KABUL (SW) – Late in the evening, a middle-aged woman with gray eyes holds her young child in her arms while begging on the streets in Kabul.
Samira says that poverty and fear of her children starving made her do this.
“We have been begging here for 10 to 15 years. We come here out of necessity. If we don’t have to, no one would take their children out of the house in this cold weather. If we stay at home, who will pay for our children’s meal?”
Samira, complaining about her unpleasant situation, said that she was taken to Badam Bagh in Kabul several times for identification and registration by the authorities, but so far she has not received any help.
“We were told that they will help us one month later, but they didn’t help us and they didn’t give us a single afghani. they lie If they give us money and help, why should we come here and beg on the streets?”
On the other side of the road, a child who looks like 13-14 years old, was wearing a worn-out dress while carrying flower branches for sale. Introduces himself as Tawab, he said that while trying to sell flowers, he also begs for money since selling only a few flower branches are not enough to make ends meet.
“I used to sell bags, the Islamic Emirate authorities took me and registered my name, home address and took a photo and said that they will call and help us. But when we ask, they say that there is no help at the moment.”
On the other hand, the officials of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs say that more than 26,000 beggars, including women and children, have been collected and registered in Kabul city.
Yunus Seddiqi, the spokesman of the ministry, told Salam Watandar: “Those who beg due to poverty have been biometrically registered and introduced to the office of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, including 2,000 children who have been introduced so far and are being helped. A number of those who are orphans have been sent to orphanages for education.”
Meanwhile, the officials of the Afghan Red Crescent Society office say that cash aid has been distributed to more than 400 families and more than 3,500 families have been introduced to this office by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, after identifying and confirming their identity. Help is also distributed to them, said the ARCS officials.
Irfanullah Sharafzoi, the spokesperson of the Afghan Red Crescent Society office, said: “We survey them and considering the conditions, they confirm their identity, and we give each person 2,000 afghanis. If there are eight people in a family, we will give them 16,000 Afghanis.”
ENDS
