Nowhere, perhaps, are the frailty of life and the mortality of human beings more evident than in Afghanistan. The suicide bomb attack on the Indian embassy may have been a first for an Indian mission abroad but is a common occurrence for ordinary Afghans. The country has a life expectancy of 43.8, amongst the ten lowest in the world -- a function of inadequate healthcare as well as the likelihood of being killed by an act of irrational violence. There is little doubt that Afghanistan is a mess.

Afghanistan’s vital economic statistics are among the worst in the world. Apart from low life expectancy, the country of 30 million people has a per capita GDP of only $800, measured in purchasing power parity terms. More than three in four Afghans live on less than two dollars a day, with limited access to education, healthcare, sanitation and drinking water. Perhaps the only silver lining is the widespread coverage of mobile telephony, which helps people stay connected across what is some of the most formidable and difficult terrain in the world. The lack of road, rail and air infrastructure doesn’t help connectivity at all.

Some of Afghanistan’s economic problems are particular to its geography. Being a land-locked country is an important natural barrier to trade. The hostile mountainous terrain makes overland trade difficult as well. The few roads that too exist simply advance a flourishing trade in drugs and facilitate the infiltration of fighters from abroad, neither of which contributes positively to the economy in the long run. That said, the extensive trade in heroin, illegal though it is, is a major source of livelihood for poor farmers growing poppy. In the absence of the technology (seeds, fertilisers), soil and incentives for growing other crops, poppy offers many farmers a lifeline. It is no surprise then that coalition forces trying to wipe out poppy fields run into fierce local resistance.

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