Afghanistan is facing profound challenges. Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, the situation for its people has deteriorated significantly. Food scarcity and poverty weigh heavily on families forced to flee the conflict. Despite the hostile environment for NGOs, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains committed to assisting the many displaced individuals, providing crucial support and hope in these dire times.
Leonard Zulu was UNHCR’s Representative in Afghanistan for more than two years. His mission just ended recently. He has witnessed firsthand how numerous restrictions, economic stagnation, earthquakes, and floodings have severely impacted the nation. The situation is particularly challenging for women and girls.
Leonard Zulu briefly came to Switzerland in June, in his last days as UNHCR’s representative in Afghanistan, and we could talk with him.
Mr. Zulu, can you please describe the current situation of the forcibly displaced people in Afghanistan?
At the moment, a total of 23.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance – about half of the whole Afghan population. 3.2 million are internally displaced – they had to flee the conflicts but remained in the country. 6.4 million fled from Afghanistan. Since last October, 600,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan in less than voluntary circumstances. The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is also impacted by natural disasters: The country has been struck by several earthquakes in the last 2 years, and, this year in May the Baglan and Ghor Provinces were flooded. I just visited an area in Baglan Province at the beginning of June, where more than 300 people lost their lives. This is happening on top of droughts and crop failures that constantly occur in Afghanistan and the situation isn’t improving, because of the economic downturn. More and more people don’t have enough to eat, their wellbeing is deteriorating, their human rights are undermined. I’m especially concerned about the situation of women and girls. Indeed, girls aren’t allowed to continue their education beyond year six. In December 2023 they were also banned from universities.
What do people in Afghanistan need?
First and foremost, they need peace. This is the only way to secure their safety. Right after that comes food. The lack of safety and food cause psychosocial problems and mental health problems. In addition, many parents are concerned about their children, because they’re exposed to threads such as exploitation, early marriage, child labour. The families need adequate shelters, many lost their houses, they were destroyed during the conflict. They need legal assistance to be able to obtain an identity card. Access to education and health is also vital, but there aren’t enough clinics and schools in Afghanistan. Like everywhere else, parents would like to bring their children to a nice school in the morning, where they know they’re safe and welcome them back later in the day. For us these are normal things, but not for Afghans. The people would like to earn a living, but the unemployment rate is very high, it’s very difficult to find a job that pays well. Especially for women: They’re only allowed to work in specific sectors, and they’re paid less than men. They’re banned from higher education. We want to address these human rights concerns, with the support of the international community.
We in the Western world can hardly imagine being a woman in Afghanistan. Can you describe their life a bit more?
Let’s say a woman wakes up in the morning in her house and wants to go to the market. She can’t leave the house without a male relative accompanying her, she can’t walk the streets on her own. Maybe she had a job before, but she’s been banned from going to the office now. Going to a public park, public bath or the gym is prohibited. If she has a young daughter, this girl can only go to school for 6 years. If the daughter was already a bit older and taking her exams during the time when the ban came in, she would no longer be allowed to go to university. If the daughter was already studying, she’s now prohibited from entering the university premises. A woman that survived gender-based violence can’t easily access the services that could help her. That is severely restricted now. So, it isn’t an easy life for women and girls in Afghanistan at the moment.
Women are basically invisible in the Afghan society. How can UNHCR help them?
Sometimes after discussions we’re able to go to their houses. We need women in our staff to do this, so we are constantly advocating for them. These staff members ask the Afghan women what they need. They provide them with a safe space where they can talk freely. Aid for women is delivered by women, this way we ensure a cultural sensitive approach. We try to empower them, advocate for their rights to work, to education, to exercise, their freedom of movement. All of this under threat.
The situation in Afghanistan makes UNHCR’s mission there difficult. But also the lack of funds. Can you explain how this affects your work?
We’re not able to deliver aid at the scale that we promised to. Our budget is 39% funded at the moment, and I would like to thank our partners, all the donors, everyone that contributed to this. We have to constantly reprioritize our activities in Afghanistan, move funds from one sector to the other. For example, if the returns to Afghanistan increase, we have to support these people, so that they can build a new life. We have to take this money from another planned and necessary project, so maybe we have to postpone the building of houses for families that are already in Afghanistan. Or we have to delay the building of a new clinic that the community desperately needs, because we have to use this money for shelters. We’re constantly trying to do more with less. We rely on the generosity of humanity, on the donors, so that we can deliver lifesaving assistance to the people who need it. UNHCR will stay in Afghanistan, even though the resources are limited, because what is important is: We’re there to pay witness, we’re there in solidarity with the people and we’re there to provide help. But yes, we need more resources to provide all the assistance needed, to not be forced to make the hard choices of who’ll receive help today and who has to wait.
UNHCR will stay in Afghanistan, its work there is very important – but I guess it also takes a toll on the staff members…
I’ve got 354 colleagues that I work with in Afghanistan and I’m very proud of them. They work there because they see the results. They see a family who used to live in a tent move into a house. They see the smile on their faces, and it makes their day. They know that all the hard work and sacrifice is worth it. I’m especially proud of the national staff, among them more than 60 women, as they have endured this situation for many years. And still, they wake up every morning and go to deliver lifesaving assistance to their compatriots. We have coping mechanisms, staff counselling that help us manage the stress better. But I think what really keeps us going is the fact that we see the positive impact of our work on the ground. The schools, the clinics, the streets we build to connect the communities. The business centers we provide, where women can earn a livelihood downstairs and can come together and talk in a safe environment upstairs. When you see a healthy baby being born in a remote village and thanks to one of our trained midwives the mother’s life could be saved – this warms your heart. This makes you wake up every morning and be ready to be with the people of Afghanistan.
I’m sure the people in Switzerland are shocked about the situation in Afghanistan. But some feel helpless because they wonder: But what can I do to improve the lives of these people…? Well, what can we do?
You can donate to support our programs in Afghanistan. On the website you can see what we do in this country and learn more about our work there. Every Swiss Franc counts – but also your solidarity. Think about the people in Afghanistan from time to time, talk to your family and friends about them, say something in support of the women and girls there. It’s your money and your heart that make the difference. Thank you very much!
Thank you very much for this interview, Mr. Zulu.