Children of Conflict: AfghanistanIn the overcrowded city of Kabul, the population is growing by around six million children who have dropped out of school to work and support their families. These children work every day to earn 10 cents per plastic bag, running between cars and pedestrians. Girls disguise themselves as boys so they can sell plastic bags and earn a few Afghanis to buy bread to feed the family. The United Nations estimates that there are approximately fifty thousand street children in Kabul alone. Most of these street children cannot afford education because their fathers are unemployed or died in one of the wars (Haidary). Data showed that in 2002 there were thirty-eight thousand street children, but now the number is estimated at sixty. thousand. There are many different reasons for this massive increase. Many refugees from Iran and Pakistan have been forced to leave their homes. Additionally, fathers were injured or died in war. Orphaned children therefore have no choice but to help provide for their families. The children have found many other ways to earn money other than selling plastic bags. They learned to repair bicycles, work for shoemakers or beg alms to obtain the aromatic smoke that keeps the devil away from passers-by (Haidary). Kabul has many unemployed people living in poverty, most of them war refugees. Afghanistan is known to be one of the poorest countries with forty million people living below the poverty line. However, after the American invasion, the number of street children decreased and they began attending school full-time. According to data from the Ministry of Education, seven million children have been enrolled...... middle of document ......thunger.org/countries/asia/afghanistan?gclid=CKCko8Xn4L0CFecWMgodzGwAAA>. >.AFGHANISTAN: Poverty forces children to leave school to work. Rep. April 14, 2014 “United States”. Save the children. 2014 Save the Children. April 14, 2014. Hall, Keith. “More public spending will not reduce poverty.” American News. January 29, 2013. USNews & World Report. 14 April 2014. “Tell us what you think about GOV.UK” Establishing stability in Afghanistan. December 12, 2012. April 14. 2014 .