Afghan Nomads Mourn A Vanishing Way Of Life
April 08, 2021
Share
share
Print
Haji Abdul Manan, a tribal leader of the Afghan nomads, grows wistful recalling the wandering lifestyle his extended family gave up for a sedentary life a decade ago.
The 70-year-old patriarch, who spent his childhood and much of his adult life on the move, says he can still hear the bells around the necks of camels and goats in their caravan as it migrated between the warmer plains of southern Afghanistan in winter to the cooler green pastures of the central highlands during summer.
“I long for the freedom that defined our lives,” Manan told Radio Free Afghanistan of the difficult decision his family had to make in settling in the southeastern province of Ghazni. “Nothing could beat the sense of freedom where we could just stay anywhere that we liked and leave without worrying.”