Afghan Woes Test Relief Agencies

Relief organizations, already strapped by demands in Afghanistan, are busy redirecting supplies to the Hindu Kush region of that country, where a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck this week.

Orange County’s large Afghan community struggled to deal with the latest disaster. Laguna Niguel resident Fauzia Assifi, of the Afghan Women’s Assn. of Southern California, said the news has been heartbreaking.

“We are so overwhelmed,” Assifi said. “I cried when I heard about it. They’re already in such horrible conditions and on top of it, this?”

Aftershocks and impassable roads hampered many of the efforts, and officials with several Southern California-based organizations said they are waiting for word from their teams in Afghanistan.

“We’ve sent a mobile team there to basically do triage and get a sense of what the needs are,” said Nancy Aossey, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles-based International Medical Corps.

“Access is pretty limited and information is sketchy, but because we’re inside the country, we can mobilize pretty quickly.”

Monday’s earthquake--the second in a month in the mountainous region--is stretching the resources of humanitarian aid organizations already trying to deal with famine, homelessness, war and a cold winter.

Estimates of the quake’s death toll range from 800 to 2,000. The earthquake left about 100,000 people homeless or without food. Farshad Rastegar, chief executive of Relief International in Los Angeles, said his organization is redirecting a cargo shipment of 8,000 blankets, more than 500 tents and 14,000 pounds of medicine and food rations to the region. The shipment is due to arrive in Kabul next week.

Several aid organizations said the biggest need is for money, which can be used to transport items and purchase goods in Afghanistan.

Donations may be mailed to Relief International, 11965 Venice Blvd., Suite 405, Los Angeles, CA 90066 or International Medical Corps at 11500 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 506, Los Angeles, CA 90064, or made through their Web site at www.imcworldwide.org.