So, I say to my Afghan brothers and sisters, brace yourselves for what is to come.
So, I say to my Afghan brothers and sisters, brace yourselves for what is to come.
Afghanistan is one of the world’s never-ending stories, in political and in a human way – not so much because of the Afghan people but more because of the geopolitics of the world. There are so many analyses about conditions, situations, and circumstances in today’s Afghanistan, around the world’s media. Some of them are unnecessarily complicated, very long, maybe confusing, philosophical, or narrow-minded.
So, here we have, simplified and objective, logical and clear, a short essay about what is now happening in Afghanistan, written by Afghan who is preferring to stay anonymous, for safety. He lives in the US, knowing Afghanistan from both the inside and outside. His explanations are probably the most open and honest among the current stories on the same topic, without so-called ‘political correctness,’ expressed in a way that can make any reader think about what is written:
“Throughout the United States’ recent history, we Americans have always held a grudge – even a vengeance – against those to whom we have lost wars or who have rejected our influence. The vengeance in some cases continues until today with Iran, North Korea, Vietnam until recently, Venezuela, and Cuba as some examples. Human rights and the presence of authoritarian or religious governments have been used as pretexts for this vengeance, for imposing sanctions, for punishing their bad actions, and for isolating them in the world arena, using the political, economic, and military might of the United States.
“As a result, while political leaders are unaffected, their people have suffered. The US’ vengeance has been seen as a punishment of the whole population for their refusal to bow down to America’s will. Today, a new enemy has been added to the list – Afghanistan.
“The punishment has already started with the freezing of nearly $10 billion of Afghanistan’s central bank reserves, the freezing of more than $12 billion of international commitments for the Afghanistan Trust Fund held by the World Bank, the blocking of more than $400 million in Afghanistan’s reserves with the International Monetary Fund due to be released, and the continued designation of the Taliban as a terrorist organization – even after they had signed a withdrawal (a quasi-capitulation) agreement with Taliban, thus exposing Afghanistan to becoming a globally sanctioned country with no access to global trade mechanisms, including banking and other relevant systems.
“The real punishment has, however, already been brought down on the people of Afghanistan. The government is not able to pay salaries; the banks are not able to allow people to withdraw their savings, and businesses are not able to access their bank accounts to pay their employees, buy goods, and deliver services. The economy of the country is on the path to a complete collapse. Some US allies like Germany refuse to even pay their contractors for work already delivered, because now Afghanistan is a sanctioned country.
“As a result, the education system will collapse; the private healthcare system will be paralyzed; factories will close, and the livelihood of people will be destroyed beyond repair. In a few days, the national utility company will need to pay for electricity bought from the neighboring countries. Failure to do so will result in electricity being shut down, and the people will be literally thrown into quasi-complete darkness. Afghanistan will be pushed to 1990s conditions, which had also been caused by the US’ – and the world’s – refusal to engage with and support Afghanistan after the Mujahideen had defeated the Soviet Union.
“The Taliban will use brutal force and religious fanaticism to control the people, and this use of force will be a cause for the imposition of stronger sanctions against them, which in the end effect will only harm the people. The Taliban have been under global sanctions for as long as they have existed. They are used to a sanctioned existence. They will not be hurt by sanctions. The people under the Taliban are the real victims, punished by both the Taliban and the world.
“So, I say to my Afghan brothers and sisters, brace yourselves for what is to come. Do you think you had it hard under the Karzai and Ghani administrations, when the Taliban, ISIS, Pakistan, Iran were your enemies? Now you have all those hardships, plus the rest of the world as your enemies, some in words, some in action, and some with both.
Brace yourselves for the vengeance of the world, brought upon you by nothing that you have done. Brace yourself for a life of misery and devastation. Your faith in your God will be your only savior. Only He will be able to change your misery, as there is no one on earth that can do it for you – at least none that can be seen today.”
