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Published: 07:37 EST, 27 October 2015 | Updated: 14:39 EST, 27 October 2015
Agony: A boy who was injured in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake receives medical treatment at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan
The Taliban today called a truce to allow aid agencies to push ahead with emergency relief after a massive quake hit Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing more than 350 people.
The
toll was expected to rise as search teams reach remote areas that were
cut off by yesterday's 7.5-magnitude quake, which triggered landslides
and stampedes as it toppled buildings and severed communication lines.
Relief
operations to assess the damage have been hindered by an unstable
security situation that has left much of the affected areas unsafe for
international aid workers and government troops.
But
the Taliban, which have stepped up their Islamist insurgency against
the Western-backed government in Kabul this year, indicated they would
not stand in the way of aid efforts.
A
man and his son clear rubble from their house after it was damaged by
an earthquake in Behsud district of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
A
U.S. military burn pit at forward operating base Zeebrudge in Helmand
province, Afghanistan pictured in March 2013. (Photo: Sgt. Anthony L.
Ortiz)
Mainstream
media outlets are systematically disregarding the hazardous health
impacts of widespread U.S. military burn pits on civilians in Iraq and
Afghanistan, thereby playing a direct role in "legitimating the
environmental injustices of war," a harrowing new scholarly report concludes.
"During
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the US Department of Defense burned the
majority of its solid waste in open-air pits or trenches, producing
large amounts of potentially hazardous emissions," noted Eric Bonds,
assistant professor of sociology at University of Mary Washington, in
his investigation, published in the journal Environmental Politics.
"It
is well known that the uncontrolled burning of plastics, Styrofoam,
electronics, unexploded weapons, and other manufactured and highly
processed materials releases harmful toxins and particulate matter into
the air," Bonds continued.
"This echoes the
other history of Agent Orange when the U.S. government turned its back
on the people of Vietnam and walked away, cleaning up just a handful of
contaminated places but never acknowledging harm done to Vietnamese
civilians or compensating them for their suffering." —Eric Bonds, University of Mary Washington
However,
when he surveyed major U.S. newspaper stories from 2007 to 2014, Bonds
found that discussions of the negative health impacts of these burn pits
overwhelmingly focused on the plight faced by U.S. military service
members and veterans—but the actual civilians nearby were almost
entirely missing from the picture.
"The search produced 49
distinct stories. While five of these stories made passing reference to
civilian impacts, and one story mentioned potential impacts to civilians
on par with impacts to soldiers, the vast majority of news stories made
no mention that Iraqi and Afghan civilians might also have been harmed
by the U.S. military's burning of waste," he wrote.
What's more,
Bonds noted, "When journalists describe the pollution itself, how it
billowed over military bases and covered living quarters with ash and
soot, such accounts never mention that this pollution would not have
stopped at the cement barricades and concertina wire at base boundaries,
but must have also settled over civilians' homes and the surrounding
landscapes."
From Balad air base in
Iraq to Shindad base in Afghanistan, these sites are in fact located in
close proximity to "farmsteads, townships, cities, cropland, orchards,
and rivers."
As Common Dreamspreviously reported, Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, independent environmental toxicologist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has identified a correlation between burn pits and spikes in birth defects among Iraqi communities nearby.
According
to Bonds, by failing to tell the stories of the Iraqi and Afghan people
impacted, the media has a hand in the injustices committed against
them.
"This echoes the other history of Agent Orange when the U.S.
government turned its back on the people of Vietnam and walked away,
cleaning up just a handful of contaminated places but never
acknowledging harm done to Vietnamese civilians or compensating them for
their suffering," Bonds told Common Dreams.
As in
Vietnam, people in Iraq and Afghanistan are demanding acknowledgment
of—and reparations for—the harm done by U.S. burn pits and toxic
munitions.
Iraqi civil society groups including the Organization
of Women's Freedom in Iraq and the Federation of Workers Councils and
Unions in Iraq have organized
within their communities and levied international demands for the U.S.
to clean up its burn pits, depleted uranium, white phosphorous, and
other toxic waste which is creating an ongoing public health crisis in
Iraq.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
Mudslide survivors in Argu village, Afghanistan. Photograph: Nasir Waqif/EPA
Lailema's
soft wailing filters through the canvas of her tent, a 12-year-old's
hopeless lament for her mother and a life that is gone forever. Her
three younger siblings play on the dusty floor as her grandmother cries
silently nearby and her uncle wonders how to feed his new dependents.
None
of them have eaten since the landslide in the village of Aab Barik – in
the north-eastern province of Badakshan – that took away their home and
six relatives two days earlier, despite trucks full of food aid parked
just a few metres away. No one has distributed the bags of rice, oil and
other necessities, they say.
