Promises and Lies - The Human Cost of the War on Terror
Zalmaï
In 2001 the world promised to rebuild Afghanistan, but eight years later the Afghans are losing not only hope but also trust in their government and the international community. Afghans have not seen any positive changes to their lives since the Taliban were ousted, and the introduction of so-called democracy has been little more than lies and broken promises.
Today they are again on the edge, likely to be caught by the nightmare they are trying to escape. In recent history, Afghanistan has been invaded many times, causing war, suffering and destruction. In early 2002, Afghans had great hopes for their future, and almost four million Afghan refugees returned to the country after three decades of exile – a great display of hope and trust. But this feeling has gradually disappeared. Many mistakes have been made by the international community. Trying to defeat the Taliban in small villages in Afghanistan, they could not see that the problem is not in Afghanistan, but that it originates in neighboring countries.
Preview
The war in Afghanistan is spreading. Coalition bombs and gunfire are killing and maiming too many innocent Afghan civilians, and the opposition forces are increasing their attacks with equal resolve. At the same time, Afghan refugees and returnees are being displaced every day: most cannot return home and are forced to settle in slums near big cities such as Kabul, Kandahar, Herat or Jalalabad. Thousands of refugees have been deported from Iran, and others have been forced to leave their Pakistan-based camps where many of them were born.
Last year, during my travels in the south, east, north, and west of Afghanistan, I saw a major humanitarian disaster across the country, a disaster caused by ongoing war, severe drought and no security. Today, hundreds of thousands of people are living under plastic and in makeshift tents around the cities. They have no job prospects, no schools and no medical care. Instability is the scourge in the south, while the drought worsens in the north. People have left their homes, but only to be displaced and trapped somewhere else with little or no support from NGOs, the Afghan government or the international community. We hear declarations about “gaining the hearts and minds” of the Afghan people. But how can we gain hearts and minds when bodies are weak and dying? Most mainstream media report on military action. I feel the need to cover the human cost of the “war on terror” as experienced by the Afghan people, to show the extent of the human tragedy in my country, the catastrophe largely unknown to the outside world, and continuing unnoticed. I strongly believe that no solution can ever be found if we do not look at the whole picture.
Zalmaï
