The Taliban’s continued rule has widened poverty and unemployment, presenting economic challenges and escalating hunger, putting citizens’ livelihoods at risk. Contrary to Taliban claims, hunger is worsening and unemployment is increasing daily, nearly three years into their governance of Afghanistan.
Many residents of Herat say that unemployment in this province has reached its peak, and poverty and hunger threaten their livelihoods. Despite being considered one of the important commercial and transit provinces in the country, Herat is experiencing increasing unemployment, making its people poorer day by day.
In this province, some workers report enduring weeks of unemployment and being compelled to face hunger alongside it. They explain that due to dire economic conditions and the absence of even dry bread, they resort to threatening and beating their hungry children to sleep.
Mohammad Hussain, a 57-year-old man from Herat, wanders the roads of this city with his wheelbarrow hoping to find work. He says that poverty and unemployment have added to his life worries. This resident of Herat adds that due to a lack of work and food items, he is in a very dire situation.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, Mohammad Hussain, the primary provider for his family of five, shares his struggles: “At 57 years old, I’m compelled to roam the streets of Herat with my wheelbarrow, assisting people in transporting their goods, just to bring home a loaf of bread. Unfortunately, job opportunities are scarce. On a good week, I might find work for just one day, earning a meager 100 to 150 Afghanis, barely enough to feed my family.” He laments, “We have nothing at home; there have been nights during Ramadan when we went without dinner or suhoor because there was no food, not even dry bread.”
Mohammad Hussain stresses, “Now, even neighbors, facing their challenges, occasionally contribute bread or something to share for the evening, and that’s how we get through the night. If they don’t, we’re left to endure hunger and resort to threatening our children to quiet their cries of hunger.”
This 57-year-old man from Herat is not alone in lamenting the harsh living conditions in the province. Shafi Ahmad, a 22-year-old, reveals that his younger sisters endure beatings at night due to food shortages, leaving them no choice but to suffer. Despite attending numerous daily worker gatherings, he remains unemployed, forcing him and his family to endure hunger.
Shafi Ahmad tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily: “It’s been six days since I’ve had any work. I tried the Baad Murghan Square, but no luck. Then I went to the Pol-e Ghur-Darwaza square, still no job. Now I’m at Park-e Taraqi Square, hoping someone will hire me. I’ve been waiting here fasting for two or three hours, with no dinner or suhoor, and still no job. Now, with a family depending on me, I’ll go home empty-handed. I’m the provider for a family of seven, but there are no opportunities. Just this week, for three nights, we had no bread for dinner or suhoor. My younger sisters were crying and asking for bread, and I had to quiet them by force. There’s nothing, not even dry bread, in our house. Life has become very tough; if this unemployment persists, I fear for my sisters’ lives.”
This comes as, with the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan, the crisis of unemployment, poverty, hunger, and economic difficulties worsens every day. Despite their numerous claims, this group has failed over the past nearly three years to provide economic opportunities and employment prospects for the people.
Citizens of the country say that the Taliban have been incapable of providing even the most basic government services during this time and instead have fostered an environment conducive to corruption and coercion. According to them, if the world continues to engage with this group, a dangerous future awaits the country’s citizens.
