Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Plague of Poverty: Afghan Conversation 20

 This the latest in an ongoing series of conversations with an Afghan friend trapped within his country. I am withholding his identity out of concern for his safety.

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Dear David:

My sister is in her last year of university. Normally, when she goes home on winter vacation, she teaches about 100 students as a volunteer in the local school. But this winter she says that no one is interested in education any longer and half of the students have fled the country. So she will just spend the time reading books. 

The life of villagers in Afghanistan is such that they work from spring to autumn to provide enough food for themselves and their animals over the winter months. They typically can only afford 400 kilos of wheat and enough vegetables for about 10 sheep. They buy other things like beans, rice, oil, etc from the market. If a family member doesn’t work in Iran or another country, they can't even afford these things, so then the family is obligated to ask shopkeepers to loan them food. 

"I can't do anything as I did before," a friend in the village named Mohammad told me. "My feet are unable to move quickly in this desperation and uncertainty. You know that the passenger cars of Hazara people are being blown up with sticky bombs; the value of Afghani is collapsing every day, and the cost of food is rising accordingly. There is a drought, and the crops are shriveling. All the people in the village are frustrated; they don't work as enthusiastically as in previous years." 

Another friend who is a teacher told me: ”I haven't received my salary for five months now. Moreover, I don't have any friends in foreign countries who I borrow money from. I don't know what to do.

The situation is so dire that it is difficult to describe. With each passing day, we are encountering new problems. This week alone the value of the Afghani has decreased as much as in the past 20 years. The currency exchange has closed, as have some markets. There is no hope from the UN, as it can't feed 40 million hungry people. Only the citizens who are connected to the UN organizations directly are able to get the available aid. 

While the rest of the world battles Covid, this is the plague we live with.

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