Begging from past 8-years in Taloqan streets: Zarifa

TALOQAN (Pajwok): Zarifa, 47 has been begging from dawn to dusk on Taloqan roads and streets to get food for her 8 member family in the streets of Taloqan city from the past 8 years, her only hope in the life is to see her children fully fed.

The fall of dew, the blue sky, the sun’s rise, greenery of trees show that the hardships of winter wraps its blanket, among all such beauties of the nature, the bent back of Zarifa, her dirty cloths and hard life of her wheelchair’s story remain the same. The bitter story of Zarifa’s life and her miserable life do not change with the change of the nature or with the heat of summer nor with the cold of winter, the only thing that helps her is her wheelchair to patrol the streets of Taloqan city for begging and win the bread of her family.

Zarifa, during her interview with Pajhwok Afghan News said: “I have been begging since eight years to feed my eight member family, I am disabled, my only hope to feed my family with the assistance of the government or any other humanitarian organization” Zarifa added.

Zarifa said: “I have no other bread winner in my family, my children are small, I have been begging since years to feed my family, I am getting old I cannot beg in the streets of Takhar forever, the government must consider the problems of people like me and other needy ones”.

She continued that she collected from 150 afs up to 200 afs daily during the lengthy hot days of summer or during the cold days of winter, that much money cannot cover a part of the expenses of her family.

She said: “I hope to get rid of begging career with the help of the government or any other humanitarian organizations and live with the members of my family”.

Zarifa added: “My husband succumbed to death because of his sickness eight years ago, we had no money for his treatment, since then I have been begging to win the bread of my family. Currently I also suffer from the disability of my backbone, I got the wheelchair from Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) and I use it to beg in the streets of Taloqan city”.

She said, the month of Ramadan is the month of welfare and assistance, she said: “The only edible items I have them in my house are a half of kilogram of tea and two kilograms of cooking oil, I hope the government provide me with assistance to pass the month of Ramadan without any concerns”.

She, while complaining from humanitarian and welfare organizations said: “I have been visiting the office of the Directorate of Martyrs, Disabled Affairs since two years so far no assistance has been given to me”.

She said that she was taken out from the office of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs for the pretext of Computerized National Identity Card and sometimes for the pretext of money not availability several times.

However Maulavi Ihsanullah, the head of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs Department of Takhar province said, the assessment of the applications of the deserved people was already began and he assured that no deserved individual will be neglected from the assessment process.

But unlike as in the past the prices of primary food items did not increase in the markets during the month of Ramadan, but the lack of income sources of those families that do not have any guardians remain the matter of concern and they are in need of urgent assistance.

Aw/nh

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