“We will never see peace in Afghanistan,” says an Afghan college student from a Missourian university.
As Taliban fighters swept into Kabul in Afghanistan on Sunday many Afghans were desperately seeking a way out of the embattled nation. One among them is Amir (name changed), who requested anonymity for fear of Taliban retribution against him and his family living in Afghanistan.
The Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic organization, once ruled the country until the U.S. army forced them out of power in 2001. The recent U.S. troops withdrawal in Afghanistan has emboldened the organization to militarily take over the country that has 40 million citizens.
“It is impossible to leave the country because Taliban fighters are controlling the borders and various entry points into the country,” said Amir who is a sophomore at a college in Missouri.
While Taliban is in charge on the ground, flying out of the country is also not possible. “The airport is taking heavy fires and flights are getting cancelled,” he said. “People are hiding, they are very scared.”
Amir came to the United States with his family in 2016 through the United Nations because of the family’s contribution to the U.S. army in their operations in Afghanistan.
His mother, though, returned to Afghanistan a few months back; the student was visiting her in Afghanistan when Taliban made rapid strides to take over the country.
Until a few months back things were different in Afghanistan, he said. The Taliban was on the fringes of the nation when his family left for the U.S., the student added.
When he came visiting his homeland this time, he could see that the group had already taken over some parts of the country making it more dangerous to leave the national capital.
Earlier, in February of 2020, the Taliban had reached an agreement with the U.S. government to ceasefire and maintain peace in the country.
More than a year after the agreement Joe Biden, the U.S. president, decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Few months after the decision was made deadly clashes between the Afghan army and the Taliban started to happen again.
This weekend members of the group arrived in the country’s capital, Kabul. Hours after the departure of Ashraf Ghazni, the president of Afghanistan, the Taliban fighters took control of the presidential palace.
Though the fighters have recently wrested control of the national capital, the Afghan student said, effects of their diktats are already visible in the streets of Kabul, especially those related to women.
“Schools are being closed for girls, women are not working and young girls are being forced to get married,” the Afghan said.
As the fall semester arrives, the student ---- Amir (name changed) --- is worried about his classes. He was offered a scholarship to offset tuition fee, but a prolonged stay in Afghanistan may scuttle his chances of attending college this year.
“My school costs $38,000 per year and without my scholarship, it will be impossible to pay,” the student said.
He was trapped in a seemingly inexorable situation, he rued.
“It is heartbreaking to see the brave young policemen and the army trying to defend their country,” he said. “Me and my family’s lives are in danger.”
The only way others can help the people of Afghanistan in their moment of crisis is by raising online awareness and bringing the situation to the notice of the world, he said.
However, he does not have much hope at least for the moment.
“The country will never be fixed and peace will never come as long as we have foreign governments and our own greedy government just wanting to fill their pockets,” he said.
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