PRESS RELEASE: The Danish aid organization Mission East has been providing humanitarian and development aid in Afghanistan for 20 years. The project area is today under Taliban control, but Mission East continues its relief efforts, even though the Allies are withdrawing military aid on 11 September. “We will continue to meet the needs of the population despite the difficult conditions,” says the international director.
On the evening of August 10, the Taliban captured the city of Fayzabad, the capital of the Afghan province of Badakhshan near the border with Tajikistan. Thus, the last area where the Danish aid organization Mission East works is now under the control of the Islamist movement.
Mission East is committed to staying in the area and meeting the needs of the local people. Even after September 11, 2021, when the Allies withdrew their military support and left the country to an uncertain fate. Denmark already withdrew the last soldiers from the country in June.
– There were no “extreme acts of war” when government forces withdrew from Fayzabad and handed over the city to the Taliban. All our employees in the city are safe, says Mission East’s international director Peter Drummond Smith.
He states that Mission East’s office in the city is running at a minimum. Only guards and a few office staff are at work. Foreign employees work from outside the country.
Distributed relief packages to 1,000 disaster victims
Just before the fall of Fayzaba, Mission East managed to distribute hygiene items, household equipment, cleaning supplies, and protective equipment against COVID-19 to about 1,000 people in the Taliban-controlled Warduj district about a 4-hour drive southeast of Faizabad. Here, the population is hit by floods and mudslides as a result of heavy rainfall in July.
For 20 years, Mission East has provided both humanitarian and long-term development assistance in the northeastern provinces of Thakhar and Bahdakhshan. Over the last few years, the Taliban have gradually taken control of areas in the Northeast, and this has increased dramatically in recent months and weeks. The last government-controlled city, Fayzabad, fell yesterday.
– We have been able to work under these conditions precisely because we focus on helping the population and are neutral and independent about the conflict, Peter Drummond Smith explains and adds:
– We will continue to meet the needs of the people despite the difficult conditions.
We are committed to helping where the needs are greatest
He refers to the international ethical guidelines for humanitarian aid work that Mission East and most humanitarian organizations adhere to. Here it says, among other things:
“As members of the international community, we recognize our commitment to provide humanitarian assistance where necessary (…) The primary motivation for our disaster response is to alleviate human suffering among those least able to resist. stress caused by disaster… ”
– We focus on the needs of the population and continue to provide development assistance in the villages. We provide water and sanitation, increase food security, and train the population to earn a living, as well as prevent and assist in climate disasters. In addition, we intervene with emergency aid when the needs require it, says Peter Drummond Smith.
The Taliban are expected to spare NGOs
However, the activities have been suspended for a short time. The offices in Fayzabad, Rustaq, and Ishkashim run at a minimum. However, Peter Drummond Smith expects the projects to continue as planned soon.
– Our employees are not targets for attacks. The Taliban need us. If we leave Afghanistan, it will hurt the movement. There is a power dynamic locally. If our services cease, local village leaders will protest against the Taliban. And then the militant movement has no support locally.
However, optimism is added with a grain of salt: employee safety, women’s rights, access to villages, and respect for NGO neutrality and independence remain an open question.