"They promised that they would hand
them out after the government officials leave today," said Khan Baay,
the uncle, who was heading out to hear the vice-president, Yunus Qanuni,
lead prayers for the dead and promise survivors whatever help they
need, backed by a delegation of ministers, members of parliament and
European ambassadors.
But many on the ground were less interested
in pledges from dignitaries helicoptered in to survey the damage than
getting their hands on something edible. "I am so hungry I could scratch
your eyes out," said Bibi Jaahan, a grandmother in her early 60s who
lost her home and several relatives to the mud. "I haven't eaten for
over two days."
Sharing her tent is Zaina, breastfeeding her
11-month-old son but worried that her milk is drying up, as he grumbles
then starts crying. She has only scavenged a few biscuits to feed him,
and knows he needs more solid food.
The Afghan Red Crescent was
quick to hand out tents to those who lost their homes in last Friday's
devastating mudslide, and in the corner of newly motherless Lailema's
cramped new home, barely two metres wide and perhaps three times as
long, there are new plates and tea cups but nothing to eat off them.
They
were part of their package of "non-food items", explains Ahmad, an
official from the charity who stops by to check on the family. "We
started handing out tents on Friday, but other organisations are
responsible for food. We cannot provide everything ourselves."
Around
250 people were feared dead following a landslide in northeastern
Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. According to local government
officials, the incident took place in Argu district and dozens of others
have been trapped under the rocks. A local official in Badakhshan
province said around around 250 people have been killed following the
landslide while 200 houses and dozens of more people were trapped
following the rockslide. Provincial police chief, Fazluddin Ayar
confirmed that over 250 people were trapped following a landslide in Aab
Khoshk village. Mr. Ayar further added that the incident took place
around 12:00 pm local time and Afghan secuirty forces and rescue teams
have been deployed to the area to assist the local residents. This comes
as deputy Afghan interior minister Gen. Ayub Salangi earlier said
around 200 houses were affected following the rockslide. Gen. Salangi
had said preliminary reports suggest that the casualties due to the
rockslide is around 200 people.
A
landslide triggered by heavy rains buried a village Friday in
northeastern Afghanistan, leaving as many as 2,000 people missing, a top
official said. Badakshan province Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb said more
than 2,000 people were missing after a hill collapsed on the village of
Hobo Barik. Adeeb said the landslide buried some 300 homes in the area -
about a third of all houses there. The governor said rescue crews were
working but didn't have enough equipment, appealing for shovels. "It's
physically impossible right now," Adeeb said. "We don't have enough
shovels; we need more machinery." He said authorities evacuated a nearby
village over concerns about further landslides. Faziluddin Hayar, the
police chief in Badakshan province, said the landslide happened about 1
p.m. Friday. Badakshan province, nestled in the Hindu Kush and Pamir
mountain ranges and bordering China, is one of the most remote in the
country. The area has seen few attacks from insurgents following the
2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
A
landslide triggered by heavy rain buried large sections of a
northeastern Afghan village Friday, killing at least 350 people and
leaving up to 2,500 missing. Villagers looked on helplessly and the
governor appealed for shovels to help dig through the mass of mud that
flattened every home in its path. The mountainous area in Badakhshan
province has experienced days of heavy rain and flooding, and the side
of a cliff collapsed onto the village of Hobo Barik at midday, burying
it under up to 60 feet of mud and rocks, officials said. Landslides and
avalanches are frequent in Afghanistan, but Friday's was one of the
deadliest. It was one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory in
Afghanistan, where spring rainfall and snowmelt make the mountainous
northeast susceptible to flash floods and mudslides. U.N. officials said
more Afghans had been killed in natural disasters in the past seven
days than in all of 2013. Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb said up to 2,500
people were missing after the landslide buried some 300 homes, about
one-third of all the houses in the area. At least 350 people were
confirmed dead, according to Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman from the United
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He said the U.N. was working
with authorities to rescue trapped people.
The governor said
rescue crews were working, but didn't have enough equipment. "It's
physically impossible right now," Adeeb said. "We don't have enough
shovels; we need more machinery." The Badakhshan provincial police
chief, Maj. Gen. Faziluddin Hayar, said rescue workers had pulled seven
survivors and three bodies from the mounds of mud and earth, but held
out little hope that more survivors would be found. "Now we can only
help the displaced people. Those trapped under the landslide and who
have lost lives, it is impossible to do anything for them," Hayar said.
Video footage showed that a large section of the mountain collapsed,
sending mud and earth tumbling onto the village below. The landslide was
likely caused by heavy rain, said Abdullah Homayun Dehqan, the
province's director for the National Disaster Department. He said the
landslide happened about 1 p.m. Friday, a day of worship in Afghanistan
when many families would have been at home instead of at work. President
Obama said the United States was ready to assist. "I want to say on
behalf of the American people that our thoughts are with the people of
Afghanistan, who have experienced an awful tragedy," he said at the
White House during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel. U.N. humanitarian officials said some areas remained difficult
to reach, making the scale of the damage unclear. Officials fear more
landslides are possible because of more rain and melting snow. About 700
families living on a hillside near Aab Barik were told to move to
higher ground and wait for emergency aid to reach them, Adeeb said.
