Unemployment and Poverty: The Endless Nightmare of People Under Taliban Control
- Category: Reports
- Written by Kawa Azm
- Published: Saturday, 24 August 2024
Three years have passed since the re-installation of this ignorant and criminal group to power. Since then, in addition to killing, torture, imposing medieval restrictions on women, and countless other tragedies, people are facing poverty, unemployment, and rising prices of goods. Many educated youths, primarily due to financial problems, are taking the life-threatening path of migration. In some cases, they have been shot in Iran and Turkey or drowned in the oceans.
After taking over the ministries, the Taliban fired all the former employees and replaced them with bearded men and adolescents who studied at Akora Khattak Madrassa - Darul Uloom Haqqania. The majority of youths who have been dismissed from public sector positions, institutions, and private companies and remain in the country are now engaged in petty jobs such as peddling, selling water, carrying loads, etc. The rate of unemployment, poverty, and destitution can be better understood by visiting the city, not as most of the Taliban-worshipping YouTubers and TikTokers do, but with an awake and visionary conscience. There, you can see a huge number of youths and students, despite the whipping, humiliation, and insults of the Taliban, who are busy carrying cargo with wheelbarrows or selling grilled corn, fruit juice, and other cheap plastic items for the smallest amount of money.
Wasehullah, a former employee of the Ministry of Education who was dismissed by the Taliban, says:
"The first year when the Taliban came, I went to work, but they did not treat me and others who were already in the ministry well. In the second year, the majority of us were fired. I live in a rented house and am the only breadwinner of my family, so I had to open a fruit stall on a wheelbarrow in the Deh Afghanan area of Kabul City. Every day, I was driven from one place to another by the municipality staff, but even so, I would have 100 to 200 Afghanis left to bring home bread for my family.
Yesterday, the municipality car came, took away my wheelbarrow, and threw the fruits on the ground. Today, when I was leaving the house, my wife said that we have nothing to eat. I went straight to the municipality office to get my wheelbarrow back, but no one listened to me. I apologized, cried, and fell at their feet, but it was no use. I came out of there and started cleaning some cars at an intersection. I earned 50 Afghanis and bought this bread to take to my children. I hate begging and asking for alms, but there is nothing else, and the Taliban do not even allow this small work."
Farid, a former employee of the Ministry of Defense, recounts his story:
"When the Taliban came, I was afraid of being killed, so I fled to Iran. I used to earn a daily wage there, though it was hardly possible. Finally, one day, I was arrested and expelled. I hid here for a while, but due to poverty and unemployment, I had to go to the Ministry of Defense, hoping I might get a job because I was an officer. I took my petition to the ministry, but they told me that I am an infidel, that I worked in the government of infidels, and that I should be grateful I am still alive."
Young children also sell plastic shopping bags, napkins, and pens, or find passengers for city vehicles, earning a small amount of money in the process. The drivers are fed up with unemployment and the ugly behavior of the Taliban. There are no designated stops, and they are not allowed to stop to find passengers. The traffic police hit the cars with clubs or puncture the tires with sharp tools.
Contrary to the false propaganda of the Taliban, Afghanistan is not secure. Poverty, hunger, and bankruptcy are rampant in every corner. By viewing pictures of a corner of Kabul city, one can guess the extent of suffering and poverty among the poor people and the deceitful claims of the Taliban.
