‘I am totally lost’
Rising food prices, shuttered banks add to misery for Kabul
A week after the Taliban's lightning seizure of Kabul, growing numbers of people in the Afghan capital are facing a daily struggle to get by with their jobs gone, banks still shuttered and food prices soaring.
The thousands crowded outside the airport entry points and fighting for seats on flights out of Kabul have provided the starkest image of the turmoil in the city since the Western-backed government collapsed.
But as the days pass, everyday worries about food and rent are adding to the uncertainty in a country whose fragile economy has been crushed by the disappearance of international support.
"I am totally lost, I don't know what should I think about first, my safety and survival or feeding my kids and family," said a former policeman, now in hiding who has lost the $260 a month salary that used to support his wife and four children.
Like many lower level government employees, who have often gone long periods without being paid, for the past two months he has not even received that.
"I'm living in a rental apartment, I have not paid the owner for past three months," he said.