Afghanistan IV
People of Kandahar, March 2010
The rising violence in Kandahar is threatening to erode any gains made in the last few years to improve the lives of the local population. The region is notoriously poor – reliant on the opium trade for cash crops. Increasing violence and control by the Taliban, as well as the threat of this major US offensive, is permeating every facet of people’s lives.
The Therapeutic Feeding Center in the hospital sees up to a hundred malnourished children a week – some mothers will again walk for days to reach the centre.
Thousands of IDP’s have flooded into Kandahar over the last few years, in search of security and shelter, as ongoing fighting has flattened their villages and destroyed their livelihoods.
A young girl holds her nephew who is suffering from malnutrition at a therapeutic feeding centre that is supported by UNICEF in Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 16th March, 2010.
A woman, whose child is malnourished, waits in the therapeutic Feeding Unit, that is supported by UNICEF , in Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 18th March, 2010. The woman has travelled for three days to reach the hospital, and it is the only regional hospital serving five provinces in Southern Afghanistan.- Afghan National Police man a checkpoint in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 16th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organizations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A young girl whose family have been displaced by recent fighting in Helmand poses for a photograph with her sister in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. Her family have been receiving assistance in the form of blankets and food from a local NGO, HAPA, that is supported by UNICEF, since arriving in Kandahar six months ago.
- Aminoli, who fled Zabul 6 months ago after his village was bombed, and his eldest son killed, sits with some of his children in the shelter they have found in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A woman whose family was displaced by fighting in Helmand province poses for a photograph in their temporary accommodation in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. Her family have been receiving assistance in the form of blankets and food from a local NGO, HAPA, that is supported by UNICEF, since arriving in Kandahar 6 months ago. in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010.
- Abdul Hakin, whose family fled from Zabul, poses for a photograph in their temporary home in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A woman in labour, who has travelled for two days and who is in need of a caesarian, lies in pain in the obstetrics ward at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 18th March, 2010.The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A man waits with his son in the waiting room for paediatric cases in Mirwais Hospital that is supported by UNICEF in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 16th March, 2010.The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organizations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- Burka clad women and their children sit in the waiting room of Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 16th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan Major General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire. The hospital is the only referral hospital for the three provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Oruzgan and people travel for days through hostile territory to reach it.
- Burka clad women and their children sit in the waiting room of Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 16th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan Major General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organizations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A boy stands next to an outdoor shop selling plaster cast minarets in Kandahar on the 16th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan Major General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A mother cradles her malnourished child in her lap at a feeding centre that is supported by UNICEF at a health centre in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A 14 year old girl, who is about to be married, waits to have a tetanus injection at a health centre in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- Olghaum Sakhi sits with some of his nieces and nephews, that he is looking after since their father and his own children were killed when their village was bombed in the Pan Jeer Valley at their temporary shelter in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. Olghaum and his family have received assistance in the form of blankets, sweaters and food from HAPA, a partner organisation of UNICEF since arriving in Kandahar.
- An elderly man who has been displaced by recent fighting in Helmand Province sits outside of his temporary accommodation with one of his daughters in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010.
- Men pray in the evening in the remains of a building that has been bombed in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 17th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A woman in labour lies in labour in the obstetrics ward at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 18th March, 2010.The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A man who had his leg shot in a drive by shooting by insurgents, and who had to travel to Kerach, Pakistan to have it amputated, tells his story in Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 18th March, 2010. The US coalition leader in Afghanistan General McCrystal has announced a major offensive in Kandahar over the next few months to rid it of Taliban insurgents. It remains the Taliban heartland, despite having over 30000 foreign troops stationed there. Few humanitarian organisations can operate safely due to the insurgency, and life for the majority of Afghans in the city remains dire.
- A child stands in front of a mobile market stall in the center of Kandahar, Afghanistan on the 18th March, 2010.
