Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Afghan Refugees Try to Get into Pakistan from Kandahar Area

Aired October 21, 2001 - 10:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of Afghan refugees from the Kandahar area are trying to cross the border into Pakistan. They're bringing very little with them other than stories of war and hardship.

CNN's Amanda Kibel is on the border right now and she has the latest on what is shaping up to be a desperate situation -- Amanda.

AMANDA KIBEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Jeanne I'm in Quetta right now which is about a four hour drive from the border area. But the reports that we've had from the Chaman border today is that the border remains completely sealed and absolutely no refugees have been allowed to cross today.

We also hear there are some 6,000 refugees messed on the Afghan side of the border waiting to cross. We've had reports that these refugees have begun throwing stones at Pakistan security officials manning the border post. Clearly, they've been waiting there for the days, waiting to cross and with no sign of the border softening, they are becoming increasingly desperate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): They came in a steady flow some clutching children's hands, most carrying only a few belongings. Like silent blue ghosts moving among the crowd they hurried across the border while they could some in wheelbarrows, others on foot followed closely by at least one male escort. For a few there was transport waiting to pick them up in Pakistan. Many waited in huddles for a ride.

(on camera): Pakistan government officials say this border officially remains closed but in the two hours since we've been here, hundreds of people have streamed across the border, many of them refugee woman and children.

(voice-over): Through a window in an army command post, we saw the women lining up on the Afghan side, first to have their identity cards checked. Officials here told us, "Only those with valid Pakistani identity cards could cross." Then the women were sent to a tent for security checks. Anyone or anything we were told could be hiding underneath the burkha. Most told us they had come from Kandahar, about a two-hour drive.

"They were shooting and bombing," says this woman, "It was very bad there." "It was very bad there," agrees another, "This is why we came." This young man told that he too had just arrived from the Kandahar area. He told us, he had crossed into Pakistan to bring the women and children. He was going back to Afghanistan he said to fight the jihad and in the name of god he told us, "We will fight to the death."

But for most the holy war was not the objective. They wanted, they said, simply safety and food. Many described Kandahar is empty, food and fuel scarce. They described many wounded by the bombing and some who had died. In Al Madad Chowk (ph) in Kandahar, said this young man, there are many houses which have been bombed. People are trapped under the rubble, both dead and the injured. People there, he said, were trying to pull them out.

One woman told us she had come to the border by a car. She had paid the equivalent of about $30 for the journey, a month's salary for many in Afghanistan. But their journey will not end here, the search for food and safety may have just begun. There are no reception camps here yet for refugees. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says at best there will be two camps right up and running before the end of the month.

FATOUMA KABA, UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN PAKISTAN: We do not have the facilities for now that's why we're in a race against time. We're in the race against time to finish this facility. We're in the race against time because we are seeing a very dramatic situation.

KIBEL: The UNHCR plans to begin sending trucks here Sunday with tents, food, and blankets. And a medical team they say is headed this way. But with an estimated 10,000 refugees waiting on the other side of the Afghan border and thousands already in Pakistan, aid agencies say they will need to move quickly to transform their contingency plan into a full-blown aid operation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Jeanne, to that end, the UNHCR says it sent representatives to the Chaman border area today to assess the situation there. We also are told that a truck left Quetta today, that truck that was supposed to take blankets, food, water. We have no confirmation though that that in fact has reached the people at the border area at this stage -- Jeanne.

MESERVE: Amanda Kibel in Pakistan thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com