Killed, orphaned, sold: Afghan war takes brutal toll on children

In a country where half the population is younger than 15, Afghanistan's 17-year war has arguably hit children the hardest. Some 927 children were killed last year, the most since records have been kept, according to a UN report released in February.

After fighting forced Mohammad Khan, a villager from the northern Afghanistan province of Sar-e-Pul, to move his family to the more secure province of Balkh last year, they quickly fell on harder times. Khan’s wife grew gravely ill, he could not find work, and struggled to feed their seven children. So in January, Khan sold their baby, just 40 days old, to a neighbour.

“I sold him for 70,000 afghanis ($929) so that my other children would not die of hunger,” he said.

In a country where half the population is younger than 15, Afghanistan’s 17-year war has arguably hit children the hardest. Some 927 children were killed last year, the most since records have been kept, according to a UN report released in February. Aid workers say they are seeing a growing number of children orphaned or forced to work in the streets.

“I think the hope that used to exist, doesn’t anymore,” said Adele Khodr, the representative for UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency, in
Afghanistan.