Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

People’s Worries During the Cold Weather

As the winter season has approached, the problems of our people seem to be rising as well. The people of our country, who have been suffering for years from poverty, war, unemployment, displacement, deprivation and the special difficulties of the winter season, are also overwhelmed. This multiplication of the problems of our people at the time of difficulty and the natural disasters is, of course, because of the irresponsibility of relevant authorities.
The people of Afghanistan are people who are at odds with their own lives. In the midst of the problems generated by cold weather, rising fuel prices and unemployment are also disturbing people’s lives. Given the fact that in winter, poverty, unemployment and fuel prices rise to a high level, so it can be said that with the arrival of the cold season, the death of poor people also reaches to alarming levels around the country, but their voices are foreign to the officials of the country, who do not pay any attention to them.
While the winter has not hit the houses seriously, the signs and symptoms have caused concern for the people. In particular, clear signs of this have originated in the form of rise in the price of some essential items, especially fuel.
The problem of the rise in the price of fuel in absence of any plan and the lack of readiness of the government to deal with the chilling problems of this season is not new. Unfortunately, a number of opportunistic traders and vendors also exploit the lack of government oversight and control, and exploit this for more profit.
The issue of the winter problems of people has always been mentioned and discussed every year before the coming of this chapter. It is unfortunate that the government has not been able to respond to the needs of the people and their concerns in the last few years, despite the awareness of the possible situation and warnings given over the past few years. Of course, it should not be forgotten that some other facts, regardless of official policies, have contributed to the increase in the number of items required by the people in the winter.
Often, these facts relate to the natural state of the country and the lack of facilities and routes. However, the existence of natural disasters and obstacles should not prevent the authorities from neglecting the people’s concerns and problems during the winter months. The responsible ministries that need to be active in meeting the needs of the people are unplanned, in spite of the comments made by their authorities. They have always tried to propose different slogans for people by taking some decisions and designing very superficial plans.
In fact, winter in Afghanistan is one of the opportunities for some traders to gain profits. Recently, the prices of goods in the markets of the country have increased significantly, and pressured the weak and disenfranchised society to a large extent. Each year, there has been a discussion of rising prices with the coming of the cold season, and, on the other hand, the government and relevant institutions have not taken any serious measures in this regard.
One of the other factors of inflation is the supply pressure: that is, if the supply of goods is reduced in a country, then the price of goods will rise and inflation will arise. Since Afghanistan is country that mostly imports, it depends on the main import factor that if imports in Afghanistan decline in a particular season, the supply pressure will increase the price of the goods. On the other hand, another reason for winter prices in Afghanistan has been inflation, which has increased commodities in neighboring countries, which will increase commodity prices in Afghanistan.
Given the fact that the economy of Afghanistan is based on the market economy, the government has the least interference in this regard, but this approach is not justified. If the government wants the economy to reach balance and curtail increases and inflation in different chapters, then there is a need to think in this direction so that the poor and low-income groups of the society are not insecure.
Winter has always been a source of trouble for most Afghan residents. In this country, the millions of people living below the poverty line, while not having access to urban services, are undoubtedly adding to the number of people’s problems due to the cooling of the weather and the snow and rain.
What is certain is that the country’s citizens are facing a lot of difficulties in the winter season, but the government as a whole, and the responsible institutions, in particular, have no plans to overcome these problems.
There are families who do not have shelter and live in tents, or families who are poor and can not even buy their food. This has made most families unable to produce their winter fuels, and as a result of the severity of the cold, they often suffer from various illnesses and lose a number of their lives. What should be reminded is that the government and the responsible authorities should have established system to cooperate with the people in need and should have precise control over the markets so that people can be facilitated.