A killed and injured thousands of people in Afghanistan鈥檚 west. Three months on, survivors are struggling to rebuild their lives.
Some families are living in canvas-colored tents in Zinda Jan district, the quake鈥檚 epicenter in the province of Herat, where every home was flattened.
People endure the winter conditions with the help of donations and their Islamic faith, but they鈥檙e anxious about what lies ahead.
Habib Rahman, 43, was watching TV at his father-in-law鈥檚 home when the quake struck. The horror still rings in his ears. He can鈥檛 get it out of his head.
However many details he gave about that day would never be enough, he told The Associated Press.
Every squat mud building in Zinda Jan collapsed within minutes. Fear, shouting, panic and shock swept through villages. People used their hands to pull the living and the dead from under the rubble.
鈥淚f we look at this soil and dust, we will go beyond crazy,鈥� Habib said. 鈥淭he children are psychologically affected. Sometimes I play with them to distract them from being anxious and (help them) forget about the earthquake. But they don鈥檛 forget.鈥�
The winds and storms continuously knock down and tear the tents of Zinda Jan, the people鈥檚 only refuge from the bitter cold. 鈥淕ive us your heart (warmth), find shelter for us,鈥� he implored. 鈥淭he weather is cold. It is very cold.鈥�
Children still don鈥檛 have access to a mosque or school, he said. He wonders what will happen to them, their future. He wants life to return to how it was before the quake, when villagers had their own means and resources.
Before the quake, 55-year-old Mula Dad Mohammadi had a house with six rooms, a kitchen, and space for crops, livestock and timber. Now, he shelters underneath tarpaulin and sheets with his wife and children. He is grateful for the relief efforts but wants measures for longer-term recovery.
鈥淥ur farming and agriculture have been destroyed,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur property and lives have been destroyed. What they gave us was for a temporary period 鈥� two sacks of rice and two sacks of wheat. Let us do our own farming.鈥�
The global response to the disaster was slow, with much of the international community with the Taliban-controlled government.
The world was also focused on the surprise attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered the , only hours before the quake hit Herat.
The Taliban, NGOs, the country鈥檚 and the Afghan public rallied around quake-hit communities to help with cash assistance, food, clothing, medicine, and reconstruction.
Pale blue domes resembling beehives 鈥� built in Zinda Jan with donations from the Afghan diaspora, including artists and singers 鈥� could now be seen dotting the skyline. They鈥檙e sturdier than the houses normally seen in much of Afghanistan and are intended to be more earthquake-resistant.
It鈥檚 the first time that this type of housing, known as super adobe, has been seen in the country. Project manager Shakib Shahabi, from a local nongovernmental organization, called the Agency for Humanitarian and Development Assistance for Afghanistan, said 37 homes have been built in 32 days.
鈥淲e have lessons learned from the implementation of this project and we鈥檙e willing to share our experiences with interested organizations,鈥� he said.
Nisar Ahmad Ilias, a spokesman for the Herat governor, said 3,000 houses are being worked on in Zinda Jan. Some are 90% finished and others are 20% completed. Survivors still need help because of the scale of the disaster. He urged Afghans 鈥� and the rest of the world 鈥� to step up their response.
鈥淣atural disasters happen in other countries as well,鈥� said Ilias. 鈥淭he international community, which has helped in those places, has not done it here. It is necessary for them to take more steps and stand with Afghans.鈥�
Omid Haqjo, The Associated Press
