Like any other society, we also have some people who keep dreaming about the past and all the glories and achievements of present cannot take them out of the trance of past. From their point of view, past was far better than the present because of a number of factors. To mention a few; sincerity, honesty, intimacy between people and other factors were much strong in past. All these good factors have been replaced with greed, selfishness and unending desire of acquiring and accumulating more and more wealth. The situation got worse after the events following 9-11 that not only changed the map of some places on earth but also changed the minds and attitude of people in different parts of the world. This is not the case with Afghanistan only; rather so many other countries of the world came under its effect. In a broader sense, the world and people living in it had to undergo so many changes in the years that followed the events of 9-11 and its resultant so-called ‘war-on-terror’ which is termed by some as ‘war for terror’.

When they talk of the past, they have so many beautiful and mesmerizing tales and descriptions to tell. A village is shown where majority of people earn less than 5000 Afghanis per month and their expenses are not more than their income and they all live a happy life. A typical Afghan was very satisfied with his limited salary when the things were not so expensive and there was no greed and need for him to look for more sources of income. In the same way, with the exception of a few evil-minded and evil-natured, the majority of people were happy with whatever they had and there prevailed a sense of satisfaction and contentment.

But then the international forces came to Afghanistan accompanying large number of NGOs and companies. Their intention was purely sincere and they wanted to rebuild this war-torn country in the least time possible. Millions and millions of dollars started flowing into the country and at once there was the shortage of people to collect this money. Experts might have made calculations about the impact of this sudden monetary outburst but they certainly could not imagine the impacts it was going to make on the social, emotional and moral values of the society.

The situation was more or less like a war-time economy. In such circumstances, all the eyes are beamed on the completion of mission and achievement of targets and its cost and effects are mostly ignored. But what was happening on the ground? Afghanistan, including a number of other poor or developing countries of the region, had its own limited resources and spending. An average daily wage of a labor in the country was 8-10 dollars which was supposed sufficient given the prices of commodities and other expenses. Average monthly salary of a teacher was 200-300 dollars (Of course, in the local currency!) not only in Afghanistan but also in the countries like Pakistan, Iran, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and others. In the same way, house rent, transport charges and other expenses were also in the same range and with some exceptions, the income of majority of people was almost sufficient enough to meet the expenses.

But where did the problems start? A mere translator was paid 2000-3000 dollars a month which was manifolds more than the average income of the other members of the society. People rushed to work with foreigners, in whichever setup maybe, to earn the salary not imagined before. Same thing happened with the businesses. A certain shopkeeper earned 400-500 dollars per month but when the same person got the contract to supply vegetables to foreigners, he started earning ten times more than the previous income. Then came the virus of projects and this dangerous money-making machine badly corrupted both foreigners and Afghans. According to our president Hamid Karzai, the root of corruption lies with foreigners who taught Afghans to make illegal money provided that their due share should be provided to them on first hand.

This abnormal pattern of income gave birth to so many abnormal consequences. Rents of houses went so high that Kabul was more expensive than many cities of Europe and Asia in its peak years. Prices of commodities skyrocketed and cost of living rose abnormally. People made so much money that they build such grand houses and plazas that appear like mythical stories. Afghans became the buyers of the most expensive property in the world and they earned a special reputation in Dubai. Once having only a few old cars, roads of Kabul witnessed the most expensive and luxurious cars of the world. But this glittering story is very limited. This glorious prosperity benefitted only a small minority of people and majority of people are still in their old conditions. Rather this artificial prosperity has added to their miseries. Majority of people are in the same income range but inflation has made its soaring flight. Everything is very expensive and after all the efforts to make the ends meet, people are suffering to make this happen.

But this story doesn't end here. Its more interesting and unfortunately sad part has just started and is getting more evident with every passing day. Foreign forces are leaving, inflow of money has rather dried up or has badly shrunk down, and things are briskly moving towards normalization. People who were not content with salary of 2-3 thousand dollars are looking for jobs of 3-4 hundred dollars. Prices of property and rents have plummeted and this downfall is still in progress. Abnormal income from projects and other fraudulent sources have come to an end. This condition is quite pleasing for those who could not get benefitted from all these but what about the remaining minority?

All those people who seasoned themselves and living styles with high income are in a shock. What should they do that they should be able to keep the same pace of earning? Many are bringing modifications in their lifestyles and patterns of spending but there are also present those who have decided to tread on a dangerous path. Kidnapping, illegal businesses, drug-cultivation and trafficking, human trafficking and other options were always open for them and they have once again, put their hands in dirty business.

Sooner or later, things may become normal but it was a loss for us as a nation. Now we live in a society where level of greed may be the highest in the world and where majority of people are ready to do anything, be it legal or illegal, to earn more. In this regard, our past was more glorious and we have suffered the worst loss in form of peace of mind and contentment. I fear we are turning into a society and country where there would be no law and where all the means would be made acceptable to snatch and occupy.

The only solution lies in proper education; to equip our young generation with skills and talent so that they should earn with their talent and hard work. At the same time, a good moral or ethical education is needed to make us realize the importance of ethical practices so that we may get rid of this dangerous virus running in our bloods.