Zulaikha, 65, is an Afghan mother whose son was killed while serving in the ranks of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) in Dawlat district, a volatile area located in Balkh province in Northern Afghanistan.

She said that no one from the government institutions has so far come to their assistance, as she struggles to make ends meet. Zulaikha,who is now raising her 6 grandchildren, lives in the Nassaji Camp area of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.

“My son was martyred, his widow left us and his children remained with me. We are facing a lot of difficulties,” Zulaikha told TOLOnews’ Sayed Aref Musavi on Friday.

Zulaikha, who lives among dozens of other refugees from Dawlat Abad, said that she has no money to feed her grandchildren.

“No one has so far reached out to help us; we can hardly manage to find a piece of bread,” she said.

Sayed Khawja is Zulaikha’s grandson, who also served in the Afghan National Police (ANP) and was wounded a few months ago in Balkh.

He criticized the government for not addressing the plight of wounded soldiers and their families.

“We are living under this tent for sixteen days and no one is there to hear us,” he said.

Hundreds of families from Dawlat Abad fled their homes after a surge in the violence.

“My three-year-old daughter is very sick, my husband is an addict, we don’t have food to eat,” said Rahima, one of the refugees who fled Dawlat Abad over the violence.

While the Afghan Ministry of Public Health urges people to stay home and respect social distancing, the mass gathering of refugees in Mazar-e-Sharif makes the vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

“Every night ten to fifteen families here spend their night without food. Sometimes bread comes from families living around. I take the bread and distribute it among them,” said Qamaruddin, the elder of the refugee camp.