With Afghanistan being so much in the news these days, as well as in our hearts, thoughts and prayers, we decided to visit an area of Jeddah where Afghans have lived for many years. In fact, most English-speaking expatriates call the place “the Afghan souk.” We spent two days there, talking to men and women, asking them about their lives, their needs and their fears.
The Afghan area is located in the center of one of Jeddah’s oldest districts, Al-Hindawiyah, and Afghans are in the majority there. Much of what you see calls up images of Afghanistan: the dress of the people as well as the delicious smells wafting out into the streets from the bakeries. Children dressed in Afghan clothing run about and play. Soon after we arrived on our first visit, we met a young man and explained why we had come. He was very understanding and led us down narrow lanes — so typical of old Jeddah and of many traditional Muslim towns and cities. As we walked, the children ran along behind us, all the way to our meeting with one of the district leaders, Ezzatullah Gadowri. We explained why we had come and what we wanted; with his help, we were able to go into houses to speak to Afghan women who had fled their country as a result of war.
When we were invited into one house, we were surrounded by a group of women. Unfortunately, there was a language barrier but fortunately, they knew an excellent translator. She was an Afghan, born in the Kingdom and educated here. As we began asking questions, we noticed one young woman, sobbing and crying. We were told that she had four children and that she had only been in the Kingdom for a year. Her husband, she believes, is in prison in Afghanistan and she has had no news of him — not even where or why he is being held. She explained that because of the famine and difficulties of making a living, they had been forced to leave their village and begin the trek to Pakistan. While they were on the way, they were stopped by a group of soldiers who took her husband. She spent some terrible days with her children in Kabul where she had no shelter, no food and no man to help her. Despite the difficulties and with help from various good people, she managed to get to Peshawar. Once there, she contacted her brother in Jeddah and he sent her the money to come to the Kingdom. Here she lives with her brother and grandmother. Another woman had a similar story: Her husband was arrested by the Taleban and she knew nothing more than that.
We asked about the many Afghan children. We wanted to know if they were being educated. We learned that most of them are not in school and that some manage to find casual work in order to help their families.
Another young woman told us how her husband had left her with his bother’s family and gone to Afghanistan to fight. She and her four children have had a very difficult time but her husband’s brother is very helpful and supportive. “But I have severe anemia and one of my daughters is also unwell,” she concluded.
The mother of seven children said that she and her husband were so poor that their sons sold chewing gum, towels and other items at traffic lights. “Even so,” she said, “we are still better off here than those who remain in Afghanistan.”
Moving then to another house, we were greeted by an old woman with a face filled with both kindness and sadness. She told us she was from an area south of Kabul and that all her sons were in the military. She knew no more than that. She herself came to the Kingdom 13 years ago with her husband and son. Her son works as a cobbler and has a wife and three sons. The youngest one works in a drapery shop and between the father and his son, they support the family.
In another house we met a woman who had just arrived in the Kingdom after fleeing the fighting between the Taleban and the soldiers loyal to the late Ahmad Shah Massood. She said that after walking for several days, the group she was with entered Pakistan. She then got an Umrah visa and came to the Kingdom with her four sons. The oldest one works in a car repair shop in the morning and a restaurant in the evening. He is the sole support of his family; he alone is responsible for their food, shelter and other requirements.
We learned that thousands of Afghans had fled their country — some going to Pakistan and others to the Gulf states. It is estimated that there are as many as 100,000 in the United Arab Emirates. Of course, many of those who are in the Kingdom came here on Umrah visas which have expired. Thus they are technically overstayers here and face problems with passport checks and document inspections. This obliges them to accept virtually any job at whatever salary an avaricious employer may be pleased to pay them.
We heard many other stories. Some women told of the days when the Russians were in Afghanistan and how people had been forced out of their villages and had to walk long distances to reach safety. Many of them had seen their relatives die on the walk, either from hunger or from being caught in the fighting. Most of them have no idea about their homes, their property or their relatives, especially those in rural areas. Communication with Afghanistan have never been good and the situation has not been helped by what is happening there now.
What was common to all the people we talked to was a hope and a prayer that one day they would be able to return to Afghanistan and live in peace in their own country. This surely is the most basic of all rights and one to which every human being is surely entitled.