Recently, NPR, an independent non-profit media organization, interviewed six Afghan aid workers from five provinces in Afghanistan. As per the information shared by these aid workers, NPR highlighted that the Taliban has been diverting foreign aid to their fighters through coercion, bullying, threats of legal action, and even violence.
For security reasons, the locations of the interviewees have been kept discreet, but these aid workers represent different provinces, providing a comprehensive understanding of the ground situation in Taliban-governed Afghanistan.
An anonymous aid worker, identified as MF, had apprehensions about speaking to the press due to fear of the Taliban regime. Despite the risks, MF believed that his story was crucial and requested the use of initials to maintain anonymity.
It is important to note that MF works for an international charity that distributes food aid in northern Afghanistan. The charity ensures that families in need have access to sustenance and avoids potential hunger by providing packages comprising rice, flour, and oil.
Food aid is crucial because, in March, the World Food Programme estimated that around 20 million Afghans were suffering from hunger, which was nearly double the number recorded just three years ago.
However, MF lamented that providing food aid to the right people has become a daunting task due to pressure exerted by local Taliban members. They insist on diverting the charity to individuals of their choosing, even if those individuals do not meet the criteria set by the charity. He stated that although these are not official requests from the Taliban Ministry for charities to comply, these unofficial letters or verbal requests are taken very seriously.
MF states that while some of their suggested names may be genuinely needy, others are Taliban fighters who do not meet the charity’s criteria.
MF said, “If we refuse to comply, employees are threatened, detained, and even beaten on baseless charges.”
While the economic crisis in the war-torn nation has been constantly pushing more and more people into hunger, these exploitative tactics by the Taliban have worsened the situation.
Western aid still pouring into Taliban-controlled nation
Even after the international sanctions on the terrorist group and banking restrictions, Afghan people still receive $40 million a week in the form of humanitarian aid despite the fact that a significant portion of the Western aid is diverted toward the Taliban and their fighters.
Similarly, the Taliban has jeopardized charitable work by banning women from working anywhere, including UN groups working in Afghanistan.
Though the Taliban deliberately avoided responding to allegations of diverting Western aid into its coffers, in April it issued a statement about criticism of the ban on women employees at nonprofit groups. In its statement, the Taliban said it is an “internal social matter.”
The US government appointed an authority to overlook its spending in Afghanistan called the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). In its April report, it also documented the Taliban’s grave interference with these International charities.
The report asserted that in 2022 alone there were 362 incidents of violence and threats against humanitarian aid workers, assets, and facilities. It cited 39 incidents of threats or intimidation against these aid workers.
Additionally, one nongovernmental group in Kabul suspended aid distribution after getting framed in an “unspecified security incident” that involved the Taliban’s Ministry of refugees and repatriation. Though in this case, aid resumed after three weeks when negotiations were brokered with the Taliban who then provided assurance for their security.
Similarly, another NGO in Faryab province reported that Taliban members confiscated its food aid aimed at hungry Afghans.
It is not that Western nations are completely unaware of their aid going into the Taliban’s coffer. Earlier, in April, while addressing the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the head of SIGAR John Sopko raised concerns about the grave misuse of U.S. tax dollars in Afghanistan.
As per SIGAR, since 2021, the United States has allotted $2 billion for humanitarian and development efforts in Afghanistan — 60% of which is food aid.
Officially it is claimed that these funds go to projects implemented through various nongovernmental and international organizations.
Sopko said, “However, it is clear from our work that the Taliban is using various methods to divert U.S. aid dollars to the Taliban and its allies.”
As per another staff worker, Mariam, the Taliban forces these charities to give funds to Taliban-supported projects such as building local madrassas — religious schools providing education on Islam alongside basic literacy courses but they do not follow the standard school curriculum and exclude certain subjects.
She added that they force charities to have their members in management positions.
It is not that the US had not suspended these humanitarian assistances on reports of embezzlement but the Western aid in Afghanistan continues unabated despite the Taliban misusing it. For instance, earlier this month, the US suspended food aid to Ethiopia, citing embezzlement of aid in a “widespread and coordinated detour operation.”
The director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University, Paul Spiegel conducted a five-week investigation in late 2021. This investigation was a part of the World Health Organization (WHO) report, on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Spiegel said, “Some of this is the cost of doing business, and it can be a very difficult decision to make. Because if you take a very strict stand [against the Taliban], they will restrict access to people in need.”
On indirectly funding the Taliban, he asserted, “It’s a bargain with the devil” and he urged the international community to continue helping Afghans.
