Despite hundreds of small and large factories operating in Herat, unemployment rate is rising in the western Afghan province.

Many laborers wait for work from morning till evening in every corner of the city, with some saying that they cannot find work even in a week.

Life has become difficult for the laborers during the cold winter. They cannot meet their basic living expenses.

Sayed Mahdi was deported from Iran a month ago. He is now looking for work every day. His family is in Iran and he himself spends difficult nights and days in Herat. Like Sayed Mahdi, dozens of other young people wait to find work every day.

“I came to live in my country. But what hope do I have to live with? Should I go and sleep in a mosque? In this cold season, there is no work,” he said.

Mohammad Ali, a laborer, says: “I was deported and I have no proper place to live in. My family is there. My four children are there. They deported me. There are people here whose conditions are much worse than mine.”

Some laborers say that unemployment has increased compared to last year and now they are going through a difficult situation in this cold weather. They say that they cannot afford to pay for their basic living expenses and this situation is bothering them.

“I have not been able to work for two or three weeks. There is unemployment. There are two or three thousand workers here, but there is no work,” says Ahmad Shah, a laborer.

Ghulam Rasool, another laborer, says: “When we go home empty-handed, our child gets upset. But we have no choice. My child has expectations. My wife has expectations.”

Aziz Ahmad waits for work with his tools in another corner of Herat city. He says that job opportunities have decreased greatly, cost of living is high, and there is no work to meet his basic living expenses.

He says: “I stand here from morning to evening, but there’s no work.”

Local officials have repeatedly said that thousands of people work in the Herat Industrial Park and that efforts are being made to reduce unemployment by launching mining projects.