From teacher to shiny shoes: The economic crisis in Afghanistan does not stop small | Issues of Humanitarian Relief

Hadia Ahmadi, a 43-year-old teacher who was fired by the Taliban after seizing Kabul, is now polishing his shoes to make money.

In the bitter cold of Kabul autumn, Hadia Ahmadi, a 43-year-old teacher who was fired by the Taliban after seizing Afghanistan’s capital in August, sits on the sidewalk trying to earn a few cents for cleaning shoes.

The sudden withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban victory has sent Afghanistan fragile wealth the fall of liberty, leaving millions of starvation and leaving previously wealthy families destitute.

“I turned to the drying shoes when I saw that my children were hungry,” said Ahmadi, a mother of five who did not want to be named.

The economy has long stood on an unstable basis, relying on help what is now missing and the huge gaps between the Kabul elite and the millions living on the food line.

After ten years of teaching, her husband was a cook in a company and the daughter who worked as a clerk for a government agency, they had a prosperous life that overflowed in just a few weeks.

When the girls’ schools were closed permanently, her job was the first to go, and her husband and daughter soon lost theirs. One young computer science student was forced to drop out of school when the family could no longer afford to pay for his tuition.

Hadia Ahmadi’s husband and daughter have also been fired from their jobs [Ali Khara/Reuters]

Roadblocks household goods for sale has spread to Kabul, where families are trying to make ends meet. They testify to the fact that Ahmadi has become commonplace, while the people are taking ways they never imagined to survive.

“Right now we are starving, and at the moment, no one in our family can help us financially,” he said.

The United Nations warns of a a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and is trying to raise $ 4.5bn to help prevent evil, but it is foreign aid is prohibited and the banking system is on the verge of collapse, the economy is in shambles due to a lack of funding.

The prominent Taliban did not allow women to work outside the home when they were last in power between 1996-2001 and had limited employment opportunities for women. But for many like Ahmadi, there is no other way.

“Some widows are the only ones who provide food for their families, while other women need money to support their husbands,” she said. “The Taliban should allow women to go to work. They should give them jobs, there are no jobs right now.

Hadia Ahmadi’s family was pleased with the small amount of weight that was lost within a few weeks [Ali Khara/Reuters]