Why it is important to explain what is happening in Afghanistan

BarcelonaCoinciding with the fifth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, after the hasty withdrawal of international forces after twenty years, ARA journalist Mònica Bernabé has returned to a country she knows very well to explain firsthand and from within what the situation is like. The result is a series of reports that offer a snapshot of the Afghan reality, from the current construction boom – with funding from the Gulf and China – to the discrimination suffered by women and the general climate of repression that prevails there.

The feeling is that a kind of realpolitik has been imposed on the international community with the Taliban regime, which, while most countries do not officially recognize it, many have seen an opportunity to do business. As often happens in countries devastated by war and internal divisions, dictatorships guarantee a pax that allows for improved living conditions. But this does not hide the fact that we are facing a regime of religious fanatics who do not allow dissent and who have targeted half the population, that is, women, who have even lost the right to education. The testimony of Afghan girls who explain that they would like to be doctors or teachers but that the regime does not allow them to continue their studies breaks the heart and should provoke a general reaction of indignation. "It has been five years since any doctor graduated," explains one of the witnesses. And this in a country where in the 70s in Kabul women were seen wearing jeans and without a veil, which today is mandatory.

During the apartheid era in South Africa, the international community did not hesitate to take pressure measures against a country in which a minority of whites governed and exploited a majority of black population. And the media followed this ignominy continuously. But in the case of Afghanistan, it is not happening like that. Unfortunately, very few Western media outlets are committed to sending journalists there, so we practically know nothing about it. In parallel, many Western countries want to reach agreements with the Taliban regime to return refugees there, arguing that there is no longer war. Even the European Union met in June with a delegation of the Taliban in Brussels.

In this context, the desperate cry of the girls interviewed by Mònica Bernabé makes perfect sense: "Don't forget us." Let's remember that the international community made promises of freedom to a whole generation of Afghans who, afterwards, were forced to either flee or give up their dreams. And, as Bernabé rightly warns, it is quite illusory to think that a regime of this nature will not end up affecting our security as well, as happened during Bin Laden's time. Meanwhile, the job of journalism is precisely this: to go to places and explain what is happening there, despite all the difficulties and risks. And then let everyone draw their own conclusions.