul, Afghanistan
• $5,000 USD for approximately 50 families in DayKundi, Afghanistan
• $5,000 USD for approximately 50 refugeee families in Quetta, Pakistan
• $4,500 USD for 15 Sayed-ul-Shuhada (SUS) students (SUS was attacked in May 2021) studying at Pegah High School (Kabul)
• $2,500 USD for Rahnaward High School (Ghor)

We are grateful for the generous grant from GlobalGiving's Afghanistan Emergency Fund and our supporters' kindness that resulted to this aid package. The impact of this support can be life-saving for these families as they try to survive the coming months, but the urgency and need on the ground is far greater. With your upport, we hope to provide a larger aid package in February or March to reach more at-risk families.

Part II:   

Management Of Humanitarian Aid Distribution to the People of Afghanistan, Especially the Hazaras

According to the United Nations, approximately two-thirds of Afghanistan's population is at risk of starvation. While this statistic is an estimate, it alludes to two underlying problems with aid distribution in the country. First, there is simply not enough aid to meet the needs of all Afghans. Second, for the aid that is available, lack of proper and fair management throughout the distribution process means that not all communities—and in particular the Hazaras—are receiving their fair share of aid. A recently published report by a humanitarian aid organization about the distribution of aid in different regions of the country is evidence of the unfair delivery of aid. It highlights the difference in aid distribution in Daykundi province and central regions of Afghanistan (home to predominantly Hazara population) with other parts of the country.  

The following are figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Afghanistan’s “Weekly Humanitarian Update on Afghanistan (November 15-21, 2021)” 

• More than 55,000 people in the south of the country need winter assistance.
• 248,000 people in the northeast received food assistance.
• 355,000 people in the north received food aid.
• 138,000 people in the east received humanitarian aid.
• 4,000 people in need of assistance in the west have been identified.
• 2,800 people in Daykundi province in the central regions of the country received humanitarian aid.

The above statistics and the linked report highlight the weaknesses in the infrastructure, or lack thereof, of humanitarian aid monitoring and distribution in Afghanistan. Based on this and other reports, the challenges and problems are noted below and then a set of recommendations and possible solutions are outlined. In the last two pages of this document, challenges of aid organizations like World Food Program (WFP) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are highlighted. 

A)  Challenges as seen/witnessed by Hazaras (community leaders, village elders and members of civil society):

1. The people hired by international organizations are mostly of one ethnicity, and Hazaras and other minorities are less likely to be hired, which is why aid is often directed to specific groups and ethnicities.
2. The Taliban distribute aid unjustly based on their ethnic, religious, and political biases. For example: in the southern and eastern provinces, the Taliban have distributed up to $500 for each family, but in Daykundi, a central province, a bag of flour and/or up to 8,000 Afghanis (which is equivalent to about $77) were distributed per family. Daykundi and most of central regions of Afghanistan is home to the Hazaras, who are among the poorest people in Afghanistan, because they have little access to agricultural lands, fewer livestock, lack of access to business, and job opportunities across cities in Afghanistan. However, the economic situation of the people of the south and east is relatively satisfactory in comparison to Daykundi and the central provinces. Even inside Kabul, the difference in the distribution of aid is apparent from the west of Kabul, which is mostly poor, to the east of Kabul, both in the number of people supported and the type and amount of aid distributed. The predominantly Hazara neighborhoods in west of Kabul rarely receive any assistance at all, and if there is aid, it is either too small of an amount or too little to distribute across the neighborhoods in comparison to other parts of Kabul.  
3. In the cities, humanitarian aid often does not reach the poor and needy because neighborhood influencers such as political affiliates, ethnic influential, mullahs, and the rich collude to loot aid. There have been cases where food and aid supplies re-emerge from grocery stores and sold to the very poor (for whom it was originally intended) at exorbitant prices.
4. The Taliban distribute most of the aid to their troops and members of their tribe.
5. Proper surveys are not conducted to identify poor families. Beneficiary lists rely on sources such as neighborhood influencers in cities and districts, and in rural areas, members of development councils, leaving room for bribes and looting.
6. Aid is not distributed according to priorities and the poverty line in Afghanistan is not clearly defined and uniform. For example, in Daykundi and Bamyan, poor people are defined as those who have no food to eat, but in Paktia and Nangarhar, poor people are those who have land and enough food but are not businessmen or investors. This flawed definition and system is still in place and nothing has been done in this regard.
7. During the winter, roads in many cold and isolated provinces are closed, making it impossible to deliver aid to the poor. No measures have been taken in this regard.
8. A significant proportion of eligible individuals include the most vulnerable population, such as widows (often women with many children and no support system), orphans, and people with disability. However, there is no specific allocation of aid distribution to this population. Many of these eligible individuals have no connection to influential people that can advocate on their behalf, and many remain unidentified because there are no proper surveys conducted prior to aid delivery.  

