As people outside of Afghanistan try to help those inside trying to escape, the task can easily seem overwhelming. There are too many people in need and the situation is too dire.
There are already numerous cases of successes and failures in these efforts to help people get out. And I know the people working from the outside are facing difficult choices about who to help and how.
This developing humanitarian crisis will soon collide with Covid's resurgence, in my estimation, because with large numbers of desperate people, many of them unvaccinated, crowded together in unsanitary conditions, the delta variant will spread rapidly infecting many of them with the disease.
This may seem like a localized problem but we have learned during the pandemic that there is no "local" when it comes to Covid-19: Everything is global; what affects one person anywhere in the world will touch the rest of us in due course.
So this is everyone's problem.
What I fear is that the crowded refugee camps that will inevitably result from the exodus from Afghanistan are almost certainly going to serve as breeding grounds for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to mutate into a more deadlier variant than delta.
For some time, public health experts I've consulted have been warning that the *next* variant after delta may be the one we need to worry about, and that is one reason for the urgency to get as many people vaccinated as possible -- not just here but around the world.
Experts estimate that barely 2.4 percent of the Afghan population is fully vaccinated, which hints at the magnitude of the potential problem in that country. Even without the political crisis, much vaccination work remains to be done there.
The maddening thing for each of us is that both crises, the need to vaccinate people and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan just seem too enormous for any of us to do anything meaningful.
That may be true but it is not an excuse to do nothing.
Anyone can contribute in various ways to the many charities trying to help Afghans escape or to the efforts to get the unvaccinated shots, or ideally to both.
These crises are intertwined at present and may well not be solvable no matter how hard we try.
Our only hope is to attack them one person at a time. If the opportunity arises to help an Afghan, do it. If an opportunity arises to convince someone to get vaccinated, do it.
The Taliban leaders would do well to recognize the emerging public health crisis if they wish to gain much-needed international credibility. They alone have the power on the ground to get people vaccinated in Afghanistan, but they need other nations' help to do so.
This could be a way for the new rulers to demonstrate that they really do care about their own people, not only about a cause, about revenge, about hate, about violence.
But for that to happen they will have to discover the meaning of love.
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Here is a guide to help from the Global Investigative Journalism Network: Afghanistan: How to Help Journalists and Others at Risk
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One aspect of the Afghan situation that is that most people lack the resources to withstand a crisis, such as shortages of cash, food or supplies. Even in the growing middle class, people live with far less financial security than in Western countries.
Average per capita income per year is estimated to be $570 or about $1.50 per day. This leaves very little margin for error in a society where there is no social welfare net to save people when disaster strikes.
The Taliban leaders know this, which is why they will try to convince banks, foreign governments and international aid agencies to provide aid if shortages develop. And this may be the greatest point of leverage for foreign countries on the Taliban to respect human rights and women's rights going forward.
THE HEADLINES:
* Crowds Return to Kabul Airport; U.S. Warns of More Attacks (WSJ)
* U.S. on alert for more attacks, death toll rises from Kabul airport carnage (Reuters)
* After Decades of War, ISIS and Al Qaeda Can Still Wreak Havoc -- The U.S. and its allies waged war for 20 years to try to defeat terrorists in Afghanistan. A double-suicide bombing demonstrated that they remain a threat. (NYT)
* ISIS-K, the group behind the Kabul airport attack, sees both Taliban and the U.S. as enemies (WP)
* U.S. presses on with evacuations despite fears of more attacks (AP)
* A Stranded Interpreter, and the Soldiers Who Would Not Let Go -- Many Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan are now in danger. One spoke to us about his battle to get his family out alive as he hid in Kabul. (NYT)
* Analysis: Islamic State attack signals West's least bad option for Afghanistan: the Taliban (Reuters)
* Death toll rises to at least 170 in Kabul airport bombing (WP)
* VIDEO: ‘We Will Hunt You Down,’ Biden Vows After Kabul Explosions(AP) VIDEO:
* VIDEO: Kamala Harris Pledges Support to Afghan Women and Children -- During a trip to Vietnam, Vice President Kamala Harris said the first priority for rescue missions in Afghanistan are American citizens and women and children in the region. (AP)* Border Standoff Over Afghan Migrants Highlights E.U. Fears of New Influx -- Belarus is accused of using migrants as a weapon against the European Union after a group of Afghans got trapped on its border with Poland, where the issue has become increasingly politicized. (NYT)
* Greenhouse Gas Levels Are The Highest Ever Seen — And That's Going Back 800,000 Years (NPR)
* Nearly the entire state of California is in extreme or exceptional drought conditions. (SF Chronicle)
* Lake Tahoe Suffocates With Smoke (NYT)
* Western Europe Can Expect More Heavy Rainfall And Fatal Floods As The Climate Warms (NPR)
* COVID-19 surge pummels Hawaii and its native population (AP)
* Researchers Ready Lab-Grown Delta Variant for Human Trials (WSJ)
*Biden shedding support from independent voters as Delta variant spreads - poll (Reuters)
* Facing Its Worst Virus Surge, Oregon Returns to Strict Mandates (NYT)
* The confusion surrounding booster shots could paralyze vaccination efforts. The government must step up. (WP)
* Supreme Court Ends Biden’s Eviction Moratorium -- The ruling followed political and legal maneuvering by the administration to retain protections for tenants. It puts hundreds of thousands at risk of being put out of their homes. (NYT)
* Scientists Discover Fossil Of A 4-Legged Whale With A Raptor-Like Eating Style (NPR)
"Missing You"
I always catch my breath
And I'm still standing here
And you're miles away
And I'm wondering why you left
And there's a storm that's raging
Through my frozen heart tonight
I hear your name in certain circles
And it always makes me smile
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