With Kabul falling to the Taliban, many heart-rending stories are emerging from Afghanistan. One is of a 26-year-old Afghan who is a social worker and had been engaged in technology development and education programmes and in civic and women’s right activities in Afghanistan for more than 13 years. She holds a degree in computer science from Kardan University. She left Afghanistan in 2019 for US programmes and currently is an ex-UN fellow in Geneva, Switzerland, and a student of the University of Geneva. She’s not ready to disclose her identity as her mother and sister are still stuck in Kabul.
Reacting to recent developments in Kabul and often breaking down while doing so, she said: “My home is not in Kabul–Kabul is my Home! I feel defeated… I have not slept since the past few days, couldn’t eat since the time I have heard that my Kabul no more exists. I expected at least Kabul will not go so easily to the Taliban. Where is our country’s army—we had one? We thought there will be some protective layers, some safeguards, but nothing was there and no one was there to protect us and they entered my land very smoothly. I feel cheated, defeated there was no one to defend us—from the Army to the politicians to all those who promised to take care, but all ran away, leaving us all alone in this horror. Even the world has abandoned us to die in this horror. I am born and brought up in Kabul. I studied in school, university, in Kabul, did work, everything in Kabul. It’s difficult to imagine that the roads that lead to my school and on which I walked merrily and with joy, are now full of the Taliban. The once busy streets are now totally empty due to the horror of the Taliban. Kabul, known as the City of Gardens and lights, has now turned into City of Darkness.”
Explaining the current situation and the bitter truth on the ground, she said; “It is a devastating situation. People are desperate, trying to leave the country with any means possible. The airport has been left without any security as the airport staff and security didn’t come for work. People tried to board in any plane without a passport or visa. All of this explains the level of horror, fear and devastation in people. In Kabul, people mostly remain at their homes and they don’t want to leave unless it is extremely needed. Kabul seems empty as no one has the courage to even go to work. Although the Taliban announced that they want government, healthcare and private sector staff to return to their works, the staff couldn’t and prefer to stay home.”
Fearing for the safety of her mother and sister who are still stuck in Kabul, she said, “Today morning, my sister called me and was furious, frustrated and fearful that she will get killed any moment and thus asked me to check flights for her and my mother, but we all know the ground reality and situation at the airport there. Later, a few Taliban people knocked on the door of the house, but my mother didn’t open the door. They asked if there was any man from the family they could talk to; they said: ‘We got to know you work with the US and you support them’. My mother told them there wasn’t any man in our family. They said they will come back. Fearing their arrival, my mother, who’s a doctor, called an ambulance and hiding in the ambulance, left with my sister to her work at the hospital for safety reasons, as hospitals seemed safer.”
Not able to contact her own family since the morning, the angry and furious young Afghan said: “Afghans like and have a huge respect for their flag and country; the Taliban started taking down our flags in different parts of Kabul. Our red, black and green flag is our identity and taking it down feels like taking our identity from us. If it is about Islam and having Islam Kalema (the Arabic word which says that Allah is one and Mohammad is his messenger) on flag, then the Afghan flag also has it, and it is an extreme disrespect toward all of us. Besides, there is also some news that they are going to change the name of Afghanistan from the Islamic Government of Afghanistan to Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirates, which is totally unacceptable to us. I will better be called without any country than being called from this country. All of these above mentioned things are frightening Afghans and they feel that if the Taliban has good intentions, why are they changing what we already have and is our identity?” Crying for help with dreams shattered, the Afghan young said: “Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, has left us to die. Taliban’s hands are filled with the blood of civilians… and I pray to god and hope for the best that I and my whole family and Afghans get saved and rescued from such horror.”