Press TV
October 27, 2018
People in Afghanistan are showing unprecedented levels of pessimism about the future of their war-ravaged country, a US survey shows, as militant attacks continue to take toll on the lives of Afghans almost every day 17 years after the US invaded the country.
In a survey, whose results were published on Friday, Gallup asked Afghans of all walks of life how good they anticipate life to be in five years. It recorded a shocking average of 2.3 on a ladder scale with 10 as the best possible.
“Almost no Afghans see their economic situation improving anytime soon. This year, 4 percent say their standard of living is getting better; this is lower than or on par with the lowest figures Gallup has recorded from any country since 2006, including the most desperately poor countries in Africa and Asia,” Gallup said.
Two years ago, Afghans put their life quality in five years at 5.4.
The latest survey “reveals just how devastating the negative cycle of poverty and violence has been to Afghans’ daily experiences,” the polling organization added.
Gallup conducted the survey in July in face-to-face interviews of 1,000 Afghans.
The results of the survey were announced in the wake of last week’s legislative elections which were marred by blood and violence.
Some four million Afghans voted in the long-delayed elections amid widespread accounts of polling problems and Taliban deadly attacks.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, toppling a Taliban regime in control of most of the country at the time. But the invasion has failed to restore security in the country plagued by militancy and terrorism.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is struggling to find a way out of the costly conflict as the Taliban militant group has managed to partially reassert themselves in several provinces by taking control of certain areas.
Over 8,000 people lost their lives or have been wounded in Afghanistan between January and September this year, with the country on track to be deadlier than Syria in 2018. Kabul blames the Taliban militant group for the bulk of the death toll.
Last year, Washington added thousands of additional troops to its forces in Afghanistan. The White House claims the American troops are deployed in Afghanistan to train Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorist missions against militant groups.
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