About
2,250 people are feared dead after a mudslide Friday buried an Afghan
village in the far-north-eastern province of Badakhshan, a spokesman for
the provincial governor said. More than 300 houses in Ab-e-Barik were
swept away in the mudslide, which occurred after heavy rainfall, Naveed
Ferotan said. "Our rescue teams have so far found 150 bodies in the
area, and they are working hard to save the villagers," he said. About
2,100 other people are missing and also feared dead, officials said. The
mudslide first struck a wedding party, killing 250 people, and then
buried nearly all of the village as well as farmland, said Haji Abdul
Wadood Saeedi, governor of the Argu district, where Ab-e-Barik is
located. About 300 families are missing, he said. The ground is still
unstable, and people in nearby villages are scared they could also
become victims, Saeedi said. Rescue teams were dispatched to the area
and at least 1,500 people have been evacuated from Ab-e-Barik so far,
Saeedi said. The United Nations said 700 families lived in Ab-e-Barik
and at least 120 houses were destroyed. "Reportedly, 350 people have
died and 580 families are at severe risk of further landslides," said
Ari Gaitanis, a UN spokesman in Kabul. "The village is flooded, and a
drainage channel must be opened to prevent further destruction," he
said. The national government and United Nations planned their own
rescue and aid response.
At
least 300 families have been burried under a hill that collapsed in a
remote mountain village in northeast Afghanistan on Friday. The
confirmed death count at present is 2,100, and is expected to rise in
the coming days. "More then 2,100 people from 300 families are all
dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial
governorsaid. The United Nations said the focus was now on the more than
4,000 displaced by Friday's disaster. There is a risk of further
landslides in the area, officials said.
The
Afghan government officially named the scene hit by a massive landslide
in Badakhshan province as a mass grave and started focusing on helping
the survivors on Sunday. "The religious scholars and high level
officials has convinced the locals to give up looking for dead bodies,"
Haji Abdul Wadoud, governor of Argo district in Badakhshan told Anadolu
Agency. "It is almost impossible to search for dead bodies," he said.
"When muslims die, they must be buried, and they are already under a
huge hill of mud." The first Vice President Mohammad Younus Qanooni also
visited the area on Sunday along with some cabinet members and
religious authorities. "All agreed that it would be named as the mass
grave of Abe Barik martyrs," Abdul Wadoud said. Early Friday afternoon, a
massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall engulfed the village of
Abe Barik in northern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. At least 300
families have been trapped under dirt and mud, whereas only 255 of the
dead bodies have been identified so far, but the local authorities
estimate that more than 2,100 people are dead. Heavy rains in the last
few weeks have also caused flash floods in different parts of the
country, taking dozens of lives and damaging hundreds of houses.
Turkey's IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has delivered humanitarian
aid to 350 families hit by Friday's landslide disaster in Badakhshan
province in northeast Afghanistan. "Emergency packages were prepared for
350 families in the first stage of the aid campaign," Orhan Sefik,
Central Asia regional coordinator of the foundation, told Anadolu
Agency. He said the packages contained food, rugs, blankets and kitchen
utensils, adding that the foundation would continue to provide aid to
the area. Earlier, Noor Mohammad Khawari, head of the Badakhshan central
hospital told Anadolu Agency that it would be tragic if the locals
agreed to the village becoming a mass grave although he said it would
require an extraordinary effort driving by a big number of professionals
and machinery to find the buried individuals. "Now they are discussing
securing the scene from the threat of floods so that members of the
victim families can come here to prayer" Khawari added. In a statement
released from his office late Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai
said he was deeply saddened after hearing the news of the landslide. The
Afghan government has also announced a day of national mourning in the
country.
‘Not bug splats’: Artists use poster-child in Pakistan drone protest
Published time: April 07, 2014 13:29
A
poster of a young child has appeared in north-west Pakistan to raise
awareness of the numerous drone attacks the region suffered. Artists who
created the image hope military commanders will think twice about
shooting after seeing the portrait.
More than 200 children are
believed to have died in the heavily-bombed Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa
according to the website notabugsplat.com. ‘Bug splat’ is the name given
by the military to a person who has been killed by a drone. Viewing the
body through a grainy computer image gives the impression that an
insect has been crushed.
Now a giant portrait of a young child has
been produced to try and raise awareness of civilian casualties in the
region. The hope is now the drone operator will see a child’s face on
his or her computer screen, rather than just a small white dot and may
think twice before attacking indiscriminately.
The child featured
in the poster is nameless, but according to the Foundation for
Fundamental Rights, who helped to launch the project in collaboration
with a number of artists, both parents were lost to a drone attack.
