Afghans face hunger in freefalling fragile economy

KABUL－In the biting cold of a Kabul autumn, Hadia Ahmadi sits by the roadside trying to earn the equivalent of a few cents by polishing shoes. The 43-year-old lost her job as a teacher after the Taliban seized the Afghan capital in August.

"I turned to polishing shoes when I saw that my kids were hungry," said Ahmadi, a mother of five, who taught for a decade.

With her husband employed as a cook at a private company and a daughter with a job as a clerk at a government agency, the modest prosperity that Ahmadi's family enjoyed was swept away in a matter of weeks.

With girls' schools closed indefinitely, Ahmadi's job was the first to go. Her husband and daughter lost their jobs soon after. Ahmadi's son was forced to give up his computer science course when the family could no longer afford his tuition fees.

The abrupt withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban's victory has sent Afghanistan's fragile economy into freefall, leaving millions to face hunger and making once well-off middle class families destitute.

After the withdrawal of troops led by the United States from Afghanistan following a devastating 20-year occupation, Washington froze the Afghanistan central bank's assets of more than $9 billion, dealing a devastating blow to the nation's already fragile economy.

Some international financial institutions, including the World Bank, have also halted aid to Afghanistan.

The economy has long stood on shaky foundations, dependent on aid that has now disappeared and with enormous gaps between the Kabul elite and millions living just above the breadline.

The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and is trying to raise $4.5 billion to help avoid the worst. But with foreign aid blocked and the bank system near collapse, the economy has been strangled by a lack of cash.

Roadside displays of household goods for sale have sprung up across Kabul, as families try to earn money. They bear witness to how common Ahmadi's experiences have become, with people taking once unimaginable steps to survive.

"We are spending days in hunger right now, and for the time being, there is no one in our family who could financially support us all," she said.

Agencies via Xinhua