PUNE: On Monday, the United Nations (UN) pushed for immediate action to salvage Afghanistan’s distressed banking system, which has gone into freefall after most foreign development support was withdrawn following the Taliban’s takeover. Closer home, in India, the crisis is having a very human impact.
Many Afghan students studying in the country are virtually cut off, not having received any money from their families for weeks and even months, forcing them to subsist on meagre savings or charity of friends. The visas of many have expired, and several have applied to the UN for refugee status. So dire is the situation that many are even forced to stay home and self-medicate for dangerous ailments like dengue.
Some even live in fear for their lives, such as Adeeba. A student here, Adeeba has not been home in three years; she was looking forward to returning home after her course, but that plan is now untenable.
“The Taliban doesn’t know I am studying outside. They will kill me — or worse — if I go back. My sister is confined to home,” Adeeba told TOI. “The Taliban is asking for very high taxes, which is making my family’s life back home even more difficult. I have not received any money from my parents for three months. The university has been very understanding and has not forced us to pay or leave.”
Adeeba said if she uses her money just to buy groceries and nothing else, she would be able to survive for a month-and-a-half. “But what will happen after that?” she wondered.
In Afghanistan, those in government or semi-government jobs have not been paid for months. Worse, they are unable to retrieve money deposited in their accounts as banks are rationing the deposits, per week or per month per person.
Masooda says it has been four months since her father has been paid his salary. She says the bank allows the withdrawal of a fixed amount per week, which is enough for their own survival. “I don’t know what I will do after I finish my course here. I can’t even think of going back. One of my cousins was killed by the Taliban a few years ago. Imagine what they will do to a woman who left the country, alone, to study,” Masooda says.
The situation is worse for Zaheeda, who came to India as a tourist before the Taliban took over and has since applied for refugee status with the UN. “I had come with the aim to check out colleges and then go back home and apply for a student visa. But now I am homeless. I have no visa to stay here, nor can I go back to Afghanistan. I cannot even apply to any college or university here because I do not have the relevant visa. Back home, girls are now allowed to study only till class VI,” said Zaheeda.
Even in this situation, some Afghan students say they are fleeced by travel agents or face harassment from their house owners. Razia completed her master’s here and booked flight tickets to go home in August, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
“All flights were cancelled, but I never got my money back from the travel agency. My savings are nearly exhausted. My parents try to reassure me during weekly calls, but I know they are not okay. Even back in school, teachers would tell me I was too liberal for my own good. Now my father fears for my life. He keeps telling me not to come back. But without a valid visa, how will I get a job, and without a job or money, how can I live in an expensive city?” asks Razia.
Nawaz says banks in his hometown have been closed for two months. “My course got over, and I was planning to apply for higher studies when the situation changed. I came down with dengue 15 days ago and my platelet count dropped drastically, but I could not get admitted to hospital. I am hardly able to make ends meet, how can I spend money on treatment? Plus, my visa has expired. On top of that, I had applied for higher studies in a city university and paid Rs16,000 admission fee, but was unable to join. The university didn’t refund that money.”
(Names changed to protect identities)
