Well, looks like the Bush administration has done a splendid job of bringing American values to Afghanistan:
Gap between rich and poor widens in Afghanistan
Some buy watches for $4,000, others heat homes with dung
The emergence of an opulent elite is one sign that much has changed since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Another was the reopening of the Afghan parliament last month, hailed as a step toward stability after a quarter-century of chaos.But for many Afghans, greater democracy and a more open economy has done little except to increase their impatience and anger.
Malik Shah, a 26-year-old laborer, had been stamping his feet on the freezing sidewalk near the shopping center since dawn, hoping for a day’s work that might earn him $4. So far, nothing had come up.
Another 40 men waited beside him, wrapped in wool shawls against the penetrating chill. None had been inside Kabul City Center, the plaza that boasts three floors of heated shops, a cappuccino bar and Afghanistan’s first escalator. “They don’t allow people dressed like us,” said Shah, pointing to his ragged pants.
An angry murmur ran through the crowd. “We just want a chance to work,” Shah said. “Isn’t that what we were promised?”
Yup, they’re learning what we’re learning: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Gee, maybe they should cut taxes on the rich. That’ll fix it.
