Ghulam Sakhi, 94, made his way to the IOM distribution site on his
cane to get the aid he needed to survive the winter.

When his frail body almost collapsed under the weight of the
box, a younger man quickly stepped in and helped him carry it the
hundred meters to his makeshift hut, made from mud and other
materials donated by neighbours.

Sakhi and the other families living on the same vacant lot in
Kabul, Afghanistan, lost their homes and all their possessions
following their deportation from Iran in 2007.

The old man left the Afghan capital 30 years ago amid fierce
fighting. After being beaten up, receiving a head injury and seeing
his brother murdered by gunmen, he and his wife decided to flee to
Pakistan with their children and what they could carry.

After 12 years in Pakistan they moved to Iran, where Sakhi, a
father of nine sons and five daughters, eked out a living
scavenging for metal items from the garbage. He made just enough to
support his family.

One autumn day in 2007, the police loaded Sakhi, his wife and
his grandson, who were all scavenging, onto a vehicle and dropped
them near the Afghan – Iranian border. They had no money or
possessions with them.

The Afghan government provided transport to adjacent Nimroz
province and a truck driver eventually gave them a ride "home" to
Kabul. But after a 30-year absence, they knew nobody they could
turn to for help.

"I have pain in my feet and my back. My eyes can't see properly,
so I can't work any more. I used to have livestock, but they are
all gone. I have nothing left here and I don't know how I am going
to live," said Sakhi, holding back his tears.

"It's really cold here, but I didn't even have a blanket to wrap
myself in and I have been shaking every night. My wife is also
coughing and suffering from high fever. Thank you so much for
this," he added. 

IOM and its partners started distributing winter kits in January
2008. The operation, funded by USAID, has thus far distributed 730
kits containing two blankets, three sweaters and three shawls each
in the Western and Central regions of Afghanistan, to help
vulnerable displaced people during one of the harshest winters on
record. It will soon begin distribution in other regions which have
been hit equally hard by the freezing weather.