Kabul: The Smile Net Club, a gaming cafe in the city center Kabul, was a paradise for young people in the city: Escape from everyday busyness in a country where the decade of war and the economic malaise has dimmed their prospects.
Now, with Afghanistan back under the control of Taliban, which prohibits most of the forms of entertainment during the previous government in 1996 to 2001, some fear that the game can be abandoned.
“Unemployment has increased a lot in the past few weeks …
and we came here to play,” said the student Ahmad Shoieb, sitting between luxury sofas and a large TV screen featuring soccer and battle games.
“What will we do if they close the game cafe?” The Islamic movement is the pain to show more common faces to the world since it swept power on August 15, but there was still uncertainty about how to rule.
This said cultural activities would be permitted, as long as they did not conflict with Islamic and Afghan Islamic culture.
When they last ruled Afghanistan, the Taliban forbade television, mostly commercial music and video games, and imposed harsh public punishment on those who violated the rules.
The owner of the cafe, Ahmad Jawad, said many of his customers who used to be afraid of returning, afraid of the Taliban would attack the cafe and arrest or even whip customers.
“Therefore, the interest of people in the game cafe has been reduced and we all suffer,” said Jawad.
He added that he had invested a lot in the cafe, the only source of income for his family, and could struggle to find other jobs if it had to be closed.