EDITORIAL
Kabul may have fallen to the Taliban signaling an end to the war, and the former Afghan government leaders may have fled to foreign lands for safety but the ordeal of ordinary people in Afghanistan has just been escalated to a new dangerous point
Images of Afghans crowding around the Kabul airport, young people clinging to departing U.S. planes, and babies being passed to soldiers for protection, speak of some of the horrors the people are facing amid uncertainty since dramatic Taliban takeover of capital. According to reports, an Afghan teenage footballer was among the people who died when they fell from a plane.
So, with the U.S. and NATO out of the country, who will take care of the Afghans. They will need funding, jobs, security for their survival and then education and peace for their future well being. According to the U.N. refugee agency, millions of Afghans caught in deteriorating situation in Afghanistan are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
They must not be forgotten by the international community, the agency said in a plea for support.
“UNHCR remains concerned about the risk of human rights violations against civilians in this evolving context, including for women and girls”, Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, said.
“As of today, those who may be in danger have no way out. UNHCR is calling on countries neighbouring Afghanistan to keep their borders open in light of the evolving crisis in Afghanistan.”
Alluding to the video footage taken earlier this week showing crowds outside Kabul airport and men clinging in desperation to departing airplanes on the runway, the UNHCR official warned that the Afghans who could not get away should not be forgotten.
Besides UN and humanitarian organzations, the U.S. bears the biggest responsibility, as does NATO, for providing assistanc to the Afghans. Regional countries including. China may also be helpful But going forward and depending on the politicies the Taliaban adopt, the country could unravel and descend into chaos. In a hopeful scenario, if President Joe Biden, the Chinese leadership and the UN can lead relief ad economic assistance efforts, the country may emerge better and the Afghans may have an opportunity to a better life. There is also the risk of geostrategic tensions. Pakistan and India have also to contrinute to restoration of peace and stability.
But the Taliban, if they are sincere with the country, must form an inclusive government, giving representation to the Uzbek, Hazara and Tajik communities for a level of political stability that may give confidence to the international community about Afghanistan’s future. Meanwhile, the UN has also appealed to the regional countries to keep their borders open to the Afghan refugees fleeng the country. But how large can be the exodus? A large bewildered population will remain in the country, as they have during the last 40 years of wars and bloodshed, and suffered terribly.
The situation remains dire for the Afghans, and there may not be any easy solutions.
