Pepsi Bottle Boys in Afghanistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/world/asia/afghan-boys-eke-living-amid-peril-at-gorge.html

This article is set in Mahi Par Pass, Afghanistan. The Jalalabad is a very dangerous road right on the Pakistani Afghanistan border. It is also one of NATOs main supply routes but is also one of the deadliest roads in Afghanistan. Boys that make very little money work the traffic of this road. They are called the Pepsi Bottle Boys because one of their only tools to direct with is a soft drink bottle that they wave in the air to get the attention of the truck drivers. These boys come from the Eastern city of Kabul and are very poor and this is really the only source of income that they are able to earn in there devastated economy. With out the boys there to direct traffic there wiould likley be an accident everyday but at the same time this puts there own lives in danger. Many of the personal stories of the boys are very sad and desperate. They work to provide for there families who because of the war and the government can not find jobs. The little money they do get comes from the bigger trucks and would be the equivalent of 2 or 3 dollars a day in American dollars. This article makes me realize a lot that I take for grantite. The next time that I am having a bad day and am complaining about work and school I will rememeber the story of these boys and be thankful that I get payed well and dont have to risk my life.

Posted by: Katelyn Krumreich