Residents in Ghor province claim that poverty and hardship are rampant in this region. According to them, unemployment, hunger, and difficult economic conditions have plagued the people. These residents argue that the suppression and pressure from the Taliban in this province have caused the face of poverty in Ghor to remain hidden even from the lenses of independent media. They allege that during the Taliban’s rule, no attention has been paid to this province, and local officials of this group are also “exploiting” them and have no plans for employment generation and creating job opportunities for the people. This is happening while drought, poverty, and unemployment have added to the challenges facing the residents in Ghor, and currently, many families are facing difficult situations.
The Taliban government and persistent droughts in Ghor have expanded the scope of poverty and unemployment in such a way that life has become difficult for many residents of this province. Many families in this province say that due to a lack of work and recurring droughts, they are plunged into absolute poverty, and some of them are unable to procure their food supplies.
Gul Ahmad, a resident of Tulak district in Ghor province responsible for a family of six, laments the lack of employment and the increasing poverty. This Ghor resident states that there is nothing to eat at home. Engaged in farming, animal husbandry, and labor in Iran to support his family, Gul Ahmad adds that both avenues are now closed. He says, “The past years were good; farming covered our expenses, and I also worked as a laborer in Iran and would support my family. But now both paths are closed to us. This year, when the fields yielded nothing, the few barley and wheat crops we planted dried up due to lack of rain and water, and I couldn’t even find the expenses I had incurred for the seeds and tractors. On the other hand, I tried to go to Iran through a smuggler twice, but both times I was caught and deported.”
This Ghor resident continues, “This year, neither farming nor going to Iran yielded results. There’s no work, and now six hungry mouths depend on me. Winters are very tough; we should have food supplies stored at home for two to three months, but we don’t even have enough for three or four nights, and we survive with empty stomachs for now.”
Khan Afroz, a mother of four, is struggling with poverty and hardship living in the lower region of the Ghor province airport. After losing her husband in the Allahyar district of Ghor province, this woman could no longer continue living in that region and moved to the city of Firozkoh, the center of this province. Now, this family is hungry. Nematullah, the eldest son of Khan Afroz, tries to earn bread for the family by shining shoes on the streets of this city.
While Ghor experiences harsh and cold winters, the house of this five-member family is devoid of food and fuel. Khan Afroz says she cannot afford to buy anything, and they spend their lives in a cold house with empty stomachs.
Khan Afroz tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “We have nothing: no flour, no oil, no rice, and no tea. Search our house, nothing will be found. We are struggling with life’s difficulties. There’s nothing to eat, and there’s nothing to cook. “She adds, “My eldest son, Nematullah, earns 100 Afghanis a day by shining shoes when the weather is warm. He goes in the morning and works until evening. I collect his earnings and buy our necessities. All my children are hungry, and aid agencies are not helping us now.”
Families in Ghor are complaining of increasing poverty and hardship, stating that over the past two years, the Taliban have seized aid from organizations and handed it over to their commanders and fighters under the guise of constructing Herat-Ghor roads and highways.
