FEATURE: 'Aliceghan' in jeopardy

An Australian-funded housing project in Afghanistan is struggling because of the lack of water and concerns over the lack of jobs.

Ash Sweeting, Thom Cookes

Last Updated: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:11:00 +1000

The Aliceghan project, on the windswept Shomali plain, 50 km north of Kabul, has been built with over $AU8 million of Australian government money.

Aliceghan, which started in 2006, was designed to encourage Afghans seeking asylum in Australia, to return home, by offering them somewhere to live.

The idea was that landless refugees returning to Afghanistan would be paid to help build their own homes, providing both shelter and employment.

But the project is facing major problems. Currently, less than 300 out of the 1000 homes in Aliceghan actually have people living in them.

The lack of any permanent water supply is one the reasons why Aliceghan is failing to attract residents.

Water needed

Chinar Gul, deputy chief of the town, says without water the project may fail soon.

"Definitely the [Australian government] should help us with water. If there is no water, then come back in a month you will not see any families here," he said.

"People come for one or two days to live, they don't get water so they move back to Kabul."

The United Nations Development Program is currently trucking water in to the community each day, but there are doubts it can continue for much longer.

Aliceghan's water supply was supposed to come from two wells dug in the neighbouring district of Qarabagh but a land dispute has prevented it from happening.

Qarabagh claims ownership of the land that Aliceghan is built on, and Qarabagh community leaders have suggested that a quarter of all the houses in Aliceghan should be given to them as compensation in order to settle the dispute. The offer has so far been rejected.

Australia's immigration department spokesman, Sandi Logan says plans are in place to fix the problem by connecting homes to running water.

"We have made an undertaking to ensure that a permanent water supply is installed and that work will be commencing shortly," he said.

"We of course are in the hands of the contractors who will commence that work shortly - we're quite confident that it will be achieved."

The town is also being slowly strangled by a series of other problems. A school has been built and is operating, but no provision was made for either furniture or equipment in the budget.

The school lacks basic toilets, with students having to make do with holes in the ground.

Afghans living in the town have also expressed concern about the way houses have been built. Traditional Afghan homes are surrounded by high walls, which provide security and privacy, especially for women.

The open plan housing in Aliceghan means that the people have had to improvise.

One resident, Sayed Ahmed says his wife is a prisoner in her own home.

"She's been inside all day. People are outside working, so I have put the bricks in front of the window, but still she cannot go out."

No jobs

Perhaps the most serious problem, apart from the lack of water, is that there is no work in Aliceghan.

Those residents who can afford it catch a twice daily bus service to Kabul to look for work.

But many, who are disabled or destitute, cannot afford to pay for the bus fare.

"When UNDP first came here they promised they would help find jobs for the disabled and widows because widows and the disabled cannot do heavy work. I have to do heavy work with this leg to make a living for my family," says one resident, Sayed Nasim, who lost one leg from a landmine.

The Aliceghan project was supposed to be a model for refugee resettlement programs, but the United Nations is now using it as an example of how not to do things.

However the Australian government says it is working to improve the situation in the town, including plans to start a bus service to Kabul.

"We've also said to the Afghan government and our other partners - the United Nations Development Program, UNDP - that we are willing to consider any further requests that might be made to help make Aliceghan a complete success," said immigration spokesman Sandi Logan.