Afghanistan

Once Prosperous, Jangalak Now Fills With Refugees

Iason Athanasiadis Oct 15, 2010
A Jangalak resident wanders through the rubble and junked vehicles littering the neighborhood. A Jangalak resident wanders through the rubble and junked vehicles littering the neighborhood.
A group of refugees clambers to the top of the industrial building they have been squatting in since midsummer. A group of refugees clambers to the top of the industrial building they have been squatting in since midsummer.
A young wrestler throws his opponent to the ground during a training session at a gym inside Jangalak. A young wrestler throws his opponent to the ground during a training session at a gym inside Jangalak.
A boy rolls a tire along the bottom of an empty reservoir. A boy rolls a tire along the bottom of an empty reservoir.
A refugee boy plays in a yard full of trashed vehicles. A refugee boy plays in a yard full of trashed vehicles.
Little remains of a wrecked warehouse, which was once part of the Jangalak industrial complex. Little remains of a wrecked warehouse, which was once part of the Jangalak industrial complex.
A boy holds up a Dari-language version of the "Holy Traditions of the Muslim Prophet" school book. A boy holds up a Dari-language version of the "Holy Traditions of the Muslim Prophet" school book.
A tree grows through a rusting and bullet-riddled car. A tree grows through a rusting and bullet-riddled car.
Two boys ride an antique bike around the rubble of Jangalak. Two boys ride an antique bike around the rubble of Jangalak.
Young boys play on the roof of a large former warehouse. Young boys play on the roof of a large former warehouse.
Mathermatics teacher Fazil Rahman has lived in the Jangalak neighborhood for 20 years. Mathermatics teacher Fazil Rahman has lived in the Jangalak neighborhood for 20 years.
Schoolbooks in hand, university students walk through Jangalak. Schoolbooks in hand, university students walk through Jangalak.
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Set up in southwestern Kabul in 1961 during the reign of King Zahir Shah, Jangalak quickly became the nucleus of Afghanistan’s emerging proletariat and took center stage during strikes and labor protests. In the late 1980s, the upwardly mobile neighborhood was being inhabited by western-educated technocrats and civil servants.

But the continuous fighting since 1992 has not been kind to Jangalak. It was caught between rival warlords with an ethnic grudge to settle and endured an unstoppable hail of fire from the surrounding hills, forcing most to flee.

The years following the US invasion of Afghanistan, the eerie industrial park has filled up with ghosts of the past. Many returning refugees, unable to afford the capital’s inflation-struck economy, have sought refuge in Jangalak. More came from the countryside, where the war against the Taliban has entered its tenth year.

Iason Athanasiadis is an Istanbul-based freelance journalist.

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