Afghanistan Without A Clue
I am honored to have been asked to be a guest blogger here for a few weeks. Most readers agree that my best postings on my blog, Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC), are the ones where I speak with my interpreters about life in Afghanistan. So I’ll be posting the best of AWAC here throughout April. Hope you enjoy them.
Capt Doug Traversa, USAF, Kabul, Afghanistan
Traversa.typepad.com
Han’s History Lesson
Han, one of our interpreters, has taken a keen interest in my blogging. I asked him if he wanted to share information with Americans, and he agreed enthusiastically. Within a couple of days, he had downloaded over 100 photos, and when we had a spare moment, we sat down in front of a computer, and he told me the recent history of Afghanistan, as seen through his eyes. Even though I’ve been here almost a year, and can see the signs of war all around me, I still find his story amazing.
1940 - 1973 - Zahir Shah ruled as king of Afghanistan Han says this was a relatively peaceful time, without much fighting between the tribes. The ex-king lived in exile for many years once he was overthrown, and was still alive when the Taliban were defeated. Many Afghans were hoping the monarchy would return, but once they realized the US was pulling the strings, they knew the king would not return to power.
1973 - 1978 - Daoud Khan, cousin of the King, abolishes the monarchy and declares himself president 1979 - 1986 - Babrak Karmal rules as president, Soviet Union invades in 1979 1986 - 1992 - Dr. Najibullah takes over from Karmal - Soviets withdraw 15 Feb 1989 Han was a young boy during this period. It was peaceful in Kabul, and Han just remembers going to school, and his only worries were his classes. Even though the Soviets had invaded, things were relatively good in the capital. Many Afghans soldiers we work with today served in the Afghan Army during this time and were trained by the Soviets. In fact, the buildings I work in were built by the Soviets.
April 15th, 1992 - The Mujahideen take Kabul and liberate Afghanistan; Najibullah is protected by UN and lives on the UN compound. The Mujahideen form an Islamic State and hold elections. Professor Burhannudin Rabbani takes power. There are four major tribes in Afghanistan, and many smaller ones. Although the factions of Mujahideen are generally divided up along tribal lines, this is not always the case. Once the Soviets were defeated, a Mujahideen government was set up, but civil war would soon break out. Technically, at this point the Mujahideen are called warlords and their armies. Kabul is still untouched by combat, but not for much longer. I’ve heard from numerous sources that Kabul was a nice, modern, cosmopolitan city up until this point.
1993 - There is a civil war throughout 1993 between four main groups of Warlords and their armies; large scale fighting breaks out in Kabul and in the north. Han is a young teenager at this time. Combat is going on daily, and much of the combat is done with rockets. Kabul is slowly destroyed by endless fighting. Han shows me some photos of dead bodies in the streets. “Sir, I saw these bodies. I stepped over them almost every day. We’d be in school, and alarms would go off to warn about rockets or fighting, and we’d have to run home, and there would be dead bodies in the streets.” Han speaks to me as though trying to convince me of something I won’t believe, but I have no trouble believing him. The look in his eyes as he tells me this is a combination of hopelessness and despair. I am moved by what he must have gone through, and he is seemingly desperate to finally be able to tell his story in such detail to an American. For him, it is urgent that I understand what has happened.
1994 - The Taliban militia is formed and begin to take over the country. Two Warlord factions fight against Rabbani and Masood’s government; Kabul is reduced to rubble. Han hates all the Warlords. As he shows me photos of their soldiers, he tells me which tribe they are from, based on the clothes they wear. He repeatedly shows me how they look like animals, and tells me how evil they are. Whenever he shows a photo of Rabbani, he calls him names. One photo shows Rabbani and some of his cabinet praying. Han snorts.
“They will all go to Hell,” he says matter-of-factly.
By the time the Taliban advance near Kabul, the Warlords pull out of the city. The capital is spared any more fighting, but the damage has been done. Almost every building is rubble. Han shows me many before-and-after pictures of buildings, including the one his father worked in. The despair in his voice makes my heart ache. He lived through the slow destruction of a lovely city, watching his own people kill each other and destroy Kabul in the process.
1996 - 2001 - Taliban militia force President Rabbani and his government out of Kabul. After the capture of Kabul, the Taliban enter the UN compound where Najibullah is being protected, drag him out, and execute him. They rule until driven out by the Northern Alliance. Han was an older teenager during the reign of the Taliban. At first people welcomed the end to warfare, and the Taliban did not immediately implement the repressive and oppressive measures for which they are famous. One of the first shockers was the day that Han and his friend bought tickets for a soccer game in the big stadium in Kabul. He said two good teams were going to be playing, and they were excited to go and watch. But the once the game got going and all the fans had packed the stadium, the Taliban stopped the game and began a series of executions of “criminals.” According to Han, no one knew this was going to happen, and the Taliban wanted a huge crowd to see this, so that why they pulled this surprise at a major sporting event. Han had many photos of people being killed. Men were hung from the soccer goals.
“Sir, I saw this with my own eyes!” He would repeat this over and over. A woman was forced to kneel in the penalty area (you can clearly see the chalk lines for the soccer field). A man points a rifle at her head, and shoots her. The photo shows the bullet striking the ground in front of her as her life ends. Another photo shows a young teenage Taliban holding s severed hand and foot, while the next photo shows the man who has just had them cut off. Han continues to barrage me with photos of Taliban brutality, all in the name of god. As much as Han hates the Mujahideen, it pales compared to his feelings towards the Taliban. My mind reels as he tells me story after story of their hatefulness. I see a photo of a man and woman being stoned to death for having sex. Men are pulled from cars and buses, and their hair forcefully cut if it isn’t short enough. A woman is beaten with a stick for showing her face. On and on it goes. This is the love of their god.
Han experienced many inspections by the Taliban while in school. They would come in and forcefully cut the students’ hair if it was too long. Life was an endless torment. Women could no longer work, and girls could not go to school. TV and radio were forbidden. Music was banned. Total evil reigned. During this time the Northern Alliance was formed, which was essentially the remnants of the Warlords. They were forced into the northeast corner of the country, and as the Taliban passed through the northern cities, they would loot and pillage, and many villages and towns were completely destroyed. However, once 9/11 occurred, and the Taliban continued to harbor terrorists, the US backed the Northern Alliance, and they marched back south and regained control of the country. Many of the Mujahideen leaders are in key government posts today, and many of them still have their own private armies, er, security forces.
You can few hundreds of photos, including the ones Han showed me, at
http://www.rawa.org/index.php
Leave a Reply