Alive in Afghanistan

A collection of 31 posts

OneDayinAfghanistan

Afghan Glassblower Keeps Art From Dying

Ghulam Sakhi has been a glassblower in western Afghanistan’s Herat province for 40 years, but this craft has been a part of his family for generations. Sakhi now harbors the fear that the artform will perish with him; his final wish, after his passing, is for the art to survive.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Decades of Illiteracy; The Generations That Have Been Forgotten

Generations have gone without the opportunity to seek education in Abi, an area in Chora district of Afghanistan’s Orguzgan province. In addition to that, no health centers exist in the area, exasperating the issues people in this area face on a daily basis.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Disabled Afghan Soldier With No Pension

A former Afghan soldier who lost a leg to a mine now sells dried fruit on the side of a road. The pension paid before the Taliban took control no longer available, leaving him and thousands of others to fend for themselves.

OneDayinAfghanistan

A Hope For Afghan Children

Afghan businessman opens two learning centers serving 1,000 underprivileged children in his home province of Logar. The schools are located in areas where none existed before.

OneDayinAfghanistan

A Blind Mother's Single Wish

Written by Zarghuna Akbari SHEBERGHAN, JAWZJAN — “Life without eyesight is very challenging; not being able to see your children even once, not being able to recognize their faces, and always depending on others. Without eyesight, the world is a dark place for a human being," 40 year-old Zahra, a blind

Education

Maktab: This School is Always Open

A mobile distance learning application emerged as a lifeline for Afghan girls and women who were prohibited from pursuing education after the Taliban's takeover of the country in August 2021.

Sexual Abuse

The Shape-Shifting Monsters

One of Alive in Afghanistan’s audience members writes about her trauma and sexual abuse by members of her family when she was a mere child.

Health

Mental Illness, A Silent Enemy

Mental illness has plagued Afghanistan for decades due to war and despite a relative peace returning to the country, unemployment, poverty, and uncertainty about the future continues to exacerbate the effect of mental illness on Afghans.

Economy

The Traveling Pitcher Salesman

Abdullah Noorzai is an elderly pitcher salesman who takes care of his large family by walking several kilometers every day, striving to turn a profit and feed the mouths waiting at home.

Poverty

Selling One Child to Feed the Rest

An impoverished #Afghan couple took a drastic measure in an effort to feed their family of 8 by deciding to sell a couple of their children. Meanwhile, another couple married for 14 years with no offspring was looking to adopt a child.

Health

The Blind See More Than We Realize

In Afghanistan, although roughly five percent of the population are visually impaired, ignorance and intolerance by their peers often lead to discrimination and limited opportunities. However, some like Abdul Jalil Shirzad, have found their place in society.

Afghanistan

Reading Poetry on the Longest Night

Shab-e Yalda celebrates the longest night of the year, it is an important festival for Afghan, Iranian, Tajik, Kurdish, and Azeri communities, regarded as a time of blessings and the resurgence of love and the sun.

Unemployment

No Jobs, No Food, No Hope

Afghans across the country lament the lack of employment while voicing concern over the increasing poverty.

Weather

Between Life and Death in Winter's Cold

Afghans across the country endured an unprecedented cold snap in January that left dozens of people and thousands of livestock dead.

Culture

Fashion Changes with the Government

Afghans are transitioning more and more towards wearing Afghan clothes following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August of 2021.

Drought

The Lifeline of Families Carried by Children

Water scarcity has been a problem for many years across Afghanistan. In Kandahar children as young as four carry water delivered by tankers to their households on a daily basis.

Women

A Free Library for Women to Learn

A female-owned library in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul recently opened its doors hoping it could provide a space for girls barred from seeking education to study there.

Natural Disaster

Families Across Afghanistan Respond to Floods

Recent devastating floods across several Afghan provinces left a trail of destruction in its wake, and scores of Afghans homeless.

Nature

Going Green and One With Nature

Hassan Qasemi has been a hard working florist and gardener half his life. He now owns a greenhouse and sells 30 types of flowers in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

Culture

Book Exhibition Revitalizes Afghans’ Hopes

Female volunteers in #Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province organized a book exhibition aimed at promoting the culture of reading nearly a year after the Taliban takeover.

OneDayinAfghanistan

A Farmer's Day

Abdul Basir Baqizada has been a farmer since he was 15. He has provided for his family’s expenses through this trade/skill for the past 25 years.

Health

Affordability and Quality of Medication Questioned by Afghans

Afghans in the capital Kabul lament the recent increases in prices and low quality of medication while the authorities & pharmacists point to several factors.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Blind Afghan Girl Tops Her Class

Malalai has been blind since birth, is in 4th grade and tops her class. She studies in a small school in Oruzgan province, loves Pastho literature and memorizes everything she hears.

Drought

Drought Hits Afghanistan’s Southwest Hard

Persistent drought over the past several years in Afghanistan threatens the Khash family’s way of life, who have been farmers for most of their adult lives.

Economy

Herat Industries in Nine Month Freefall

The Herat industrial town in Afghanistan lost a significant portion of its factories following the Taliban takeover of the country in mid-August of last year.