صراط عشق صراط عشق
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, Afghanistan has been on a brink of economic collapse. The lockdown and state-imposed quarantine have forced many businesses to close. Now, Afghans face dire condition in Ramadan amid Coronavirus lockdown.
According to data by the Biruni Institute, a local economic think-tank, as a result of the pandemic, six million people have already lost their jobs in a country, where 80 percent of people live below the poverty line. As a result, the crisis has had a detrimental impact on the millions of poor families that rely on informal work to survive and earn a basic income. Miya Gul sits on the floor of a tent in a settlement for internally displaced people in Kabul. For the past 14 years, the 37-year old and his family have called it home. For Miya Gul, his wife Soyra and their six children it has become just another word for starvation, Aljazeera reported.
“This Ramadan is the hardest we have ever been through. If we don’t find food, we’re fasting round the clock,” says Miya Gul. “We buy one potato for 10 Afghani [$0.13]. People who have money can buy a kilo. And we can afford only one per day.” The local government in Kabul have been distributing wheat, flour, rice, and oil to many impoverished families. However, with limited funding and resources and reduced aid from NGOs and donors, they are unable to reach everyone and the rapid spread of the virus is more than what they can handle, Islam21 told.
The dire circumstances have forced many back on the streets to beg, arguing that poverty and the inability to provide for their families is forcing them to risk their lives. “Older people are patient but children do not understand what’s going on, they keep on asking for food” said Inzar Gul Safi, a resident of one of the many camps in the city. Prior to the introduction of the virus, the Central Asian nation was host to a number of problems, most notably war, poverty, and unemployment. However, the Coronavirus has exacerbated the situation, leaving millions of Afghans to suffer throughout the month of Ramadan. Without international support and a coordinated effort to combat the pressing matters at hand, many more Afghans will suffer in the months to come.
