General: Afghanistan

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Nobody would be believed if they said they knew nothing about Afghanistan after the events of the last 6 weeks or so.

I have never been to Afghanistan, I am very unlikely to ever go there, and I understand little about the rival factions that live there - what I do know, as a result of events since the 11th September, is that here is a country that has incurred far more than its fair share of suffering.

I am going to write here, and no I am not going to get paid for it, so if you don't think the op is appropriate to the category, fine, just walk on by, otherwise read on, because I am beginning to think that either me, or a lot of other people are going completely nuts.

Since 11th September, I have read stories of what was once a beautiful yet mountainous country that housed a liberal attitude towards women and practiced Moderate Islam. The country has historically been ravaged by sporadic warring factions and invaded by close neighbouring countries that thought it was their will to interfere and stake their claim here, in my lifetime, Russia springs to mind.

So when the Taliban with their fundamentalism and intolerance to failing law and order came along on September 1996, countries such as the US, and probably Britain recognised the opportunity to fund them, training them to fight and shut the door and leave them people to get the invaders out, yet these fighters, it now appears, aren't Afghans, but Arabs, Pakistanis, Chechens taking control of a country without real right.

An evidently well educated Afghan woman stated, possibly quite rightly on Newsnight this week, that there hasn't been a civil war in Afghanistan, just a lot of invaders fighting for their own little piece of it.

The Taliban believed that that women should be protected, that they should wear veils covering their entire bodies, that they should not work, they should not travel on the same transport as men, they should not be allowed medical care, they should not be allowed out in public without a male chaperone, and that no females should be afforded education beyond the advent of puberty.

Did you know that before the Taliban takeover, Afghan women were:

• 60% of teachers at Kabul University
• 50% of students at Kabul University
• 50% of civilian the government workforce
• 70% of school teachers
• 40% of doctors

I have watched, as have probably many, many others, of women getting beaten in the streets for not wearing their "Burqas" properly, begging for money and food, previously breadwinners and now widows, unable to care financially and emotionally for their children, children not allowed to play and learn, men imprisoned because the beards were the wrong length, forced to live in conditions that most of us in the Western World would not even consider allowing our pets to encounter, yet when the US & Britain went to war on Afghanistan to try and hunt down Bin Laden and oust the Taliban, many people, including myself were terrified, frightened what the future held for us all, and yes, in the light of new evidence coming to light, probably justifiably so. I was, and probably still am convinced that this war is not over, and that the Taliban are not beaten.

Over the last few days, I am watching reports on the news of internal tribes fighting for cities and possibly much bloodshed still, but in addition to this, we are seeing people returning to their homes for the first time in 25 years, we are seeing children learning, women again baring their faces, children flying kites and playing, men playing football in shorts and onlookers allowed to applaud a goal, of TV's on sale, and frivolous music playing in the streets, of men and women sharing buses, of men shaving their beards off, of previous freedom fighters prepared at last to talk about the possibility of shared government control and to talk, these scenes have brought tears to my eyes.

I don't think this is over by any means, I don't think the Taliban are dead yet, and the thought that Bin Laden could escape into another country, with his support network and money is more terrifying than him being stuck in the underground caves in Afghanistan, but just for a few fleeting moments, maybe there is some hope for this downtrodden and long interfered in country, to enjoy just a modicum of humanity and humility without pain and suffering - surely anyone of any religion, creed, colour or whatever can recognise this - or I am really alone and going nuts?

Shut your eyes for a few moments and imagine living without everything you take for granted, including the ability to walk freely and safely down the street, to shave, to listen to music, to watch TV, to play and watch football, to see your sons and daughters receive an education, imagine how you would feel if these were taken away, even for a short time - to me this doesn't bear thinking about, and that’s why I pray that there is just a glimmer of hope for a new future for this country, in what has been, up until now, a total disorganised mess, caused by an awful lot of different people.

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