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Friendship mission takes flight
Soccer balls kick off refugee frenzy
Barbie gift brings joy to girl's harsh world
Volunteers helping raise city from ruin
Mission ushers in Afghan revival Canadian aid group commits to rebuild country
A People in need of a future
Mission ushers in Afghan revival Canadian aid group commits to rebuild country
Emma Poole
Calgary Herald
Zaranj, Afghanistan
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LtoR, Exec. Director of Samaritan's Purse Canada, Sean Campbell going over an Afghanistan map with Governor of Nimruz, Karim Barahoe during a meeting in Zaranj, S.W. Afghanistan, Wednesday. Person on right, Ramin Hashemi, translator for Samaritan's Purse. |
Hospitals will be built, roads will be developed and refugee camps filled with displaced people will be packed up as Afghans attempt to return to their lives after the Taliban and the bombings by the United States.
The Canadians, including several Calgarians, hope the transition to normalcy may be just a little bit easier with their help.
"We might not change the whole world, but maybe we'll change a bit of it," said Sean Campbell, executive director of the humanitarian aid group Samaritan's Purse.
The group -- including members from the United Kingdom -- has worked tirelessly for more than a month to help build and sustain Afghan refugee camps. The week has been filled with distribution of aid to two refugee camps in western Afghanistan, near the Iranian border.
Thousands of hygiene packs and shoeboxes filled with toys were delivered to the more than 10,000 Afghans who are trapped by the Iranian border, unable to return home and barred from entering the neighbouring country.
The Afghanistan distribution team included three members of Parliament -- Art Hanger, Monte Solberg and Grant McNally -- who ignored warnings to cancel their plans to travel to the war zone.
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A man walking up the main street in front of a well stocked store in Zaranj, S.W. Afghanistan. A month ago, many of the stores were closed, but now after the war the stores along the street has opened up again. |
"Here's one refugee camp with 5,000 people and it's overwhelming -- and it's just one camp," said Hanger, standing in the middle of thousands of canvas tents known as Mile 46 refugee camp.
"There's hundreds of thousands of people in the same boat."
Hanger's Canadian Alliance colleague, Monte Solberg, knew the refugee situation would be disturbing, but wasn't expecting to see the great number of desperate people.
"I'm struck by how big the camps are," said Solberg, who also toured the Makaki refugee camp, 50 kilometres from Mile 46.
Until recently, Makaki was under the control of Taliban forces. It has been taken over by Northern Alliance fighters, who also run Mile 46.
"You just hope you're doing something that will help the refugees," said Solberg. "It puts our little lives into perspective."
The MPs and members of Samaritan's Purse met with the governor of the Iranian province most affected by the refugee crisis.
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A Afghan woman in a small village by the outskirts of Zaranj, showing a pot she received from the Red Cross a while ago. |
"We feel as an organization, and certainly as a country, the more we can do to help the Afghan people go home, the better," said Seyed Mahmood Husseini, governor of Baluchistan in southeastern Iran.
"It's better for Iran, it's better for the Afghan people and it's better for the world."
Husseini's round table discussion lasted approximately an hour and was held at the governor's office in Zahedan.
It ended with the exchanging of gifts. Hanger presented Husseini with a book about Calgary, while the governor responded by giving the Canadians a book about Iran.
Both pledged to work to help the Afghans with long-term solutions to the refugee crisis.
"I feel our hearts are connected. We have no west and east," Husseini told the delegation. "We believe no other country but Iran can help rebuild Afghanistan. After the winter, we're planning to orchestrate the (Afghans') return to their homelands."
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Herald reporter Emma Poole and Herald photographer Mikael Kjellström travelled through Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid project with Samaritan's Purse. They covered the distribution of 3,500 gift packages packed by Calgary kids for Afghan kids. |
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Copyright © 2001, NGO Photographer Mikael Kjellström, All rights reserved