Karlo Clever
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Earn money with a scale
At the children’s circus in the Afghan capital Kabul, children can forget their problems for a short time. There they learn tricks like juggling.
Photo: dpa/Oliver Weiken
Kabul Hardly any money, little to eat, often no heating: many people in Afghanistan are in a bad way. The children often work too. But there are places where they forget their worries.
Every day Ali stands in front of the magnificent Blue Mosque with his scales. It is located in the city of Mazar-i Sharif in the Asian country of Afghanistan. If you give Ali some money, you can step on the scale and find out the weight. A lot of people don’t have scales at home.
Instead of weighing people, Ali would rather watch TV or romp outside after school. “I actually like playing football best,” says the boy, who estimates his age at 12 or 13 years. “But I almost never have time for that.”
Often go to bed hungry
Ali and his family are poor. This is the case for many people in Afghanistan, because the country is one of the least developed countries in the world. Ali works so that he and his siblings have something to eat. Or so that the family can heat the small apartment, because the winter there is bitterly cold.
In most cases, however, there is not enough money despite the work. Often everyone went to bed hungry, says Ali. Ever since the Taliban group took power in the country a year and a half ago, Ali’s family has had an even harder time than before.
The Taliban government violates human rights, particularly the rights of girls and women. Women are no longer allowed to study there and older girls are no longer allowed to attend school. That’s why many countries no longer want to deliver goods to Afghanistan and no longer want to work with the government.
The population is suffering because many people have now lost their jobs. Banks can therefore often no longer issue money. Everywhere in the country you see children cleaning shoes, selling chewing gum or weighing them on the street. It was there before the Taliban ruled. “But since the Taliban, I’ve been earning much less because the people no longer have any money,” says Ali.
But there are also places in Afghanistan where children can forget their problems for a few hours. In a small children’s circus in the capital Kabul, for example, boys and girls learn tricks. They practice for small shows on a colorful Afghan carpet in a backyard.
The children do not have to pay anything for the lessons. The circus troupe often performs in schools, sometimes even on television shows. “I want to put a smile on people’s faces,” says elementary school student Madia, who has been with us for almost three years. “That’s why I like being here.”
Things have changed in the circus too. Ringmaster Hamid worries that the Taliban don’t want girls and boys to learn together. The shows have also become fewer. But he wants to continue with his circus as long as it is possible. “Everyone should have the chance to make art,” says the ringmaster. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor.”
