“Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis that affects the basic needs of millions of Afghans.”
Patricia Gossman, an associate director for the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. The crisis isn’t a new thing to Afghan’s people. Qurban believes that “the average Afghan is still trying to work, trying to get paid, and trying to feed their family.” The Afghan people have learned to keep going and ‘power’ through each crisis.
Because of the Taliban’s takeover on August 15, 2021, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is at an all-time
The humanitarian crisis is not something new in Afghanistan; the country has been dealing with different crises for decades: war with the Russians, then the US, and the internal fighting with the Taliban. The crisis has been a part of the Afghan people since 1982, when the Russians first arrived.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is not just by the Taliban. It is not like a group of people came in and took over the entire country. Mr. Kabir Qurban a science student teacher from Riverside Secondary was born in Afghanistan and he feels that the situation there is very complex. “People need to understand that there was a power dynamic.” Qurban went on to discuss how the United States completed their 20-year mission, and once they left, it gave an opportunity for other countries, such as China and Pakistan to start investing into the Taliban. As a result, the Taliban were able to take over Afghanistan in just one sweep.
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, it was not as violent as it was when they first took over in 1996 because the entire world was watching this time. When they took over, the Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said, “Nobody will be harmed in Afghanistan, of course, there is a huge difference between us now and 20 years ago.”
The crisis isn’t a new thing to Afghan’s people. Qurban believes that “the average Afghan is still trying to work, trying to get paid, and trying to feed their family.” The Afghan people have learned to keep going and ‘power’ through each crisis.
According to Qurban, the Afghan people want access to freedom. “The Afghan people never gave up their freedom. That is one of the reasons they are still in straggle” because so many people are trying to take that freedom away, and that’s the cause of the crisis.
Another cause of the crisis in Afghanistan is the issue of how they treat women. There seems to be a serious risk of harm to women in Afghanistan. Girls and women in Afghanistan are no longer allowed to attend school or university, and women are not allowed to leave their houses without the presence of men. They are also banned from wearing certain sorts of clothing. Women have the right to be fully educated and work, but the Taliban have banned these aspects because of their radicalized ideology. As a result of the Taliban’s suppression of women in Afghanistan, countries have decided to sanction the Taliban.
The international community needs to hold the Taliban accountable, so they won’t break their promises, but they also need to make sure millions don’t starve.
Photo courtesy of Reuters
