| Afghans to observe Ramadan, freer than under Taleban but still hungry and poor AFP
10/24/2003
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"As we poor have no money, no food, no shelter, it’s always Ramadan for us" KABUL - In a grimy Kabul bazaar Feroozuddin surveys the pickled treats on offer as he prepares to observe Afghanistan’s second Ramadan since the fall of the Taleban, free of the defunct regime’s religious police but struggling under crushing poverty. “Peace and freedom is always good, but when your stomach is empty that’s not peace and freedom,” the 38-year-old taxi driver, who gave only one name, said. It is one of the main dilemmas facing Afghanistan today. The only breadwinner in a family of nine, Feroozuddin is glad the Taleban has gone. But he is unhappy he can barely scrape together the two dollars needed to buy four kilograms of the pickles favored by Afghans for breaking the daily fast starting at the end of this week. Afghanistan’s war-weary people have more freedom in the two years since the harsh Taleban regime was removed from power. And most are pleased to have seen the back of the religious police who used to whip people into mosques during Ramadan to observe Islam’s five daily prayers. Some people have done well since the Taleban left power. “This year, Ramadan will be good, better than last year, and much better than the Taleban time,” said Ruhullah, a money-trader, stocking up on the tasty treats in the same bazaar. But families like that of Feroozuddin are struggling to survive and when you are always hungry, there is a particular irony about starting a month of religious fasting. Nearby in the market, a vendor who pushes his handcart round the city all day, expressed a common sentiment. “As we poor have no money, no food, no shelter, it’s always Ramadan for us,” he said. In September, the United Nations World Food Program expressed its concern over the rampant poverty and hunger in the war-shattered country, which has suffered more than two decades of conflict since a Soviet invasion in 1979. “Despite (an) anticipated good harvest, access to food will remain a major concern for a significant number of rural household in Afghanistan,” according to the UN agency. Besides decades of war and conflict in the country, Afghanistan has just started to recover from five years of drought with improved rains helping the harvest. But this has not so far had much impact on daily lives. “The people get poorer by the day and the government, which is responsible for their well-being, is doing nothing,” complained Safiqullah, 44, browsing the bazaar. President Hamid Karzai last Sunday summoned his ministers to a special session to address the social and economic problems facing Afghans as the holy fasting month approached. But little was agreed beyond a promise to supply 24-hour electricity to Kabul residents, who live with power blackouts every second night. Karzai’s US-backed government is an odd mix of technocrats and warlords, the latter having their own private armies. And with the warlords often at loggerheads, the government has been unable so far to tackle many of the country’s problems, one disgruntled official of the administration told AFP. “As the rival warlords apparently loyal to the central government have been involved in factional fighting, they have had less time to think about improving people’s lives,” the official said, referring to clashes like that near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif earlier this month. Much remains to be done. As it is, Afghanistan has a life expectancy of just 42 years and remains one of the poorest countries in the world. In the mountains of south and southeastern Afghanistan, militants opposed to the Karzai government and its US-led coalition allies continue to mount attacks on the governing forces.
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