A favorite sport, similar to polo, involves carrying a goat carcass by competing horsemen to a goal a couple of miles away. Strong feelings prevail between the two sects, each one often denying they have any ethnic affinity with the other at all. The health of the Hazara is perhaps the worst of any in Afghanistan. Lack of personal cleanliness is common in the yurts. Eye trouble is frequent among travelers who encounter mountain dust storms and for those living in the smoky village houses.
Illiteracy is high.
Adequate educational opportunities need to be provided for both boys and girls. There are no official missionaries working among the Hazara. Likewise, there are neither Scriptures nor Christian broadcasts in their language. Access to the Hazara's homelands is difficult in summer and virtually impossible in the winter. Christian converts are hesitant to meet with other believers for fear that a spy may be present among them.