When Taliban offer you gold: Afghan youth in crisis?

Afghan job seekers, business leaders, and CEO Abdullah Abdullah give an insight into Afghanistan's grim job market.



Among the hundreds of thousands of refugees entering Europe a significant number is made up of young men from Afghanistan. Last year, more than 100,000 Afghans fled to Europe and the exodus continues.

But why are so many Afghans leaving their home country?

In Kabul's Kote Sangi neighbourhood, painters, carpenters, plasterers, and other manual workers sit outside waiting for someone to come by and hire them, even if only for a few hours.

This scene is replicated throughout the Afghan capital as thousands of casual workers hope to earn a dollar or more a day, the desperation etched on many faces. But their chances aren't good. These men don't have the family or the political connections often needed to get a job. And Afghanistan's unemployment rate is estimated to be at 40 percent or higher.