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

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.

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.

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.

• 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

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.

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.