By Iftikhor Mirshakar
Samad’s father left home to go and work in Russia when the boy was an infant. Now aged ten, Samad has not seen his father since.
“Dad used to send us some money, but this year we haven’t received anything from him,” said Samad.
The boy lives with his mother and grandfather in Barvoz, an area close to Khorog, the main town in Tajikistan’s southeastern province of Badakhshan.
With the main breadwinner long gone, Samad has to work hard.