“I’m scared because I know I may be killed,” said Nasir*, an aid worker in Kabul who has decided to stay in Afghanistan. (*His name has been withheld for security reasons.)

Over the course of the interview with Salt&Light, Nasir confessed a few times that every day he wakes up afraid.

”But I don’t want to be scared of anyone because I want to continue to help the needy kids and people.”

“There are many homeless women and children roaming the streets. They are hungry and looking for food. Some are begging for bread, others for cash,” Nasir said. “They are very vulnerable.

“Our hearts break when we see children abandoned and dying on the streets because they have not eaten for many days.”

On the brink

According to the United Nations (UN), almost half the population of 18 million people was already dependent on humanitarian aid even before the Taliban seized control of the country in mid-August.

Conditions are deteriorating rapidly, according to reports on the ground. The country is facing the collapse of basic services and infrastructure on top of the impending economic fallout and a severe drought in the northern areas of the country which has decimated crops, reports the UN and other aid organisations.  

“Cash is running out,” Nasir added. News outlets show the streets of Kabul flooded with household items for sale by locals desperate to attain hard currency.

Without cash, no one is buying anything.

And while Western Union resumed money transfer services this week, banks still have weekly cash withdrawal limits in place and local bankers are worried about an economic collapse from the lack of liquidity. 

“We have to wait for the new government’s announcements on the new way of working. But displaced people cannot wait,” Nasir explained.

Stall owners in Kabul have started selling homewares in a desperate bid to raise cash. Food prices are soaring from a combination of food and cash shortages. Photo by the South China Morning Post.

Household items of all sorts are being sold on the streets of Kabul. Photo from https://www.irshadgul.com/

On Tuesday, September 7, the Taliban announced a “caretaker” government, after a swift takeover of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on August 15. 

“We just do what we can and try our best to help,” Nasir told Salt&Light. “We live day by day. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Things change so quickly every day.”

Running low on the basics

Camps providing temporary and informal shelter for many Afghans face overcrowding issues like unsanitary conditions and a lack of access to clean water.

There are more cholera outbreaks and illness caused by water-borne diseases, said Nasir.

Without treatment, cholera can result in death.

“The children are also showing signs of malnutrition. There’s a lot of stress on them (the children) and they look afraid,” he added.

The looming humanitarian crisis is caused, in part, by the influx of Afghans seeking refuge in Kabul city months before the Taliban’s unexpected takeover. Others fled into the mountains.

More than half a million people have been displaced in Afghanistan this year alone, according to UN estimates. 

Screengrab from Twitter.

Fear of the Taliban had driven them from their homes in other parts of the country where the Taliban had wrested control.

Deja vu

The fears are not without reason.

“For decades, Kabul has been the target of terrorism,” Nasir said. “We always have to be careful because bomb attacks are so common. Every other month. Suicide or car bombs at schools, parliamentary buildings, restaurants … you never know.

“And now soldiers are patrolling the streets with guns.”

Before the Taliban took over Kabul, Nasir described the streets as somewhat “normal and relaxed” with women and children walking around and people chatting in cafés.

“Now there is no more (of that). Women try not to go out. They are afraid that the Taliban will do what they did 20 years ago.”

Nasir remembers what it was like when the Taliban were in power from 1996 to 2001. He was a student then.

“Girls were banned from school; all my classmates were boys,” he recalled. “Girls were ‘nobodies’ in our country.

“Those who were caught breaking the rules were punished in public. Sometimes (the Taliban) beat and humiliated them.”

The Taliban have promised tolerance this time, even taking to social media on a charm offensive. But news agencies report a widening gap between its rhetoric and actions.

Screengrab from Twitter

An all-male government was recently instated. Eye witness accounts say musicians and journalists fear for their lives. Female judges are being hunted by recently-freed members of the Taliban whom they had put in jail. Murals are being white-washed with religious slogans. 

Daily faith, daily courage

“There’s a lot of fear and stress,” Nasir said of his team’s morale. Many are traumatised and he was the only one who felt up to the task of the interview with Salt&Light.

“But we try not to think about it because we want to help our people in Afghanistan. 

“I am not a brave person. Every day I pray to Father and ask Him to help me continue my work.

“My life is from Him. When it’s time for me to go home to Him, I will go.”

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