‘Eradication of poverty can lead to durable peace’

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): A woman, who started a small business after the fall of the former government in western Farah province, says she no longer fears the risks of conflicts after peace is ensured in the country and she hopes for a bright future of her children.

More than four decades of war and insecurity in Afghanistan forced millions of Afghans to flee their country and hundreds of thousands have been displaced within the country.

Some sources put the casualty toll at more than a million, while others put it at two million. As a result of war in Afghanistan, about 4.4 million people (13.9% of the total population) are disabled and now, more than half of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.

Rizagul, a resident of Sayedabad village of Farah city, the provincial capital, said that her husband had joined the army of former government due to their economic problems. “My husband was a policeman, it was Ashraf Ghani’s era, his salary was enough to meet our needs and we did not need the help of others.”

“When my husband was serving in police, we were always in fear about his death because of war,” she added, saying that her husband lost his job after the fall of the former government and they had no money to even buy food.

Rizagul says in the last four months, they crossed the Iranian border twice but were deported both times. She said her husband was even forced to commit suicide due to their bad economic situation.

Rizagul burst into tears, saying, “Every morning my husband would go to town for work, and all the children hoped that my father would return home with some money, but my husband would return with a confused and embarrassed face until I myself started working and launched a good business with little money.”

“I went to our neighbor’s house and borrowed 500 afghanis and told my son to buy me 250 afghanisof potatoes …. He boiled all the potatoes that night and until 5am in the morning that, I prepared a lot of samosas from the cooked potato and told my husband and 12 years old son to sell them in the city, that was the time when my husband returned with smiling face,” she said.

She says that now, in addition to selling samosas,she also prepares and sells vinegar and pickles.

Referring to her little children, Rizagulsaid: “I want our business to grow, to have a good life so that we can let our children get education and have a good future, who would be able to work for themselves and our country.”

She said that the government was responsible for improving the livelihood of people and their economic situation as well as provide them with educational programs, particularly for those who are uneducated.

She sees poverty and unemployment as the main cause of violence and differences in the society and calls on the government to prioritize eliminating poverty and launching economic programs.

Calling the fall of the former government as the reason of her happiness and said, “Now that peace has come, I live in peace, because I am no longer worried about my husband being killed, we started a small business, and I hope that my children will study in a peaceful environment and they would have a bright future.”

She called on all the people of the country to work together to strengthen peace and stability and do not let Afghanistan become again unstable and a battleground.

mds/ma

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