Since the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan's coal exports have increased — and so has child labor. At a coal mine in Baghlan province, boys earn between $3 and $8 for a day's work.
toggle captionClaire Harbage/NPR, after one of the mines collapsed due to heavy rains. No one, from the young miners to mining officials and labor and humanitarian groups, seems to know or is willing to say whether any of those who perished were kids. But the accident was enough to inspire a new ritual among the boys working here.
When the Taliban returned to power last year, donor governments and international institutions withdrew billions of dollars in assistance, triggering an economic and humanitarian crisis.
Left to right: Mohammed Asif Faisel, 22, Amir Mohammad Sharin, 33, and Shamsurrahman Mirzada, 32, have all worked in the mines since they were underage.Left to right: Mohammed Asif Faisel, 22, Amir Mohammad Sharin, 33, and Shamsurrahman Mirzada, 32, have all worked in the mines since they were underage."Our doors are open, especially for American and European companies," says Burhan."The one condition we have: If a foreign company comes here, they must have an Afghan partnership.
Other than the increase in production, the only change he's noticed since the return of the Taliban is the number of minors who've been sent to work.
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