Kabul, Afghanistan – When Aziz Begi left his native Daikondi province to resume work at a coal mine in Pakistan, last month, his life was brimming with new possibilities. His eldest son was preparing for the college entrance exam and his wife was just about to give birth to their seventh child.
It was these prospects that filled the 36-year-old with hope during the 800km (500 miles) journey across the Durand Line, which marks the border between the two countries. After years of travelling between Daikondi, Kabul and Iran to find suitable work to feed his growing family, he had finally secured a gainful form of employment in Quetta, Pakistan.