Feature: Cycle of violence exacerbates poverty in Afghanistan

The innocent face of a young Afghan girl who sat on the sidewalk of the capital city spoke of the desperation that Afghan children have been subjected to as a result of the cycle of violence in the war-ravaged country.

Most of these children are victims of the unabated suicide bombings and ambuscades by the Taliban and other militant groups.

"What I have is a tube of shoeshine polish and a brush hoping that I can shine shoes of passersby and earn. So far, I have earned only 10 afghanis. I hope I can have more customers before sundown," the six-year-old Parwana told Xinhua.

Like most Afghans, Parwana has only one name. And like most Afghan children, she refused to reveal the whereabouts of her parents and the circumstances that forced her to shine shoes which is a man's job.

But most of these children have been orphaned when one of their parents, usually the father or the main breadwinner, died from an ambush or a suicide attack.

The 10 afghanis that she had earned was equivalent only to about 17 U.S. cents and was not enough to buy a loaf of bread.

Parwana said she hoped some kind strangers would pity her and give her money so that she can buy a naan (a flat bread popular in Afghanistan) that she can bring home for her mother and siblings.

What made it ironic was that Parwana, barefoot and wearing tattered clothes, was sitting on a pavement which was just behind Arg or the Afghan Presidential Palace and opposite the five-star Kabul Serena Hotel frequented by government functionaries and visiting foreign dignitaries.

Nobody seemed to take notice of Parwana as government officials who rode in their limousines passed by.

Few meters away from Parwana, sat seven-year-old Patoni, who was selling ball pens and chewing gums to pedestrians.

"The price of each ball pen is 5 afghanis and on average I can earn more or less 100 afghanis daily," she told Xinhua.

Unlike Parwana, Patoni told the ordeal that her family has undergone. Her father is disabled and her mother is sick so both of them cannot work.

"My father had lost both of his legs and my mother is sick. I have two sisters and three brothers and like me, they are also doing odd jobs just to earn for the family," Patoni said.

Naquibullah, 11, said that she wanted to go to school but was forced to sell balloons to support her family. "Because we are very poor and my parents have no job, I have been forced to work. I envy the other children who are in school," she said.

Some 36 percent of the total population of Afghanistan, according to the official statistics, live under the poverty line.

The militancy-plagued Afghanistan is still largely dependent on foreign aid 13 years after the fall of the Taliban regime and the engagement of international community in Afghan affairs.

The unchecked insurgency, high rate of unemployment and the withdrawal of more than 120,000-strong U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan last year have caused economic woes and exacerbated poverty in Afghanistan which is already one of the poorest countries of the world.

To eke out their families, many jobless Afghans either go to neighbouring countries to look for work or resorted to begging on the streets.

Most of those hit hard are the women and children of school age who are forced to beg or do odd jobs, including those that are usually done by men. During the cold winter months, these children suffered the most and some of them have died.

Although official statistics about the number of street children, beggars and handicapped people in conflict-ridden Afghanistan are not available yet, local media reports put the number of street children in the country at not less than 60,000. Endi