Mother had 'no other choice' but to sell her 6-year-old daughter
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Herat, Afghanistan (CNN)An unprecedented drought in Afghanistan has led to families selling their children just to be able to feed their households.
CNN has spoken to multiple families around the western city of Herat who have been forced from their homes because of a record dry spell that, according to the United Nations, has forced more people from their homes in 2018 than the record violence afflicting the country.
The UN estimates that over 275,000 people have been displaced by the drought, 84,000 of them in the city itself, and 182,000 in the region of Badghis.
Four years of failed rains have savaged the agriculture of the region, and even caused the opium crop to fall by a third this year, despite record output in 2017. The extreme weather conditions are causing concerns that global climate change is having a severe impact on the world's most fragile country, where decades of war have ground the economy and society to dust.
Outside Herat, in a refugee camp, a CNN cameraman met Mamareen, who has lost her husband to the war, her home to the climate and now her daughter to the urgent need to feed her other children. Akila, 6, is now, under the warped economy of this tent city, the possession of another family. Mamareen sold Akila for $3,000 to Najmuddin, who has promised her to his 10-year-old son, Sher Agha.
"I fled my village with my three children because of severe drought," she says. "I came here thinking that I will receive some assistance, but I got nothing. To avoid starvation among my children, I gave my daughter to a man for about $3,000, but have only got $70 so far. I had no money, no food and no breadwinner -- my husband was also killed."
Asked if Akila knew her fate, she said: "She doesn't know that I have sold her. How would she know? She is a child. But I had no other choice. Whether in tears or laughter, she will have to go. Who would sell a piece of her heart unless they really have to?"
A charitable act?
Her fate lay meters away, in another, richer tent in the camp, with Najmuddin, her purchaser. Part of this transaction is cultural -- part of the mores of a society where girls have long been traded for dowries rather than being asked for consent. But to Najmuddin, this was an act of charity.
"Her family didn't have anything to eat. They were hungry," he said. "I know I am also poor, but I am sure I can pay it off slowly... in two to three years."
The Afghan cameraman asked, aren't they children? "It doesn't matter. These things happen here. Even an old man marries a young girl. It happens."
Najmuddin is victim of the same drought that has destroyed worlds across western Afghanistan, which was once the breadbasket of the war-torn, landlocked nation. He said: "The wheat crop failed, we couldn't grow melons -- all the other crops failed because of drought. We lost our livestock. The sheep, cows and goats all died of hunger as there wasn't fodder for them."
This was not an isolated case. A man who refused to give his name discussing the sale of his 4-year-old daughter said: "I had no other choice, I had no money and no source of income. The man came here and gave me two options: either to pay back his money or to give him my daughter. I went with the latter."
These devastating decisions come at a time when Afghanistan is reeling from a series of superlatives. Record Taliban control or influence of territory -- at 45% according to the US inspector into the war -- and record civilian casualties. And a very high, yet undisclosed number of Afghan security force deaths, the actual figure being classified by the US and Afghan governments.
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Kinda makes every problem we think we have here in this country look pathetic and trifling. Climate change will be having this effect in every corner of the globe before we know it.
In some areas the climate change actually results in more rain.
Your link isn’t working for me, but that’s why it’s called climate change. The fact that changes are variable in various locations doesn’t make the problem any better. When the bread basket of a country dries up, it’s not feasible to chase the rain around to start a new one.
Yeah. Someone clued me into the phrase, "First world problem." Now, every time I think life is being unfair to me I remember that phrase and I realize what a stupid whiner I'm being.
My wife and I have a similar expression: WPP (white people problems). It puts ‘problems’ like a flat tire or running out of milk while making a recipe into perspective.
Uh, what? White people problem? I'm afraid I don't understand.
I think you know.
Really, I don't. First world problem means that people with money and means whine about getting ketchup on their cheeseburger when they ordered it plain. It's directly related to wealth. I'm not sure how it could be adjusted to relate to skin color. Would a black person who whined about a flat tire be different than a white person who had a flat tire? If so, why? I'm not trying to argue with you. I just don't understand WPP.
Maybe you just don’t pay attention to the news.
Oh. I see what you're doing. I didn't realize who I was talking to. Never mind.
Lol. What I’m doing? I’m talking about true current events. Now I see what you are doing.
