Youths leaving home without informing parents

 Written by: Samira Haleemzai

Many people travel abroad for treatment, journeys, business, and other purposes, and some others need to travel inside the country. Some of them inform their families about their trips but some juveniles in Afghanistan travel without parental knowledge. This issue sometimes causes some problems to the parents.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some people about this issue.

A girl, a resident of Maidan-Wardak province says, “Once my cousin had gone far away from home without telling anything about his travel at home. He had been injured in a car accident but there was no one to help him and my grandfather was sick of him.”

Shah Wali, a resident of Paktia province says, “My brother had gone to Iran without informing anyone at home. He had faced many problems along the way to Iran. He faced with a bandit and they had imprisoned him after beating.”

Bilal, a resident of Kabul city says, “One day I went to Dehsabz district, Kabul province with my friends to one of my friends’ house for a night and I had not informed my family. That night an explosion took place in Kabul city. My parent had thought that I had died in that explosion.”

What do some people think about the causes of leaving home without parental consent?

Raihana, a resident of Maidan-Wardak says, “Some families do not feel themselves responsible of their children and they do not ask them where they go and some parents have the same habit; when they go somewhere, they do not tell at home and their children learn from them.”

Bilal says, “I was in hurry to reach Dehsabz as soon as possible and I did not have enough time to inform my family.”

A psychologist, Professor Abdul Jalil Amarkhel says, "Youth leaving home without informing their families has many causes. One of these causes is that some youth do not believe in their parents and they think that their parents would not let them go. The second cause is the indifference of parents toward their children. Some parents leave homes without telling anything to their children and the children learn the same habit from them.”

How could some people find solutions for this issue?

 Hakimullah, a resident of Paktia province says, “Before going somewhere, I inform my family. If I am out of home and have to go somewhere, I call my parent and inform them. If I don’t have a mobile phone, I send a message to my family by one of my friends.”

Rozi Khan, another resident of Paktia province says, “I am the father of a few children. Whenever I go somewhere, I inform my family and thus my sons do the same and they have never left home without informing us.”

Professor   Amarkhel says, “Parents have to create a friendly atmosphere at home. They should have a good attitude with children. Children should understand that if they leave home without informing their parents, the parents would be worried about them.  Parents also should not be indifferent to their children. When they leave home for any purpose, they should share the issue with their children and thus the children would learn this habit from their parents.”