Recent natural disasters that appeared in shape of deadly floods and landslides in Afghanistan have saddened the whole country. The landslide in Badakhshan buried about 300 homes and their inhabitants 50 meters beneath the surface of the earth. Being unable to recover the dead bodies, the government declared the disaster-hit areas as a ‘mass grave’ disappointing the survivors who witnessed the earth swallowing their family members.

Governments do not act so irresponsibly in other countries of the world. A recent example is Malaysian airplane MH-370 that has gone missing since March 8 but search operation for finding it still continues. The recklessness of the government in its management of natural disasters and post-disaster scenario is being widely criticized.

The greatest criticism can be seen on the social media. The Afghan users of Facebook and Twitter and other social networking websites have changed their profile photos in support of Badakhshan landslide victims. They have been posting messages of condolences and have been active to encourage public donations.

Meanwhile, the government authorities are being harshly objected. A photo of President Karzai’s advisor Nematullah Shahrani along with others government authorities taken at the disaster scene with smile on their faces and carpets under their feet have been circulating in the social media with criticism-filled comments and remarks.

President Hamid Karzai has not visited the disaster-hit areas hitherto. Instead, he held a meeting with two leading candidates of the presidential election – Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai – and other prominent faces in his palace on Sunday which was declared as ‘national mourning day’ in Afghanistan. When the president himself seems so uncaring what can be expected from other government authorities who are in charge of government bodies such as National Disaster Management Agency. The sufferers of recent natural disasters might not be as angry at nature’s brutality as they are at government’s ill performance.

Thankfully, the Afghan nation has stood united to support their countrymen in this moment of grief. Relief camps have been established in various cities of Afghanistan and significant amount of cash and non-cash items have been donated.

Although the people have given what they could, there are fears that their donations will not reach the affected families in full as corruption is deep-rooted in Afghanistan. The volunteers who are busy in collecting aids must make sure these aids are handed over to the right organizations so that relief can be fairly and transparently distributed among the affected families.