Many residents in Ghor province say they are unprepared to celebrate Eid al-Adha this year. Poverty, economic challenges, unemployment, and recent natural disasters have severely impacted their livelihoods, dealing a significant blow to the already fragile economy.
Residents report that the crippled economy has diminished their purchasing power, and recent floods have worsened their living conditions by destroying their shelters. They add that this year they lack the means to sacrifice an animal, buy new clothes, or prepare sweets for Eid, and they have also lost their homes to host guests.
Gholam Sakhi, a shopkeeper in Ferozkoh city, says he couldn’t afford to buy a sheep for sacrifice this year. He explains, “We used to get by with what we earned from the shop, but the floods destroyed my shop and wiped out my savings, so I couldn’t afford a sacrifice this year.”
Expressing concern over the dire economic conditions and lack of work in the province, this shopkeeper emphasized, “The economic situation has worsened over the years, and there is no business. However, I used to manage to make a sacrifice. Unfortunately, this year, numerous problems and misfortunes have stripped us of everything, including our ability to enjoy happy occasions.”
Jamshid, a resident of Kasi village in Ferozkoh, the center of Ghor province, says the poor economic conditions have prevented him from preparing for Eid this year.
This resident of Kasi village adds, “We don’t have a good economic situation. When there is no business, there is no income. It’s been a year and a half since I returned from Iran, and there is no work. The floods destroyed everything we had.”
He adds, “Preparing new clothes and buying sweets is a tradition for us, but when we don’t have the means, there’s no choice. This year, my family of five couldn’t afford new clothes or sweets for Eid due to the poor economic conditions.”
Meanwhile, residents of Asfarman village in Marghab district, Ghor province, say that although they have faced economic difficulties in recent years, the recent floods have taken away their only possessions, their homes. They say that hungry and homeless people cannot celebrate Eid.
Abdullah, a resident of this village, says that livestock and agriculture were the only sources of income for the residents, but recent droughts had already posed challenges. However, he says, the recent floods destroyed everything they had.
Speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, Abdullah says, “We used to get by with farming, livestock, gardening, and labor despite the economic challenges posed by several years of drought. However, despite these challenges, we could still celebrate Eid.”
This Ghor resident says, “This year, everyone’s situation is dire. We can’t afford a sacrifice, new clothes, or Eid sweets. The floods destroyed everything we had, including wheat, flour, and oil, which are now all underwater. We have no homes to celebrate Eid in and no bread to offer guests; everyone in our village is facing hunger this Eid.”
Located in western Afghanistan, Ghor is a province with difficult-to-access roads and a predominantly poor population that government officials have often overlooked for decades. Recently, poverty and unemployment rates have increased, but due to its deprivation, Ghor has also remained out of the media and aid organizations’ sight.
The recent floods, which claimed the lives of over 60 people and destroyed nearly 10,000 homes and at least 4,000 shops, have severely impacted the already weak economy of the people in this province.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
فقر و سیلزدهگی؛ سیلابزدهگان غور سایهبانی برای مهمانان عیدیشان ندارند | روزنامه ۸صبح
