This month, in north-west Afghanistan,
the ICRC is distributing food to 280,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans in the region may have to leave their homes this winter because of drought, insecurity and rising food prices.
Date, location: October 2008, Kunduz, North-west Afghanistan
Production: Leigh Daynes, Becky Webb
Sound: English, Dari
Copyrights: British Red Cross – Access All
Length: 8
mins For broadcast tapes and information on footage: Becky Webb, British Red Cross
SHOTLIST 00:00 Food packages are distributed from Namaz Asay village, covering the surrounding 9 villages, in Khanabad district,
about 60 kms from Kunduz city, which is a six hour drive north of Kabul.
01:04 Interview with grocer in Kunduz town (Dari with Eng translation on ch2)
”Recently, selling is
decreasing, because many people are leaving the city.
They are going to different places as refugees”
01:13 Various shots of the grocery stall
01:29 Interview with a butcher in Kunduz
town (Dari with Eng translation on ch2)
”My name is Mohammed, the Butcher, and we are around the market of Murch” ”My work is well, but since the people are getting poorer, day by
day, before where I was killing 4 sheep, now I’m killing two sheep, as the people cannot afford them.
And I am now decreasing the amount of my production.” ”The people are
getting weak because there is no cultivation, there is no farming.
My job is mainly depending on farmers and since this year the farmers have not got products from the cultivation, so I am
decreasing in my business.”
02:12 Shots of butcher at work in his stall
02:21 Street scene, Kunduz
02:26 Knife sharpener Kunduz
02:35 Street scene, Kunduz
02:40 Various shots of ICRC
vehicle convoy going through Kunduz province countryside
02:59 Interview with Daniel FUGUER, Economic Security Delegate, ICRC
(ENG)
”As other provinces in Afghanistan as well, this province
has suffered from several years of consecutive drought.
Some of them two up to four years.” ”Without this rain, they couldn’t create any harvest at all, or at maximum, a
quarter of the usual harvest.” ”The whole economy is mainly based on agriculture.” ”Without the harvest, or with this little harvest of a maximum of 25 percent, some of them
are not even able to feed themselves.
They don’t have any surplus that they can use to sell.” ”We basically provide them with food assistance.” ”The final
numbers should be around 40,000 families, which then will receive an assistance based on rice, together with beans, they will receive Ghee, oil, sugar, salt as well as tea.
It’s
basically the basic diet for the people living here in the north of Afghanistan.” ”So basically what the ICRC would like to achieve is that with two food rations, that would be two food
rations to cover two months, at least, we would like to support the families to get to the next harvest period.”
04:17 Wide shots of ICRC vehicles on the move
04:28 Rural villagers wait for food04:35 Large vehicles with food supplies arrive
04:47 Food distribution begins
Various shots
05:35 Interview with local villager waiting for relief supplies Dari with Eng translation on Ch2 ”We
don’t have enough food to survive this winter.” ”I plan to go as a labourer to Kunduz, Halabad in order to earn money and to do farming over there so I can get some herbs.”05:54 Various shots of food distribution
06:31 Children at the distribution centre
06:42 Villager loads up food to bring home with him from the distribution centre
07:16 Family various shots
07:37
Interview with local family
Dari with Eng translation on Ch2 ”Last night we only had a piece of bread, warmed up, with a glass of tea we took it” ”All of the family just got small
pieces of it, to have for the night, quietly.” ”This year, no rain, drought, and whatever we had, we planted, but we did not get the harvest.
So I don’t know even where my
son has gone for work, and I am waiting for him to return and to bring something back from wherever he is working.” ”For next year, we believe in God, as well as waiting for the government
and the international committee of the red cross to do something.
And as well from God, asking for rain, for a few drops of rain, to use that for cultivation.”
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