"Even before leaving Kabul, the money we got by selling our valuables was already exhausted." Abdul Zabaar says. "As an educated person I feel guilty sitting idle. So, finding no alternatives, I decided to earn at least something to feed my family. But the earnings are so little that I can hardly buy a lunch with it", he adds.

It has been two weeks since Abdul Zabaar, his wife Hagila and their two young daughters, Susan and Sanam, fled Kabul for Peshawar. The family traveled by car -- an expensive form of transport that cost Abdul Zabaar 5,500 Rupees (nearly $90 US). On arriving in Peshawar, the family took shelter in a relative's house.

Before fleeing his home in Kabul, Abdul Zabaar worked in a photo studio as an artist. His wife, Hagila had once been a teacher. His memories of Kabul are fraught with grief. His father was killed in a raid a few years ago on the area where they lived. "I was fortunate to escape death, but a bullet hit my left arm," he says.

He continues, "One of our neighbours, Joanghah, a rich man who lived in the United Kingdom with his family, returned to Kabul to safeguard his huge property. I advised him to go back but he did not listen to my advice. The next day the Taliban took him away and brought him back dead. My wife was a schoolteacher. When the Taliban came into power she was not allowed to go to school anymore."

Abdul adds that they did not feel safe living in Kabul any longer. He sold his wife's gold jewelry as well as most of their household goods such as furniture, dishes, utensils and carpets at very low prices. "My wife was very sad and was crying to loose these valuables for no price at all, but I consoled her, because life is more precious than property."

The one thing that worries him is that he had to leave his sister behind in their house, as she could not afford to join them. He says that many people who had enough money to flee, left Kabul immediately. "Those who stayed behind are either the poorest of the poor or the very rich who value property more than they do their lives. The rich did not leave because they thought if they leave, others will take their property."

Abdul Zabaar says that the people in Kabul are trapped in a situation that is very uncertain. "They can either be caught by the Taliban if they do not listen to what they say or be killed by bombs from the US army."

Looking around him, Abdul says, "The war has made us jobless and homeless refugees. With all the education, knowledge and skills my wife and I have, we are now useless people. I have no idea how long this war will continue and when and how we will be able to earn money to at least feed our small children and ourselves. I am in a state of total uncertainty and I have no alternative but to sell envelopes, write letters and fill in application forms for my fellow Afghans. In return they pay me a little."

When asked about the future, Abdul Zabaar says, " It is difficult to foresee the future. In my opinion, unless there is an understanding among the Afghan people, the war will continue. They are the ones who can bring peace to our country. Unity is the key word.

But Abdul Zabaar remains hopeful. As soon as the situation improves, he says he will return to Kabul.

UNICEF reports that at least 110,000 people have fled Afghanistan since the attacks of September 11 on the US. It is estimated that about 5.3 million people inside Afghanistan are in urgent need of humanitarian help if they are to survive the coming months. The humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by over twenty years of war, three years of severe drought, large-scale human rights abuses and significant population movements spurred on most recently by the geopolitical crisis. UNICEF states that nearly 20 per cent of those in need are children under the age of five. Many are already malnourished and sick, and may not survive the harsh winter where temperatures can drop to as low as - 20C in some areas.