Escaping From Unemployment

"But educated people are also finding themselves with out work. "

In the middle of a busy road a group a young people is handing out free books, newspapers and magazines to anyone who passes by.

They are from a group called Round She or third trend that wants to encourage people to read.  

Said Ihsan Tahery is the group’s leader.

“Today’s campaign aim is to promote studying and learning culture in the society, we give books, newspapers and magazines to the people so they can read them.  Street after street and car after car. We also go to houses and knock on their doors and give them reading material too,” he said.

Afghanistan has made great progress in education – girls and boys have been enrolled in unprecedented numbers – only to find themselves unemployed upon graduation.

But educated people are also finding themselves with out work.

Unemployment is now the highest it’s been in the 14 years since the over throw of the Taliban.

Recent university graduate Mati Allah Mayar has been looking for a job for about a year.

“There is no enough attention on creating job and helping workers. After studying hard at university we are jobless. So people start to think what the point of getting an education is,” he said.

Its 9am every day Kote Sangi Street is packed with hundreds of men hoping to get hired as day labors on building sites and as laborers.

Rahmanullah is a mason he hasn’t had full time job for around eight months.

He comes here each day and says he gets work for two or three days a week.

He blames the new government for making the situation worse.

“During the former President Karzay period there were more opportunities, I never had to go out the street to find a job, I always had a job.  There were jobs were good wages but with this government everything is getting worse, security and job opportunities,” he said.

Around fifty thousand job opportunities have reportedly stopped due to NATO troops’ withdrawal from the country.

And the new government has been rocked by a series of corruption cases.

Many people have given up looking and are trying to leave instead.

Hundreds of people are lined up outside the Iranian Embassy in Kabul.

They’re here to apply for a visa.

Iran is a stepping stone to Europe. Many die trying to make the journey illegally.

Mustafa who is a higher educated Afghan says: he know all risks during the way, but still he wants to leave Afghanistan and go to Europe.

“I want to go to a country in the European Union that accepts refugee, I will go there, I know the risks and that I could die.  Five of my brothers have already left the country and are now in Europe,” he said.  

The Afghan government says it’s trying to create safe and legal work abroad for their citizens.

New social affairs and Labour minister Nasrin Oriakhilr says they are making contacts with gulf countries.  

“Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE officials, soon we will have joint contracts with these countries to give job opportunities for Afghan workers inside their countries, according to those contracts Afghan workers officially can work there with having the same favor like other country workers,” she said.  

This would include health insurance, wage insurance and leave insurance.

More than four million registered and unregistered Afghans are still living in Afghanistan's neighboring states of Iran and Pakistan, although more than 5.7 million Afghan refugees have returned home since 2002.

• eng
• Afghan unemployment
• Ghayor Waziri