KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Widowed 10 years ago after her civilian husband became an unsuspecting victim in the war between the Russians and the mujahedeen, Sayed Bibi was left alone to raise her family of seven.
It's a fate not uncommon for many women in Afghanistan, given its 30-year history of war, but Bibi was dealt an added blow in the form of two sick sons — one crippled and left unable to speak from polio and another stricken with mental illness.
Most of her time is spent taking care of her children, which has made it difficult for her to work and she typically resorts to begging to find money for groceries.
The doting mother, who is constantly stroking and consoling her wheelchair-bound 25-year-old son Rohola, is grateful for whatever she can get.
Disabled Kandahar residents came in droves to collect cooking oil, flour, surgar and other supplies Saturday. (CP/Tobi Cohen)
On Saturday, that was a 50-kilogram bag of flour, a two-kilogram bag of sugar and a three-litre container of oil.
As part of a gesture of goodwill by the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid, hundreds or poor or disabled Kandahar residents were welcomed into Camp Nathan Smith for the annual Muslim Eid holiday food distribution.
“As members of the Kandahar community, we want to participate in community activities in a way that is consistent with our neighbours,” PRT commander Lt-Col. Bob Chamberlain said.
“The recommendation that the whole government team came up with in conjunction with our Afghan allies is that the focus for this should be the most vulnerable in the city.”
By no means “accessible” by Canadian standards, they traversed the dusty gravel lot by rickety wheelchair, bicycle, wheelbarrow and foot. Others hobbled in on crutches and canes and even the elderly somehow managed to hobble out with their heavy load slung over their back in a blanket.
According to the province's department of social affairs, there are an estimated 5,000 disabled people living in Kandahar, many of them left limbless as a result of landmines and improvised explosive devices.
Despite the PRT's best efforts, many more people arrived than there were supplies and were sent home empty handed.
Habiba Jalani, director of vocational training for the disabled community, said the government does provide cash and job training to registered individuals but that it's “a very small amount.”
In fact, the pay of 400-800 Afghanis is equivalent to a mere $8-$16 a month and recipients say it doesn't even come close to meeting their basic needs.
“That's not enough at all. One sack of flour is 2,700 (Afghanis) so 400 cannot be enough and I have a family of eight members,” said Akhtar Mohammad, who lost his leg after stepping on a landmine during the war with Russia some 17 years ago.
For Fariq Ullah, it was a roadside bomb that claimed his leg eight years ago while driving to Kandahar.
The one-time farmer can no longer work and relies on his wife who bakes bread at another person's home. The couple and their children can't go to school.
He said the 1,200 Afghanis he gets every three months doesn't do much — they subsist on bread and milk — but he's grateful to the international community for its handouts.
“If things like this can be done, it's still a lot,” he said. “This food given today will be enough for a month or two.”
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