HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Day laborers in the capital of western Herat province are happy about living in peaceful and conflict-free environment, but complain about their economic problems and ask for solution.
After the fall of Ashraf Ghani administration and its replacement by the new caretaker government, the US froze nearly $10 billion in assets of Afghanistan besides imposing some sanctions on the country, facing many Afghans with great economic challenges.
SayrahiMahmodi Square in Herat is a place where around 200 day laborers gather every day and wait for being hired to work and earn some money to support their families.
On July 8 this year, an explosion hit a passenger bus in the square and left six people injured.
Mohammad Mohammadi is a 50-year-old man who, like many of day laborers, sits in a side of the square and waits for hirers so he could earn for his family.
He still remembers the explosion in the square but seems satisfied with the current security situation.
However, he looks tired and disappointed and says that he would go back to his home empty handed like most other days.
Peace paves way for development of society and people should be also provided with work opportunities in a peaceful environment, he added. “Peace means equality, brotherhood, mutual acceptance, security and work,” Mohammadi said.
Expressing concern over the future of his children, he says he wants complete and lasting peace in the country; because he did not want his children to become laborers like him after years of education.
“The problem of insecurity has been resolved and we hope the economic and educational problems will be also resolved,” he added.
Ali Dawlati, another laborer at the SayrahiMahmodiSqure, talked about insecurity in the past and said, “In the previous government, I would sit in the square with a lot of fear, but now I feel safe due to peace, because theft, kidnapping, murder, bribery and injustice have decreased.”
The current government should also create job opportunities for people besides ensuring peace, he added.
Muhammadi and Ali are not the only ones whose economic problems have forced them to work as day laborers, but there are many youths who have studied for years and appear in the square as day workers due to their economic problems.
Mohammad Ebrahimi is a 25-year-old man who says that his bad economy forced him to leave school and work. He praised peace but said that peace should also eradicate poverty.
Most of the interviewees described peace as ‘work and security’ in the country.
Among the respondents, many were elderly people who have seen different regimes.
HamzahAmiri, a white-bearded man who initially avoided to prepare for interview because he said no one listen to his problem, but eventually said, “Bringing real peace was not a difficult task; but all past and present governments worked for their own interests, not the interests of the nation.”
He said that peace means establishing security and providing jobs for people, not forcing them to steal and beg for a piece of bread.
Hamza, who kept his hands in his armpit due to coldness, said that the government should think about economic stability in order to bring real peace to the country.
“The distribution of humanitarian aid should be fair and the prices of goods in the market should be controlled,” he said.
The day laborers say that large number of them gather in the square and wait if someone to hire them, but they usually return to their homes empty handed as no one hire them to work.
Meanwhile, SarwarNazari, a man with a distressed face, says that peace means affordable goods, work and education. If there is no food and work alongside peace, then “I should kill my wife and children, because I have no money to feed them.”
The 67-year-old Sarwar’s hands and face are cracked due to coldnessand even cannot make his words easily, but he still feels happy when he hears the word of peace.
“The government may be able to provide jobs for people the same as it brought peace in the next few months,” he said with a hopeful smile.
Most laborers who come to SayrahiMahmodi Square say that insecurity concerns in their area have been resolved, but they have not any income in the last four months.
However, SeyyedZahirHashemi is man who has spent six years of his life working in neighboring countries and now decided to migrate again considering the current situation in the country.
“Peace means freedom, the absence of war and a comfortable life,” he says.
In response to a question about the definition of peace, he said that after decades of conflict, there is peace in the country and people should continue their education in peaceful environment and government should implement new programs for education and creating jobs.
“I’m worried that my daughters would drop out of school, if there is peace in my country that respects women’s rights and there is work, I will never leave my country,” he said.
This comes as officials of the incumbent government say that women and girls have the right to work and education and they will provide needed environment for the services.
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