BADGHIS, Afghanistan — In the once-bustling workshops of Badghis province in northwestern Afghanistan, craftsmen who have spent years honing their trades are now dismantling their livelihoods piece by piece. Faced with worsening economic conditions and dwindling job opportunities, many say they have been forced to sell their tools just to afford daily necessities.
In Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital, shopkeepers report a steep decline in purchasing power, leaving them struggling to sustain their businesses. Residents describe a grim reality in which work is scarce, wages are meager, and survival has become a daily challenge.
Omid, a former tailor, said he had no choice but to sell his sewing machines and close his shop to pay for his mother’s medical treatment. Now, he spends his days waiting by the roadside, hoping for temporary labor work.
“I wake up every morning and go to the roadside, hoping someone will hire me,” he said. “Some days, I find work. Some days, I don’t. Even when I do, I barely earn 100 to 200 Afghanis ($1–$2)—just enough for a meal or two. This is how we are forced to live now.”
For others, the struggle is just as severe. Abdul Qadir, a father of 12, said his family depends on his earnings as a day laborer, but the work is unpredictable.
“I earn 100 Afghanis a day, and that’s only if I’m lucky enough to find work,” he said. “If there’s no demand, I go home empty-handed. My children still expect food at the end of the day, but what can I do?”
Even small businesses are feeling the strain. Ghulam Nabi, a shopkeeper, said the market has slowed to a crawl.
“I make maybe 5,000 Afghanis ($65) a month, and that’s barely enough to survive,” he said. “I also suffer from a herniated disc, but there’s no money for treatment. I just push through the pain.”
Business owners say fewer people can afford even basic goods, forcing many to cut back on their inventories or close their shops altogether. The lack of spending power, combined with a weakened economy, has created a downward spiral in which jobs disappear, incomes shrink, and families are left struggling to meet their most basic needs.
Residents of Qala-e-Naw, one of Afghanistan’s hardest-hit cities, say economic hardship and joblessness have pushed many into desperation. They hope for intervention—whether in the form of investment, relief programs, or job creation efforts—to revive businesses and ease financial pressures on struggling families.
For now, the tools of once-thriving tradesmen are being sold off, piece by piece, as workers try to navigate a collapsing economy with few signs of relief in sight.
