100 days since Biden’s catastrophic withdrawal Afghanistan is volatile and on the brink of famine, sadly this crisis has been ignored by both leaders and the news media.
It has been just a hundred days since Joe Biden’s ill-conceived and abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Afghan people continue to suffer dire consequences of this act of recklessness. In addition to the regressive and repressive Taliban rule, the country is also on the brink of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Sadly most of the news media has moved on to other provinces.
There are Covid19 cases rising in Germany and Austria. There are anti-Covid19 restriction protests in the Netherlands. There is a crisis on the Poland-Belarus border, Putin has stationed Russian troops across the border in Ukraine. There is the disappearance of a Chinese tennis player and farm law repealed in India.
The US mainstream media’s coverage of Afghanistan has been scant. They are occupied with myriad local crises such as the 31-year high inflation, a broken supply chain system, and a border crisis.
The nature of terrorism, violence, and the likelihood of immediate annihilation is such that the attention of the consumer is sustained, prompting wall-to-wall coverage.
But the dramatic segments of the Afghanistan story are over. It has been over three months since the Taliban takeover and the Kabul terror attack. There isn’t much in the form of shock value to depict.
The BBC is the perhaps only news organization that has a keen focus on Afghanistan with the likes of journalists such as John Simpson and Yalda Hakim reporting from Afghanistan. CNN international also has a presence.
But the rest have moved on, once the news media moves on so does the attention of world leaders and regular people.
Prior to the withdrawal, Afghanistan was by no means a liberal democratic utopia. But there were baby steps taken towards progress despite the Afghan government’s ineptitude and corruption.
It was relatively peaceful and there was some economic growth. Women were relatively safe and could go to work without fear, especially in the cities. Schools and Universities in cities allowed girl students to attend. There were no major terror attacks for the past year prior to the catastrophic withdrawal. Infrastructure was built.
Men could shave their beards and indulge in the act of whistling a tune, children could fly kites, women could show their faces and movies could be openly watched.
The idea of withdrawal originated from President Trump. But there was a clear strategy, all key personnel would leave first, followed by the weaponry and finally, the US armed forces would depart. All through the evacuation, the Bagram airbase would remain in US control. President Trump had made amply clear to the Taliban that if they attempted to subvert the course of democracy there would be retaliations i.e. they would pay with their lives.
In Biden’s case, his Generals had recommended the maintenance of a force of 2,500 troops, however, that advice paid no heed and no particular strategy was devised.
The withdrawal began with the US armed forces and the control of the Bagram airbase was relinquished in the middle of the night. Biden then proceeded to end all U.S. air support for Afghan forces, even depriving the Afghan military of most of the contract and maintenance support it needed.
Many Afghans who had worked alongside the US in the hope to bring peace and progress to their homeland woke up to discover that their allies of two decades had disappeared without notice.
The psychological impact of this act of abandonment especially on Afghan security forces and the local police can hardly be exaggerated. It probably contributed to their immediate surrender that enabled the Taliban to seize control with ease.
Members of the Taliban who were either languishing in prison or fighting guerilla wars in the mountains suddenly found themselves in positions of supreme power.
The result is the worst among Islamic terrorists have made Afghanistan their abode. Billions of dollars’ worth U.S. weaponry such as Black Hawks and Humvees are now in the custody of the Taliban.
Taliban fighters have been patrolling with Kalashnikov rifles. The Taliban beheaded an Afghan interpreter for US Army and has conducted myriad public hangings. There was a terror attack on Kabul airport that killed at least 170 and injured over 200.
While the Taliban claims to have moderated their stance, the situation on the ground is starkly different.
The Taliban ordered women to remain indoors and has prevented them from going to work. They prevented female students from attending school. Actresses are banned from television dramas while women journalists and presenters are mandated to wear headscarves on screen. There also have been reports of women and children being attacked.
Local journalists are frequently brutalized, which is a standard practice of totalitarian regimes.
An equally crucial consequence of this withdrawal that doesn’t even receive a mention is the Afghan economy that was heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Following the Taliban takeover, aid from various developed countries and funds from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were instantly blocked, which caused a collapse of the economy.
Banks that were closed after the Taliban take over, did reopen but there is very little cash available.
There is almost no cash in the market, causing a sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities. The price of basic food items such as bread has also skyrocketed and has pushed it beyond the affordability of regular Afghans.
Regular AFghans are left with no option but to sell their possessions such as tapestries, TV sets, jewelry, crockery, and cutlery in exchange for cash. The situation is so despairing that there are numerous sellers but almost no buyers.
Many businesses closed after the Taliban takeover since their proprietors had fled to other countries.
Most salaried employees and even government employees such as teachers, Healthcare workers in Kandahar, and cleaners at Kabul hospitals haven’t been paid since the Taliban take-over.
Many construction projects that were launched prior to the Taliban take-over have come to a total halt owing to the scarce of funds. This has had an enormous impact on employment for daily wage laborers.
Women who once worked and supported their families have no choice but to survive on the mercies of members of the Taliban and neighbours
The combined effect of this is that most Afghans live in poverty. The UN World Food Program (WFP) estimates 93% of Afghans are not getting enough food to eat which includes parents who are struggling to feed their children. The UN agency said that 18.8 million Afghans are unable to feed themselves every day and that this number is likely to rise to nearly 23 million by next month.
There have been heartbreaking stories of Afghan families compelled to sell their babies just merely to keep them alive.
The hunger crisis has been further compounded by several other crises that have sprung simultaneously.
There have been water shortages and severe drought which is the country's second in just four years.
These droughts have ruined this year’s crops. Agriculture is the backbone of Afghan livelihoods and critical for Afghanistan’s economy.
According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, around 70 percent of Afghans live in rural areas and an estimated 80 percent of all livelihoods depend on farming or herding.
The Taliban regime is forcing farmers to pay 'zakat' taxes on their land and harvests, describing the payments as an obligation under Islamic law.
The Farmers struggling with enormous debts are compelled to sell their livestock merely to survive. Many farmers have opted to grow opium, despite the Taliban’s pledge to combat drugs.
The country’s already fragile health system is on the brink of collapse following the Taliban takeover. There has also been a shortage of medicine amid reports that cold chain medical storage has been compromised.
The UN has warned that millions will perish if urgent aid is not provided soon.
The country is also mere months away from extremely punishing winters. With hundreds of Afghans living in open-air tents, this is likely to further isolate those already suffering from the food crisis.
In the midst of food shortages and inflation, new cases of Covid-19 are emerging across the country.
The global community is skeptical about recognizing the Taliban that seized power from the previous government that at least had some mandate of the Afghan people.
Global leaders have before themselves an enormous challenge, if they have to provide aid and support to the suffering Afghan people they have no choice but to deal with the Taliban and grant them some form of legitimacy.
If they remain steadfast on their stance of not wanting to deal with the Taliban millions will perish.
Another challenge is to ensure that the aid provided actually reaches the intended people and is not misused for nefarious purposes.
While leaders around the world dither with this dilemma, Afghan people continue to suffer.
In a fair world, those who invaded and occupied Afghanistan for two decades and those who hastily deserted the country leaving it unstable and on the brink of the worst humanitarian crisis would suffer consequences in the international court of law.
But that will never happen.
Sadly everybody seems to be looking the other way from both literally and metaphorically.
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