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| Most Afghans are now trying to feed themselves and their children after the economy collapsed. (Photo from BBC) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Kabul is a city still waiting for its new life to take shape, a lot depends on the will and whims of its new Taliban masters. But it’s a hunger that could become the worst of Afghanistan's many crises. For the poor of the city, the majority, scraping together a few hundred Afghanis, a couple of dollars, to stave off starvation is the biggest challenge.
Millions live in desperate poverty in a country that has received huge sums in foreign aid. The money left over that might help them, around $9bn in central bank reserves, is frozen by the Americans to keep it away from the Taliban. The rest are getting angry. One of the men, Hayat Khan, raged about the fortunes stolen by a corrupt elite in the last 20 years. The movement's fighters are very visible in the center of the capital of the republic they have renamed as an Islamic emirate. All of them carry assault rifles.
The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates 93% of Afghans are not getting enough food to eat. Before the Taliban seized control last month the number was 80%. Countries that want to help Afghans but reject the Taliban and all it stands for face a big dilemma. For people to be able to work to earn money, to live, and to eat, the Taliban has to run a viable state in Afghanistan.
