After Kabul, the process of collecting beggars has been started in Herat. Provincial officials of the Red Crescent Society in Herat say that they are going to round up a thousand beggars in the western region of the country.
According to the local officials, bank accounts have been created for the beggars for whom 2,000 afghanis are given monthly to feed their children. Noorudin Torabi, deputy of the Red Crescent Society, said “We set a budget for 1,000 people for each zone from the Red Crescent account. We open a bank account and transfer money to them. Therefore, each can get their monthly allowance from the bank.”
According to the Afghan Red Crescent Society, the process of identifying and registering 600 beggars in Farah, Badghis, Ghor and Nimroz provinces has been started. The ARCS officials say those who are really deserving will be first identified.
Based on the official statistics, 130 beggars from Herat city have been collected and included in the sustainable support program of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and this number is expected to reach 400 in near future.
Previously, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Emirate had informed that more than 14,000 beggars had been rounded up only from Kabul city. According to information of the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, 9,154 beggars are women, while 1,228 of the beggars are men. The office said that most of the beggars were the professional beggars, while a small number of them were deemed as needy.
The office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs said that the beggars would be biometrically registered, adding that child beggars would be provided with education, and beggars who were unable to work would be provided with an allowance.
After rounding up thousands of beggars from Kabul city, it is difficult to find a single beggar on streets and roads in the country. Hope the move is expanded to other cities of the country.
It is worth mentioning that rounding up beggars from Kabul city was started following the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Mullah Hebtullah Akhundzada. In a decree, the IEA Supreme Leader instructed the deputy prime minister to round up beggars in Kabul city and with the help of various organizations, provide them with shelter and employment opportunities.
Saida Ahmadi
Street beggars to be rounded up in Herat
