The Kuchi nomads of Afghanistan split their time between the eastern lowlands and the central highlands, and are finding life increasingly difficult under the current regime.
The BBC reports that the six million Kuchis are some of the most destitute of Afghanistan’s 25 million people.
Kuchi nomads say that despite their support for President Karzai during the 2005 elections, the administration has failed to follow through on promises to help with basic necessities like electricity and health care.
“We all voted for Karzai but he never honored his promises,” one Kuchi elder said.
Afghanistan’s many wars have taken their toll on a people dependent on livestock and lacking adequate shelter from the fighting.
While most of the nomads continue their traditional lifestyles, some Kuchi elders and activists are in Kabul, the nation’s capital, advocating for sanitation, access to hospitals and schooling.
–Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org
Source:
“Hard times for Afghan nomads”
BBC, October 13, 2008