Afghanistan war 10th anniversary dispatch: 'Life was safer under the Taliban'

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8812105/Afghanistan-war-10th-anniversary-dispatch-Life-was-safer-under-the-Taliban.html

When the USA and Nato began their war against the Taliban government which had harboured Osama bin Laden they offered a tantalising new future to the Afghan people.
After the repressive regime of Mullah Mohammad Omar and his Taliban zealots was swept away, Afghans would have freedom, democracy and aid to modernise their neglected, backward country.
A decade later, the life of the majority of Afghans now stands in stark contrast to the bright vision laid out in those promises.
Ten years of foreign presence in Afghanistan have done little for 48-year-old Ghulam Rabbani Ahmadzai, or ordinary people like him, he says.
"We don't see any considerable changes," said the 48-year-old, leaning on the counter of his street restaurant and lamenting how little his life has changed. "Aid has been misused. There has been a huge misallocation of funds. A small percentage of the top ranks have become rich but there has been no change in life for the rest of us.
"Millions of dollars came here and we don't know where this aid has gone. There is no infrastructure, nothing is working. They didn't use the funds in the right manner. They invested for themselves.
"If we had used the aid in a good way, our country would have become paradise." Instead only a voracious elite, many of whom are linked to Hamid Karzai's government, had benefited from the billions of pounds poured into the country, he said.
He added that Nato has not even been able to bring security.
Afghans already traumatised by more than three decades of fighting see a Taliban insurgency spreading across the country despite a coalition of 48 nations ranged against it.
The crime and lack of punishment which plagued Afghanistan during the notorious warlord years of the 1990s are back, say many residents. Security has deteriorated in Kabul to such an extent that Mr Ahmadzai now has fond memories of the strict Taliban regime.
"You didn't have to worry about whether you left your door open or shut," he said. "If you left a million dollars lying about no one would steal it. I am very supportive of the Taliban in that sense." Kidnapping by criminal gangs is also a daily hazard.
"If you are a millionaire, you risk being kidnapped," explained Mr Ahmadzai. "If you have a handsome son or a beautiful daughter, they will be kidnapped." He said complaining to the local police was futile.
The increasing violence in Kabul - suicide bombers and rocket attacks - has also been bad for his family and for business.
"When there is a bomb blast, people go into hiding. No one dares to come to the bazaar; even for up to a month after an attack, no one comes to the bazaar."
The disappointment of the past decade has festered into distrust and suspicion of the West. Afghans cannot understand why the United States and Britain or their allies, with so much money and technology at their disposal, have achieved so little.
Increasingly many Afghans feel the only answer can be that the West is not interested in helping them and has a hidden agenda – feelings easily played upon by Taliban propaganda.
Among Mr Ahmadzai's greatest disappointments are the prospects for his six children. "I am absolutely not happy about their future," he said.
"[My eldest son] is still working with me in the burger shop. My ambition was for him to become a government worker, but to do that you must graduate from college.
"The people who find jobs know English, know computers, and are relatives of government officials." He concluded: "We are tired of the war. We need peace. It doesn't matter who the president is, we just need peace."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How a cyber attack hampered Hong Kong protesters

‘The chances of nuclear use are minimal. Both Russia & Ukraine are well aware of results’: DB Venkatesh Varma

Pak off FATF Grey List; ‘Black Spot’ on Fight Against Terror Irks India; J&K Guv Says 'World is Watching'