In the bustling city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, life is challenging for many, including Abdurahim, a young boy who recently shared his story with a Daryo correspondent. Abdurahim's journey has been fraught with hardship from a young age.
"Until now, my life has been difficult. My father died when I was 5 years old, and my mother died a year later. My family faced economic problems. When the war started in Afghanistan, we had to move to Pakistan, and we had a hard time there," he recounted.
The instability disrupted his education, leaving him unable to learn to read and write.
Despite these challenges, Abdurahim harbors a simple yet profound dream: to gain literacy.
"If I want to take a passenger somewhere on a tricycle, the passenger writes down the address for me. Unfortunately, I can't read it, it's sad for me," he said.
Two years ago, he returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, purchased a rickshaw, and began transporting passengers to support himself and his family.
"If the city authorities allowed me to drive in the city, I would earn more money,"
Abdurahim noted, highlighting the restrictions he faces. His family of eight struggles to make ends meet, but he takes pride in earning 500-700 Afghanis ($7-10) a day and hopes to one day buy a car.
Mohammad Ibrahim, another resident of Mazar-i-Sharif, shares a similar story of struggle. Ibrahim also drives a rickshaw but finds his situation even more dire.
"With this money, we can only buy bread and feed ourselves,"
he lamented, revealing that his daily earnings rarely exceed 300 Afghanis ($4.22). Unlike Abdurahim, Ibrahim graduated from school and is literate, yet he still finds himself unable to break free from the cycle of poverty.
"I carry passengers from morning to sunset,"
he explained, illustrating the grueling nature of his work.
The stories of Abdurahim and Mohammad Ibrahim are not isolated cases. The economic situation in Afghanistan has driven many to seek refuge elsewhere, particularly after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. Thousands of Afghans have migrated to Europe and neighboring countries, with a notable portion of the refugees being young people searching for better opportunities.
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