Ali Hassan

Name: Ali Hassan
Father’s name: Mohamad Isaq
Age: 18 years old
Birth place: Behsod valley,
Maidan Wardak Province
No of Family members: 8

Ali Hassan is 18 years old, and is the eldest son of his family.  He was born in Behsod Valley in the province of Maidan Wardak.  His father was a farmer, but as he did not own any land of his own, he was paid to farm the land of other people.

Ali Hassan was 12 when the Taliban came to power.  His family and the rest of his village are SHIA, the Taliban began to trouble them, claiming that his father was an arms dealer.

So they decided to immigrate to Peshawar in Pakistan, and were based in the Kach Kari camp. It was during his time in this camp that Ali Hassan learned how to weave carpets.

After the collapse of the Taliban regime, Ali Hassan and his family returned to Afghanistan, hoping that their lives may change.  However, soon after their return, Ali Hassan’s father became ill and was too weak to work on the farm.  Ali now has the responsibility to provide for the family.

Ali Hassan and his two brothers, aged 14 and 16, were introduced to Afghan Action Ltd, a carpet weaving training school in Kabul.  They were trained for nine months and now work in Afghan Action’s factory.  Last month (September 2006) Ali Hassan and his two brothers made an income of 12,000Afs ($245), which is enough money to feed a family of six till next month.

In his spare time, Ali Hassan says that he “very much likes to practice Martial Arts”.