Selling household items to survive

KABUL (SW) – Daily-wage laborers in Kabul say they have been forced to sell household stuff to survive. 

At the Haji Yaqoub intersection in Kabul, dozens of daily wage workers line up everyday hoping to find work. These daily workers, complaining about the slackness of the labor market, said that they can only find work for one or two days in a month.

They added that they sell their household items to meet their needs and that of their families. Shahpour, who came here from Dar al-Aman, said that since many years, he has been supporting his living expenses with daily labor wages.

He, who is the head of his eight-person family, complained about the difficulties of life and said that even though he waits for work every day from morning to evening to earn a livelihood, but due to not finding a job, he returns home empty-handed at night.

“I come here at 6:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. There is no rent for traveling with me, there is no money for bread, what should we do in these bad times. We are hungry for one night, indebted to the shopkeeper and wood seller, indebted to everyone.”

Wahab, another worker standing a few steps away from Shahpur, was lost in thought. He told Salam Watandar that the hardships of life have made him look older than his peers. He said that due to not finding work, he goes hungry most of the days.

“Sell household appliances, sometimes a refrigerator and sometimes a fan, this is how I lived my life, this is how I sold all the belongings of the house to make a living.”

A little further, Abdul Raouf, another worker who is leaning against the wall of the mosque, said that the lack of work in the market on the one hand and life problems on the other hand, have taken his peace of mind for months. He, who is the father of six children, said that due to lack of money, there have been many times when he could not participate in gatherings with his relatives.

“Almost 500 to 600 people come and go here every day, on the one hand it is winter and on the other hand there is no work. People are not hopeful either”.

ENDS

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