Drone
raids in Pakistan started in 2004 under George W. Bush’s administration
as part of the US War on Terror. The vast majority of strikes have
focused on the Federally Administered Tribal Area’s and the Khyber
Pukhtoonkhwa area due to their proximity to Afghanistan, which the
country invaded following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Louise
Hastie runs the Nowzad Animal Shelter in Kabul, which cares for stray
dogs and cats and reunites them with soldiers in their home countries.
By Kiko Itasaka, NBC News Producer
KABUL – War-torn Afghanistan is not know for its kind treatment toward dogs. From the popularity of dog fights, to grinding poverty, care of man's best friend has not been a top priority.
One former British soldier has taken on the battle to protect stray dogs and cats in her adopted country.
Louise Hastie and a team of Afghan nationals, operates the only official animal shelter in the country.
“We don’t turn any animal in need away,” said Hastie, who runs the Nowzad Animal Shelter in Kabul. Nowzad is named after the small town in Helmand where the first dog was adopted in 2007.
Animal Hero Awards 2013: Former Royal Marine nominated after rescuing 500 dogs in Afghanistan
Sergeant Pen Farthing is up for a Lifetime Achievement Award
in the Daily Mirror and RSPCA awards after bringing the strays out of
the war zone
Saviour: Pen with Nowzad, whose ears were cut off
A former Royal Marine who set up Afghanistan’s first official animal
rescue centre has been nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award in the
Daily Mirror and RSPCA Animal Hero Awards.
Responsible for
bringing more than 500 strays out of the war zone, Sergeant Pen Farthing
first became aware of the animal crisis while stationed in the country
six years ago.
After breaking up a dogfight, a common ‘sport’ in
the local villages, he was befriended by an injured dog, who followed
him back to his compound.
Naming him after the nearby village, Nowzad became a firm companion to 43-year-old Pen and his fellow marines in 42 Commando.
Man's best friend: Nowzad and Pen
And as he was joined by other strays seeking food and shelter,
Pen realised they would need somewhere to go after the troops had left.
Pen founded the charity Nowzad, and funds were raised to start redeploying the soldiers’ dogs and cats.
Now
the charity has built the first official home for strays in the
country, near Kabul, with housing for more than 100 dogs and a cattery.
They have set up a clinic as well as training local vets, educating local people and neutering animals.
Sahar Gul, then a
15-year-old Afghan wife, being carried to hospital in Baghlan. Her
in-laws tortured her to force her into prostitution. Photograph: Jawed
Basharat/AP
Human rights activists have warned of an new assault on women's rights in Afghanistan after judges and prosecutors allowed the early release of three people convicted for the brutal torture of a child bride, and conservative lawmakers made an aggressive bid to prevent relatives testifying against each other.
If
successful, the small change – introduced covertly into the criminal
prosecution code – would stop the vast majority of cases of violence
against women from ever reaching court.
Together with the quashing of three convictions for the attempted murder of the teenager Sahar Gul,
it marks an alarming two-pronged assault on women's rights by both
those who make the laws and those tasked with upholding them.
"The
last two months have really been a parade of horrible for women's
rights in Afghanistan," said Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher at
Human Rights Watch, warning that the proposed change to the criminal
code would leave most abused women with no legal protection against
violence.
"Underage marriage, forced marriage, domestic violence,
sale of women – these crimes are almost always committed against women
by family members, whether through birth or through marriage."
The
10-year sentences handed down to Gul's tormentors last year was hailed
as an important step forward, after her case horrified Afghanistan and
prompted a bout of national soul-searching.
Sold as a wife when
she was an illiterate 12-year-old, her in-laws wasted little time
embarking on a campaign of almost unimaginable torture. They starved
her, chained her in a basement bathroom, beat her, burned her with
red-hot metal pipes and pulled her fingernails out.
By the end of
her ordeal she could no longer walk, and was rescued from her makeshift
prison in a wheelbarrow. But last week, according to her lawyer and
women's activists, a court ordered the release of Gul's mother-in-law,
father-in-law, and sister-in-law saying there was no proof of abuse.
No evidence
"This
was based on the idea that there was no evidence, but the people who
would have given evidence didn't know that the hearing was taking
place," said Kimberley Motley, a Kabul-based US lawyer who took on Gul's
case last week after learning of the release.
Judges ignored the
fact that the courtroom was almost empty, with apparently no
representation from government prosecutors or the victim, even though
both should have been informed under Afghan law.
Sahar Gul at a women's shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan, last year. She
was not told about the release of her three in-laws, her lawyer said.
Photograph: Kuni Takahashi/New York Times/Redux/eyevine
"Sahar Gul was not told about this," Motley said. "The prosecutor
didn't show up or wasn't informed. I believe the only person in court
was the defence lawyer for the accused."