B)  Humanitarian aid distributed through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) does not reach the beneficiaries in the Hazara areas for the following reasons: 

1. In predominantly Hazara areas, for example in Bamyan and Daykundi provinces, the ICRC has no presence (there are no representative offices). In these areas, the ICRC implements its programs and activities through the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). Unfortunately, ARCS, like many other government entities, is now controlled by the Taliban, particularly among its leadership and decision-making personnel.
2. In the provinces where ICRC has an office, most of the key positions within the organization are held by Pashtuns. Additionally, due to a shortage of staff at ICRC, they rely heavily on ARCS staff and volunteers, which ultimately leads to the intervention and influence by the ARCS leadership, who are Pashtun or Taliban.
3. Unfortunately, the ICRC is not independent in its practice. Whether under the previous government or under the current Taliban government, their program implementation is influenced by the government (Taliban now) and the ARCS.
4. In recent weeks, the ARCS in Daykundi distributed aid, which reached more than 200 families. However, most of this aid was distributed among members of the Taliban government who work in the district offices in Nili and a substantial amount was also distributed to the Pashtun families who came from Gizab, Daya, and Ajiristan areas.

Problems with World Food Program (WFP):

1. The World Food Program (WFP), unfortunately, like the ICRC, does not have any representative offices in the Hazara regions and provinces.
2. Both during the previous government and the current regime, the Country Head of WFP and in key positions and the decision-making level, are Pashtuns. And often these leadership personnel acted discriminatory towards aid distribution by the WFP. This meant rarely aid would be distributed to Hazara communities and regions.
3. WFP, frequently, does not implement programs and distribute aid directly, but rather acts through other domestic institutions, and in turn aid is distributed based on an unfair quota system and inconsistent poverty definition in Hazara areas.
4. Institutions that implement WFP’s program often pay more attention to the promotional and theatrical aspect of aid delivery than to identifying and delivering aid fairly.  

Problems with other aid delivery institutions that oversee humanitarian aid in Hazara regions: 

1. The institutions that operate in Daykundi and Bamyan provinces work with government agencies in charge of disability, disaster management, and the office for refugees and returnees. Examples of such institutions are Afghan Aid, Cordaid, and Abrar, all of whom are instructed by these government agencies to start their activities in Pashtun areas where the survey collection has already begun. Little attention is given to Hazara areas, where the conflict has displaced thousands of people and drought and forced displacements have pushed many families to sell their kidneys and their children ahead of a harsh winter.
2. Recently, the streets, markets and hotels of the capital of Daykundi province, Nili, are full of Pashtuns from Gizab, Daya, and Ajiristan areas of Uruzgan and Ghazni provinces, who have come to Nili to receive aid and return to their homes, dividing an already smaller share of aid that has been allocated to Daykundi province.  

C)  Possible Solutions and Recommendations for WFP, UN, ICRC and other aid distribution organizations: 