Further evidence:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-black-man-helped-his-drunk-neighbor-get-home-—-and-got-arrested/ar-BBQakHW?ocid=spartanntp
Ok, so since the whole climate change thingy as we know it has been around what say 30-40 years? (being generous)
Explain why they were selling their children into marriage bondage over a thousand years ago? why is it mentioned in the bible? Why in the ancient texts?
I'm sure man caused global warming was having a massive effect on societal cultures back then..../s
But just for shizz and grizz, just a smidgen of proof would be nice....
What’s the point of providing evidence to someone who refuses to acknowledge it?
That's just what they do, like the Mormons they traded daughters because they were allowed multiple wives and it was an easy way for old men to get young wives. It says in the story "I had no other choice, I had no money and no source of income. The man came here and gave me two options: either to pay back his money or to give him my daughter. I went with the latter.". All I can say is if I owed money and couldn't pay I'd feel bad but if the person I owed suggested I give him my daughter instead I'd shoot the pervert. They're just following the Muslim way where Women are treated with no more respect than a Camel or other livestock.
I know this my friend, and it isn't just the Muslims either like you pointed out the Mormons have a history of it. It is also common in the Arab world, the Indian world the Chinese world, The mongols of the Steppes have also been known to practice the ideal and the early Spanish cultures also did it occasionally.
It also wasn't uncommon for the European royalty to practice the art of arranged marriages...... In fact many royal arranged marriages were to fulfill some sort of national treaty between military or economic powers..... (and it was expected for a child to come from such arrangements to seal the deal, despite the wishes of the daughter) Oh and another point, usually the daughter had to be a virgin, and her betrothed had every legal right to said deflowering. (yes rape was allowed in such an arrangement she had no choice whatsoever)
But today, we have been informed, without a shred of proof mind you, it is all caused by Global Warming......
HALALUJAH!!!!!! God must have made them do it!
Wow, thank you for that perfect example of what is wrong with conservatives. The total absence of empathy is chilling. Did you bother to read the article at all? Or did you just vomit up that mess of a statement in a thoughtless knee jerk reaction of support to a fellow conservative? You are basically comparing the extreme survival decisions of an entire region devasted by climate change to how you react if you owed your neighbor money for breaking his lawn mower. According to you, she should have just pulled out her gun (that she obviously doesn’t own) and shot the guy dead (who was only trying to help her keep her family alive), while the whole family starved to death. I don’t know whether to despise your ignorance or feel sorry for it, but I’m leaning towards the former.
If he was only trying to keep the family alive he would not have asked for the girl in exchange for the money.
Nice example of conflation there..... Knowledge of historical facts equates to lack of compassion....
What it represents is an insult, he cannot prove his initial claim/presumption so he resolves to insults. As if the insults make him a better person or validates his arguments....
What is boils down to is pure hate, political bigotry of the first order....
A perfect example of what is wrong with both sides....
I've said it before, both sides have their own set of facts, or those opinions that are treated as facts without any substantiation at all. And, when confronted they deflect into attacks on the character of those that blow their fantasy facts to oblivion with real actual provable facts....
I guess that is what passes for the scientific approach today....
And once this is established, what does it does for the human caused global warming phantasists.
Your not telling us anything we don't already know, you choose to despise us cause you have nothing but hate for us cause we will not just fall into line with your completely off planet ideals, particularly when the actual historical facts are laughing at your conflations and we are laughing at your feeble attempts at deflection away from the truth of it by your attempts to insult us....
Face it you opened your mouth for a healthy serving of sole.....
Enjoy..
If he was only trying to keep the family alive he would not have asked for the girl in exchange for the money.
And then what? Give everything he has to everyone in need for nothing in return? Obviously that is not realistic. If he can help her family survive for the only thing she has to offer, he will at least end up with another family member to work to support his family in the future. This is what destitution looks like. Most Americans have can’t even fathom this depth of poverty.
Lol, imagine that - you calling someone else hateful. Hilarious! Why don’t you just move along - [deleted]
Do you really believe he bought the girl so he could treat her like a daughter, he bought her as a wife for himself or to resell her. ? They sold their daughter into sexual slavery and I'm supposed to feel sympathy for them. I could respect the mother if she prostituted herself to feed her kids but I have no respect for anyone who sells children for what they damn well know is sexual slavery.
You have a pathetic world view. Go engage with your racist friends, there’s nothing for you here.
Nothing like giving a perfectly good example for everyone to see....
And your right, there is nothing here for anyone that doesn't carry around a whole world full of hate....
Overpopulation is driving cause here too