Afghanistan: Unemployment forces journalists to become street vendors

New Delhi: After Taliban took control, Afghanistan has been been in economic turmoil, forcing journalists in the country to become street vendors.

Organizations supporting media have raised concerns over job insecurity and unemployment of journalists in Afghanistan, reported Tolo News.
“Concerns regarding occupational safety, economic hardship and dozens of other issues have recently threatened the journalist community,” said Masroor Lutfi, Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU) media officer.

Due to the lack of jobs some journalists have been forced to sell fruits on the streets of Kabul as retailers. Hasib Yousefi, an employee of a private media outlet, now is selling on the streets of Kabul, reported Tolo News.

He said that he has worked for various media outlets for over 15 years, but now due to poverty and unemployment, he has to sell fruit on the streets of Kabul to feed his family.

“I have worked for around 15 years in various media outlets. My job was directing and programming and I worked for 10 years at Khurshid TV,” he said.

“After I lost my job, and with the increased level of poverty and misery in our country, with the little money that I had I bought this cart to work and be prepared for the winter,” said Bilal Yousufi, a former employee of a media outlet who now works as a seller on Kabul streets.

Meanwhile, according to the numbers of organizations supporting media, dozens of media outlets in Afghanistan have stopped operating since the political change due to economic problems, reported Tolo News.