WUNRN
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Sayed Ali said he had to sell his daughter to save the
rest of his family from starvation |
SHEBERGHAN, 18 May 2008
(IRIN) - Sayed Ali (not his real name) said he sold his 11-year-old daughter,
Rabia, for US$2,000 to a man in Sheberghan city, Jawzjan Province in northern
Afghanistan to feed his wife and three younger children.
With food prices in Afghanistan having soared over the
past few months and the 40-year-old father unable to find work, he said he had
no other choice but to sell his daughter to save his family from starvation.
“Even animals don’t sell their children, because they
love them and want to die for them, not to mention human beings. For too many
days I stood next to roads and asked people for work, but always ended up
disappointed. I couldn’t go home empty-handed and disappoint my starving
children, so I used to scavenge in garbage and collect leftover food.
“I would lie to my family and say I bought them food
from the market. But now it’s even hard to find anything edible in the garbage
because of [increasing] food prices. People now eat all their food because it’s
very expensive and also the numbers of those who scavenge in garbage has
increased.
“Because I am illiterate, no one will give me a job. I
am illiterate because of war and poverty. I didn’t go to school because my
parents wanted me to work. My children also don't go to school and they’ll also
be brought up illiterate like me.
How can someone sell
his own child? It’s like selling your eyes or selling your heart!
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“How can someone sell his own child? It’s like
selling your eyes or selling your heart!
“As no one would give me work I had no other option but
to sell my lovely daughter. I sold her only to save the rest of my family. I
sold her only to buy food for my younger children who otherwise would have died
from hunger.
“I know people will say I am a cruel and merciless
father who sold his own child, but those who say so don't know my hardship and
have never felt the hunger that my family suffers.
“I know other poor people who don’t have children and
say, if necessary, they will blow themselves up [in a suicide attack] and kill
other people in order to feed their families.
“I hope the government will hear my voice and help
people like me to find jobs and feed our families.”
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