China has continued to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the aftermath of two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 which jolted the south-central Asian country on October 7.
In Herat province, which was hardest-hit by the quakes, many families still choose to live in tents under the open sky out of fear of aftershocks or another earthquake.
Earthquake survivors said the natural disaster adds to the plight of people living in the country.
“We have lots of problems. We’re dealing with many difficulties. Hopefully, the almighty God would solve our problems. I’m an elderly widow with a family of nine younger people,” said Khadijia, an earthquake survivor.
“The younger generation, similar to me in age, who’s the future of this country, is suffering. Also, the school children are scared,” said Ahmad Suhail, another earthquake survivor.
The Chinese government is providing 4.18 million U.S. dollars in emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan to help the country with earthquake relief work, Xu Wei, a spokesperson with the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said this week.
“According to the needs of the Afghan side, China’s aid supplies mainly include tents, rollaway beds, thick blankets, down and cotton-padded jackets, quilts, and family first-aid packets, which will be transported to Afghanistan and distributed to the local victims,” Xu said.
The Spokesperson added that China is also working to implement emergency food aid and other humanitarian arrangements previously designated for the people.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Nisar Ahmad Ilyas, the Taliban’s spokesman for Herat’s governor, expressed gratitude to China.
“We thank China. They have always stood alongside the people of Afghanistan in tough times. As I mentioned, the scale of the disaster is larger and Afghans have been affected in many aspects. Hundreds of villages were affected. Indeed, China has been providing cash assistance. Again, we ask the Chinese to stand with us Afghans,” Ilyas said.
