Kids of Kabul
CBC Books | Posted: June 29, 2018 2:32 PM | Last Updated: June 29, 2018
Deborah Ellis
What has happened to Afghanistan's children since the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out. The 26 boys and girls featured in this book range in age from 10 to 17, and they speak candidly about their lives now. They are still living in a country at war. Violence and oppression exist all around them. The situation for girls has improved, but it is still difficult and dangerous. And many children — boys and girls — are still supporting their families by selling items like pencils and matches on the street.
Yet these kids are weathering their lives with remarkable courage and hope, getting as much education and life experience and fun as they can. (From Groundwood Books)
From the book
Everyone says I have too much intelligence. They laugh when they say it, so it is a joke, but they are right. I am very smart.
A year ago, I could not read anything at all, but I now I can read all sorts of things — books, poems, everything. I can write, too. This proves I am smart.
I live in a poor area of Kabul. My father died 13 years ago. No one in this room has a father or husband. The men died in the war or from sickness or they were murdered. Husbands and fathers die for all sorts of reasons. Some get shot. Sometimes there are road accidents. Some fathers go to Iran or to Pakistan to look for work and don't come back.
From an interview with Faranoz, 14, in the book Kids of Kabul written by Deborah Ellis ©2012. Published by Groundwood Books.