My name is Atabek. I work for Save the Children in Afghanistan. As I’m writing this, it’s been five days since I came to Herat in the northwest of the country, where multiple deadly earthquakes have struck since 12th October. Around me, I see the lives of the people being turned upside down, and the children here have already been through so much. This is a crisis within a crisis. I see families struggling just to survive, now even more devastated by recent events. More than 7,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged, leaving thousands homeless and forced to sleep out in the open. 

Everyone is afraid. No one wants to go inside their houses. Everyone is living in tents in their yards, open fields, and in parks. They fear another big earthquake will hit. Aftershocks occur about two or three times a day, and you can see damaged buildings everywhere. 

On the first day I arrived, there was another strong earthquake and many minor earthquakes and aftershocks. The big one I felt was so horrifying, it was shaking the building next to me and although I was staying in a tent on the open field, I ran without taking my phone because I thought the building might collapse on top of me. Since then, I wake up suddenly at night from the fear of the earthquake. I always put a half-full bottle of water beside me so I can tell if a real earthquake is happening by the ripples or if it is just a dream. 

The next day, I passed by a hospital that had set up their emergency beds on the road. The city was quiet – there was no traffic, only a handful of shops on the ground floor were open, their owners ready to rush out in case anything happened. 

One evening, shortly after I arrived, a heavy sandstorm hit Herat. The sky turned to a dark reddish colour – I could barely breathe. The wind was shaking our tent and dust poured in, even though we were surrounded by a boundary wall. I could only imagine what it was like for families huddling in their tents out in the open. 

The next day, I joined the emergency response team from our partner organization to visit a village that had been badly hit by the earthquakes. It was a long and difficult journey as there were no roads. We had to go through open fields by following the tyre prints of other cars, with local people guiding the way.

When we arrived, we discovered that the entire community had been forced to abandon their damaged homes and were now living in tents and shelters. It was cold and windy, and some of the tents had collapsed due to strong wind. The villagers put heavy bricks around the tents to protect them, but I still saw some of the tents collapsing. I spoke with some of the community members, and they told me about how cold it gets there and about their worries about the coming winter. This area is colder than most in Afghanistan; people stay inside their homes through the colder months. Now, they don’thave homes to protect them. They are afraid that their children will survive the earthquake but may not survive the winter. 

One man told me that his house collapsed in the earthquake, and the part that was left standing was cracked; he couldn’t get his belongings out and was afraid that the remaining walls might collapse anytime. He also told me that on the previous night, their tents were blown down by the sandstorm while his children were inside. Fortunately, his children were unharmed but spent the cold night huddled in the collapsed tent. 

From what I’ve seen, in some instances, around 20 family members are living in a single tent made of carpets, blankets and salvaged fabric. These aren’t waterproof, and rain will come soon. School buildings have also been impacted, and there are no safe places for children to study and play.  

People here need shelter to keep them safe from the cold and dust. They are worried about their children. The winter is on the way, and there won’tbe the chance to rebuild their homes before it hits. The villagers make their homes from mud and the weather is already cold and wet, so any new buildings or repair work will not dry in this weather. One man told me that the community built these houses over a period of 30 years. All of them collapsed in the earthquake. 

 After their houses collapsed, food that families were relying on was ruined. I’ve seen how locals are sharing their food with each other, but this isn’t sustainable. In some communities, they simply don’t have enough food to eat. There is a lack of clean water, and the wells that are their main water source have been damaged and are out of use now. They are fetching water from a place one hour away by donkey ride.  

The earthquake has created a crisis on top of a crisis, for families that were already struggling. Save the Children is responding by providing families with cash assistance so they can buy essential supplies, but we need more help.  

 Children in these villages need proper shelter, at least a strong tent that will resist the heavy wind, with temporary latrines and water facilities. Additionally, children need safe spaces for learning and playing away from the rubble. Please help families affected by these terrible earthquakes today.