Learn Farsi: ای کاش آن‌ها از امکانات استفاده می‌کردند و بیکار نبودند. - I wish they used the facilities and were not unemployed.

This is the core rule for expressing present unreality in Farsi! When you use ای کاش (I wish / if only) to talk about something you want to be true right now, you use the past continuous tense. It is similar to English where we say 'I wish they used' rather than 'I wish they use'.

If the rule for present wishes is to use the past continuous, why is نبودند (were not) in the simple past?

The verb to be (بودن) is a major exception. We generally do not use the continuous prefix می with it in the past tense. Therefore, for present wishes involving the verb to be, we just use the simple past tense instead of the past continuous.

Why is the preposition از (from) placed right before امکانات (facilities)?

In Farsi, the compound verb استفاده کردن (to use) requires the preposition از. You cannot directly use an object; instead, you make use 'from' it. So the phrase structurally translates to 'they made use from the facilities'.

How is the word بیکار constructed?

It is built from the prefix بی (without) and the noun کار (work or job). Literally meaning 'without work', it is the standard Farsi word for being unemployed or idle.