1. The employment of people in the provinces and the headquarters of organizations, including aid organizations, should be done in a fair and transparent manner. Special attention should be paid to ensure that the leadership isn’t always from one ethnic group and there should not be any affiliation of employees with regional and extremist groups.
2. There must be a transparent monitoring mechanism for the distribution of aid.
3. Prevent ethnocentric actions in the management of aid distribution.
4. Prevent the looting and corruption of aid by regional/neighborhood influencers like the political affiliates, mullahs, and the rich.
5. Prevent the unequal distribution of aid in rural areas by separating the poor from the rich through a proper survey mechanism.
6. Prevent the Taliban militias, their family members, and tribes from hoarding the aid. (In Bamyan, aid was received by the Tajik Taliban militia, and only a very small number of poor and Hazara people were able to benefit).
7. Conduct a careful assessment and survey of eligible poor families and beneficiaries. (There have been significant changes in the poverty rate since the fall of the previous government, and many former low-level government employees are now among the poor).
8. Aid should be distributed according to a precise and uniform prioritization and definition of poverty and not based on ethnicity, province, and district.
9. Certain measures must be taken to keep roads open to cold and deprived provinces such as Daykundi, Bamyan, Ghor, and some parts of Badakhshan, so that aid can arrive in the winter and food scarcity in the markets can be prevented.
10. And most importantly, special assistance should be provided to widows, orphans and the disabled, some of whom have received a certain pension from the government in previous years.

Links:

• Bamyan Foundation

Humanitarian crisis:

In light of the recent unravelling and collapse of the Afghan government, people are trying to adapt to new realities. The situation is fluid and the future seems uncertain for all Afghans who oppose extremism, particularly for the Hazaras, who have borne the brunt of otherization in Afghanistan – racial discrimination that goes back to over a century and systematic targeting by the terrorist groups in recent years. There is a sense of fear and anxiety among the Hazaras in light of Taliban’s past treatment of the Hazaras and ISIS-K’s genocidal attacks.

Bamyan Foundation’s current priority is to provide urgent assistance to the internally displaced due to the recent unravelling, and the refugees arriving in neighboring Pakistan to help mitigate deterioration of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. There are thousands of internally displaced in Kabul without basic necessities. And not to mention, thousands of Hazara refugees, who have arrived in Quetta (Pakistan) that are in need of assistance. Community centers and Mosques are beyond capacity with refugees at the moment. Our grassroots partner organization and local community leaders on the ground have already began distributing aid to those most in need, and Bamyan Foundation is supporting their efforts to this end. Winter is approaching and we expect more refugees to arrive. Your donation will go a long way towards helping the internally displaced and the refugees with basic necessities in these difficult times.

Forced Displacements:

We have received reports of forced displacement of Hazaras by Taliban in Daikundi province. Until recently, Gizab had a district status in Uruzgan province. Taliban has gerrymandered and combined Gizab with Pato district in Daikundi to further limit Hazara areas from having district level status. The Hazaras have been ordered to abandon their homes as Pashtuns have begun laying claim over their land. The Hazaras believe that this is continuation of the ethnocentric policies by successive Pashtun regimes after the genocide of 1890s, where Hazaras have been continuously displaced and pushed towards the harsh and rugged central highlands and their land confiscated by Pashtuns. We have also received reports of forced displacements from Panjshir province, where people resisted the Taliban. Moreover, there are reports of forced displacements of people associated with the previous government, in Kandahar. 

School Updates:

We were in the final stages of providing 115 scholarships (110 girls and 5 boys) for the traumatized Sayed Ul-Shuhada students to enroll at Marefat and Pegah schools but the recent unravelling has put a temporary halt to this effort. This was in addition to our 92 returning students at Marefat from the previous academic year. Prior to the unravelling, we provided scholarships for 104 students (61 girls & 43 boys) in Ghor and 30 students (17 boys and 13 girls) in Bamyan this academic year. The schools in Afghanistan have recently reopened but only for grades 1-6. Our schools are trying to adapt to new rules:

• Segregated classes, time frames or separation between boys and girls; 
• Male teachers for boys and female teachers for girls; and
• Changes to the curriculum (more hours towards religious studies). 

Afghanistan suffered from teacher’s deficit and an education crisis before the collapse of the Afghan government, and experts have warned that these measures will have further adverse effects on education in general and girls education in particular. 

Despite the enormous challenges and uncertain future, we firmly believe that the impact made by our schools in the past 20 years is irreversible. Thousands of students graduated from our schools and many received scholarships to elite universities around the world. No one can take their education from them. In addition, we have resilient communities across Afghanistan that have been through turbulent moments in history but have proven their resilience time and again. Education will remain a strong focus of our work, and with your help, we will continue supporting our students, teachers and schools. 

We thank you for your continued support during these difficult times.

Timor Karimy + Bamyan Foundation Team