RI’s Director of Advocacy Larry Thompson and Advocate Michelle Brown will travel to Afghanistan in May. Photographer Paula Allen will accompany them. The overall focus of this mission is to assess the humanitarian situation for the Afghan people with winter over and refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) returning to their homes in increasing numbers.

The RI team plans to assess the conditions to which refugees from Pakistan and Iran are returning and the level of assistance that is available to them. The team plans to interview returnees and accompany a returnee family to their place of origin. In addition, Larry, Michelle, and Paula will assess the situation of IDPs still living in camps. They will also assess the coordination of the large-scale humanitarian relief and reconstruction effort. Michelle will continue RI’s ongoing cooperation with women-led NGOs to develop advocacy training for Afghan women leaders. Larry will look at the assistance being provided to farmers in the context of the drought conditions that continue to prevail over many parts of the country.