In today's modern world, politics and government cannot be separated from delivering services to the citizens of a given territory, called country. There are three main functions a government is supposed to do in a country: to provide security; to work as arbitrator to resolve disputes between and among the citizens; and to deliver services. Afghan government has failed to fulfill these functions but it is particularly unable to provide services.
Failure to deliver services to the people generates gap between the government and people, which in turn contributes to growing insecurity in the country as people could fall prey to the recruitment for wages and money. Unfortunately, over the last ten years, Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai have been engrossed in internal political games at the cost of ignoring Afghan people.
As a result, extreme and backbreaking poverty has prevailed across the country. There has not been any tangible change in the life of Afghan children who are involved in child labor. According to a new estimate and report by UNICEF, half of Afghanistan's population of 30 million is under 15, with almost two million children in full or part-time work.
A new assessment conducted by ILO in cooperation with Samuel Consulting Hall found that more than half of the laborers involved in brickmaking in the kilns are Afghan children. The findings released on Tuesday, February 07, 2012 warned that child labor could become more widespread as international aid is fading away.
The ILO's representative to Kabul Herve Berger has raised concerns that as the foreign troops fighting Taliban insurgents are pulling out by the end of 2014, international community's attention is shifting away from Afghanistan and its humanitarian needs.
Berger has said that "The issue of child labor may fall below the radar screen and be seen as less important after 2014. What is important here is ensuring enough sustainability."Sarah Cramer, project manager at Samuel Hall Consulting, which conducted the study for the ILO, said, "All service sectors will be affected as aid dries up. Lower profit margins mean more children will be working." It is important for Afghan government to make sure that it is paying due attention to the children and people and is not focusing only on brining the unhappy brothers back to the fold.