KABUL: Although Shamila cannot recall the face of the infant son who passed away in her arms at their Kabul home this month in subzero temperatures.
She stated, “He had a bright white face, big eyes, a small nose, and black hair.”
Amrullah, a three-month-old infant, was one of at least 171 people who died in Afghanistan in recent weeks as a result of the bitterly cold weather, which came at a time when the country was facing a serious humanitarian crisis.
During the coldest winter in 15 years, which has seen temperatures as low as -29.2 degrees Fahrenheit, the United Nations estimates that 28 million Afghans, many of whom are children, require immediate assistance.
In recent weeks, a ruling by the Taliban administration prohibiting the majority of female NGO employees from working rendered many aid organizations unable to carry out numerous programs in the conservative nation.
Amrullah’s father, Nek Mohammad, 40, lost his job as a laborer a few months ago due to health issues.
Some of their eight children quickly got sick because their mountainside home had drafty windows, little food other than bread and tea, and no money for heating.
Around two weeks ago, they took baby Amrullah to the hospital because he was coughing and had clogged his lungs.
In recent months, Afghanistan’s hospital wards have been overflowing with children with pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses because many families are forced to choose between buying food or heating their homes.
Shamila, 35, was wrapped in a quilt and holding her infant. However, when she awoke around midnight, his face was icy.
She stated, “I was trying to… warm my baby boy, but I couldn’t succeed” on the night she lost her baby.
They quietly buried their baby without informing family because they lacked the funds to host funeral guests.
Since then, a family friend has provided them with a basic charcoal heating system to alleviate the deadly cold. However, Shamila is concerned about several of her surviving children who have severe coughs because she cannot afford much food other than bread.
She stated, “I am always thinking about my baby boy and my two other small children, they are also sick, I don’t want to lose them as well.” She requested additional international assistance for Afghanistan.
The family was unable to capture a picture of Amrullah due to their lack of a smartphone with a camera. However, in a small bundle, his mother keeps the clothes she made for him before he was born.
They prayed for their son and went to the snow-covered cemetery on Tuesday.
Shamila prayed in front of the rock that marked his grave, “May God spare other mothers the pain of losing their children.” It is extremely challenging for humans to bear it.”
