Sacramento Refugees Raise Concerns, Aid Following Earthquake in Afghanistan
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – The Afghanistan earthquake is now considered the deadliest in two decades. The 5.9 magnitude quake flattened villages while killing at least 1,000 people.
Refugees in Sacramento say humanitarian aid is urgent.
Naimatullah Sultani has spent hours trying to reach his hometown in Afghanistan since the early Wednesday morning quake.
"You see these pictures? It's everywhere, what's happening in Afghanistan, people are losing their house," Sultani said.
The mountainous region has no reception.
"I don't know what's going on there," he said.
What the Afghan refugee knows is the death toll is expected to climb.
The area is home to villages with houses made of mud and stone and farmers live off the land.
Many professionals like doctors left the nation following the Taliban's takeover.
"We don't have large clinics there. We don't have a large hospital there. And if we do have it, we don't have doctors there. Even if we have doctors, we don't have medication there,"
Jafar Wahidi, a resource coordinator working with Afghan refugees, told CBS13 that his phone has been inundated with calls from Afghans attempting to flee the country following the natural disaster. He believes the Taliban is ill-equipped to handle this latest humanitarian crisis.
There are concerns about the injured not being rescued while neglecting survivors.
"They need the medical, they need the financial need [and] they need assistance workers," Wahidi said.
The Afghan community is stepping into the role of providing humanitarian relief. They say their people are counting on them.
"It was very heartbreaking," Sultani said.