- Title: Rising prices, shuttered banks add to misery for Kabul
- Date: 23rd August 2021
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 23, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF CLOSED AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC MOVING ON STREET PEOPLE WALKING ON SIDEWALK (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT, MOHAMMAD RAMIN, SAYING: "They (Taliban) should create jobs and establish their government system soon. Ashraf Ghani sold the country and now the Taliban should take action to open the offices and banks." VARIOUS OF MONEY EXCHANGER WORKING AT STREET STALL, MONEY IN CASE (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT AND MONEY EXCHANGER, MOHAMMED ARIS, SAYING: "Since the Taliban took over Kabul and the government system changed the security situation in Kabul is very good but still there are people who have concerns and can't express their concerns. The banks are closed and the situation of those civilians who have been working with the government is unclear." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON SIDEWALK VARIOUS POINTS OF VIEW SHOTS OF DRIVING ON STREET VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF AFGHAN UNITED BANK CITY SKYLINE TRAFFIC MOVING ON STREET VARIOUS OF GENERAL VIEWS OF CITY
- Embargoed: 6th September 2021 12:32
- Keywords: Afghanistan Kabul Taliban banks currency economy money residents
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERI14QV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A week after the Taliban's lightning seizure of Kabul, growing numbers of people in the Afghan capital are facing a daily struggle to get by with their jobs gone, banks still shuttered and food prices soaring.
As the days pass, everyday worries about food and rent are adding to the uncertainty in a country whose fragile economy has been crushed by the disappearance of international support.
Even before the Taliban swept into the city last Sunday (August 15), conditions had been getting worse, with the insurgents' rapid advance through the provincial cities sending the value of the local afghani currency plunging against the dollar and pushing prices of basic foodstuffs ever higher.
Prices of staples like flour, oil and rice have risen by as much as 10%-20% in a few days and with banks still closed, many people have been unable to access their savings. With Western Union offices also closed, remittances from overseas have also dried up.
"The banks are closed and the situation of those civilians who have been working with the government is unclear," said Kabul resident and money exchanger Mohammed Aris.
While traffic has restarted over the main land borders into neighbouring Pakistan, severe drought conditions across the country have exacerbated the hardships many face and driven thousands to the cities to try to survive in tents and makeshift shelters.
Now, the hardship is increasingly reaching into the cities, hitting the lower middle classes who had seen an improvement in their standard of living in the two decades since the Taliban were last in power. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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