KABUL (SW) – A number of Kabul residents say they could not afford to buy basic needs of life let alone new clothes, shoes or sweets for the Eid ul Fitr celebrations.
“I have neither clothes nor shoes; I have not even brought home any fruit. I work daily, polishing boots and earn only 100 to 150 afghanis. My Eid dress is my work dress, “these are the words of 12-year-old Samir, a child who was sitting in a corner of the crowded roads of Pul-e-Surkh area of the city. He said he was hardly managing to earn enough to secure some food.
14-year-old Rashid, another child who is the only breadwinner and the hope of his family to make ends meet, also says that while he waits from morning to evening for a bite of bread, he is unable to provide the money for his family to celebrate this Eid and is forced to live in his old clothes. Rashid added: “Before, it was good and a bit easy to buy a dress. I work all day and earn 80 to 90 afghanis a day, which I need for the bread for home.”
In the same way, other residents of Kabul complain about their bad living conditions and say that due to lack of money, they cannot afford fresh and dry fruits for Eid, and they have to celebrate this Eid with empty hands and other people’s old clothes. Rahmatullah, a daily labourer, said that he does not have enough money to manage Eid expenses. “We used to prepare for Eid 10 or 20 days in advance. I have three patients. I earn 300 afghanis a day, what should I spend it on? what should we eat?”
In the other corner of the city on Aladdin Road, Badam Khan, an old man who is busy working with his pushcar with his shaking hands, also complained about unemployment, the high price of Eid food and the inability to prepare to celebrate Eid. “Everything is expensive, but the people have no money. Dried and fresh fruit is expensive. Apples and other fresh fruits are very expensive, and dry fruits are 1100 afghani for a kilogram of pistachio and 800 afghani for a kilogram of almonds. No one can even buy clothes that cost up to two thousand afghanis.”
After the establishment of the Islamic Emirate and for nearly two years, unemployment and the bad economic situation have dramatically affected everyone in the country. Many families have been facing many problems in providing many of their life needs, and now, with the arrival of Eid. , are also not able to afford Eid expenses.
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