Afghans in rugged Bamiyan region fight starvation, bitter cold, tribalism.(The Dallas Morning News)

SARKH QOL, Afghanistan _ The cave that Muhammed and Sanowbar Hussein call home is cold and cramped. But until a few days ago, this hole carved into a sandstone cliff seemed to be the Husseins' best hope for surviving the harsh winter here in the mountains of Afghanistan's Bamiyan province.

That was before Sanowbar Hussein, 20, stepped on a land mine outside the cave entrance, blowing off her right foot. She was nine months pregnant and lost her baby.

Now, with two young children back at the cave and 22-year-old Muhammed by her side, Sanowbar fights for her life in the primitive Bamiyan hospital.

The sad saga of Muhammed and Sanowbar could be the story of millions of suffering Afghans, driven from their homes by hunger and violence. Yet here in Bamiyan province, where the recently toppled Taliban regime persecuted the minority Shia Muslim population with exceptional savagery, Afghanistan's razor-thin margin between life and death has narrowed even further for thousands of desperate families.

"We're sick a lot because we don't eat good food," said Muhammed, back at the cave to check on his 3-year-old son, Sardar, and 2-year-old daughter, Latifah. "My children need more than bread and tea, but what can I do? We don't have anything else."

Embarrassed by the tears filling his eyes, he looked down at the floor in the cave's half-light.

"I'm thinking all the time about having enough food for my children," he finally said.