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Afghanistan has been cranking out war orphans for nearly 30 years. It’s like a national industry. The present tally for Afghan children who have lost or been separated from their parents during the war is 2 million nationwide. In a country where kids under 18 make up half of the population, the fact that up to one out of seven of these kids has grown up either on the streets or in an orphanage like this one in Kabul doesn’t bode too well for the future of Afghanistan (surprise).
Two girls chatting over lunch at Kabul Orphanage, one of the capital city’s many, many, many orphanages full of orphans.
These guys are hanging out around their bedroom space heater in the morning. The majority of the kids in this orphanage is Hazara, an ethnic minority from the mountains in the middle of the country. Due to the continual fighting in their region (mostly being carried out by ethnic Pashtuns and foreigners like us), a large portion of the Hazara population has migrated to neighboring Pakistan.
The girl on the right just bashed her forehead trying to pump out some water. This orphanage is privately run, and about a million times better than the Oliver Twist-esque government orphanages, where there are routine reports of spoiled food and massive overcrowding. Still, once they’re expelled for being too old they enter the same job market as their peers, which is dominated by three options: drugs, human trafficking, and becoming a mujahid.
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