YOU see them everywhere on the streets in Kabul— the children and women who beg to survive. They are the testament to how much destruction war causes. When I see them roam around the streets, looking for food and paisas, I’m struck by their persistence. They don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and they are almost never satisfied with the amount you give them. On the other hand, why should they be— foreign powers have played a crucial part in destroying their country and ultimately their lives, so why should they be thankful for the little money that we give them?

After more than 20 years of war, the Afghans are very tired of Kalashnikovs and mines. And above all they are very tired of foreigners interfering in their country and its future. They pray for peace and struggle to survive the day. Like Farida whom I met on the roadside in Shomali plains, which used to be a green spot where people grew grapes for a living. Today the area is dry and barren, like a desert. And it is full of mines.

"I used to live over there in that village," Farida says and points at a distant set of mud houses. Six years ago the Taliban and the Northern Alliance turned the green fields into a battle ground. "The Taliban destroyed our house, they used missiles and we had to leave the village," says this mother of six.

The youngest child, a baby daughter, is resting against her bosom. Her husband sells vegetables for a living but what he makes is not sufficient to feed the family. Therefore, Farida comes to her old neighbourhood in the plains to collect firewood, some of which she sells. Along the road one sees lots of people collecting the few pieces of wood that remain. But in the process Farida and the others risk their lives. "We heard a mine explode a little while ago. There are a lot of mines here, we usually use that path there", she says and points to a small path leading from the road down to the destroyed houses.

None of the women accompanying her has so far been wounded by the mines. "We are very poor and don’t have a choice, we need the wood," Farida says from behind her blue burqa.

Farida is one of the little less than one million internally displaced refugees. But the figure is an estimation made before September 11. How many left their homes in this last war no one knows. According to the UN staff it is possible that as many as 3,00,000 people have been internally displaced in the southern part of the country only in this latest war.

The Afghans long for the return of normality but that won’t be easy as half of the country’s population comprises children under the age of 18. They only know the Kalashnikov mentality that has ruined Afghanistan. Not more than 6-8 per cent of Afghan children get some kind of schooling and even if someone does manage to get a higher education, job opportunities are scarce.

"Everyone who has ruled this country has taken the valuable things for themselves. The Taliban took the buses to Kandahar so now people must rely on taxis for transportation," says Asadullah, a taxi driver in Kabul.

There is a lack of food in many parts of the country because of recent years of drought and war. And even if there is food to buy, in Kabul, for example, it is too expensive. A couple of weeks ago kebabs for two people cost 1,000 Pakistani rupees!

Despite Ramadan he and his extend family have invited me over for lunch. Of course they won’t partake the meal but their hospitality and generosity is heartbreaking. The old grandma Smarou wants me to come over every evening for dinner, despite the fact that the family is struggling to survive and certainly don’t need another person to feed. About the future she says: "I hope that the new government will consist of educated and mentally stable people."

It hard not to be depressed when spending time in Kabul. Everything that once was beautiful has been turned into dust and rubble. People have experienced nothing but hardships. But despite all the misery the beauty of Afghanistan is breathtaking, the scenery ever so fascinating. And so are the people whose strength I’ll never stop admiring.

The writer is a Swedish journalist who was recently on an assignment in Afghanistan.