Across Afghanistan, from major cities to remote rural villages, Afghans are gripped by lottery fever and the faint hope of winning first prize, United States citizenship.
'Yes I might become an American,' says Abdul Mamean, a middle-aged unemployed oil engineer. 'I want to try my luck, who knows, may be me.' Mamean, like most people, says he knows someone who has won in the previous lotteries, organised by Washington to balance out the numbers of immigrants the US takes from different countries around the world.
'Everyone thinks they have a chance, and a little bit of hope has put a smile on a lot of faces,' he said. 'It's hard to describe just how bad life is here, the war and the economics.' In battle-scarred Kabul, the lottery has provided a tantalising diversion for people who would rather chance their future in a foreign country than stay at home where casualty figures are a daily reminder of the civil war.
Local staff, who maintain a small presence at the US consulate in Kabul, said they ran out of forms almost immediately but the DV-2001 remains open to anyone who finished high school and 'has two years experience in a job that requires two years training.' Abdul Waseh Haidari, a retired aviation logistics, said his son had applied although 'his son's mother is against the idea because she is old fashion.
'So we are doing this without her knowing and if we win the raffle then we can present her with fait-a-accompli and she won't be able to resist. 'I wanted to fill the form out myself but I can't lie to my wife that much, she wants to stay in Afghanistan. And I don't think I can afford it as the winners have to pay their own way there,' Haidari, a father of seven, said. The depth of interest from Afghanistan's five major ethnic groups - Tajik, Pashtoon, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkmen - was also expected to surprise both warring sides as they claim enormous support from the local population.
Ruling Taliban officials have listed the US among its anti-Islamic enemies since Washington bombed suspected terrorist bases inside Afghanistan on August 20 last year, in search of alleged Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden. Since then the militia's official Radio Shariat has voiced its support for bin Laden - wanted in connection to a number of terrorist acts - and condemned the US and its trade sanctions on behalf of all Afghans. 'We have been suffering,' Haidari says. 'This could be a very good opportunity for my son to go to an advanced country where he will work and learn and advance his knowledge.'
Mamean adds: 'I've got five kids and three girls who can't get any formal education, why would I want them to stay here? I want to go to America.'
'Yes I might become an American,' says Abdul Mamean, a middle-aged unemployed oil engineer. 'I want to try my luck, who knows, may be me.' Mamean, like most people, says he knows someone who has won in the previous lotteries, organised by Washington to balance out the numbers of immigrants the US takes from different countries around the world.
'Everyone thinks they have a chance, and a little bit of hope has put a smile on a lot of faces,' he said. 'It's hard to describe just how bad life is here, the war and the economics.' In battle-scarred Kabul, the lottery has provided a tantalising diversion for people who would rather chance their future in a foreign country than stay at home where casualty figures are a daily reminder of the civil war.
Local staff, who maintain a small presence at the US consulate in Kabul, said they ran out of forms almost immediately but the DV-2001 remains open to anyone who finished high school and 'has two years experience in a job that requires two years training.' Abdul Waseh Haidari, a retired aviation logistics, said his son had applied although 'his son's mother is against the idea because she is old fashion.
'So we are doing this without her knowing and if we win the raffle then we can present her with fait-a-accompli and she won't be able to resist. 'I wanted to fill the form out myself but I can't lie to my wife that much, she wants to stay in Afghanistan. And I don't think I can afford it as the winners have to pay their own way there,' Haidari, a father of seven, said. The depth of interest from Afghanistan's five major ethnic groups - Tajik, Pashtoon, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkmen - was also expected to surprise both warring sides as they claim enormous support from the local population.
Ruling Taliban officials have listed the US among its anti-Islamic enemies since Washington bombed suspected terrorist bases inside Afghanistan on August 20 last year, in search of alleged Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden. Since then the militia's official Radio Shariat has voiced its support for bin Laden - wanted in connection to a number of terrorist acts - and condemned the US and its trade sanctions on behalf of all Afghans. 'We have been suffering,' Haidari says. 'This could be a very good opportunity for my son to go to an advanced country where he will work and learn and advance his knowledge.'
Mamean adds: 'I've got five kids and three girls who can't get any formal education, why would I want them to stay here? I want to go to America.'
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