What to Say Now?

I left Kabul 14 years ago this month.

And now, Kabul has fallen to the Taliban and other terrorist chaos.

I've filled out paperwork, written impassioned please, talked with my US Senator's office, posted over and over to social media, replied to frantic WhatsApp messages and emails. And I did not get my assistant out of Afghanistan, nor any other colleague I tried to get out. They either didn't get the P-2 visa or couldn't get to the airport. And now, there's nothing I can do.

What to say to the Afghans, to the people, who put their lives on the line for years by embracing the values of solidarity, liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness, at our encouragement, who embraced those values because the US and other allies said, Hey, we've got your back! We're your friends! Apparently, we never meant it. Because of the reprehensible way the Trump administration capitulated to the Taliban, and because of the reprehensible way the Biden administration's military bungled the first days of the withdrawal, including closing Bagram Air Base woefully too soon and not understanding the culture of Afghanistan now, a culture the USA helped to create, everything so many of us worked for in Afghanistan, progress of more than 15 years, is being swept away. All of it. And the blood bath and horrors have only just begun.

Why would anyone in any country ever work with the US military or USAID or anyone from the USA after this? Why would they trust anything we say to them about being allies, about friendship, about trust?

Every person I know in Afghanistan has a target on their back - journalists and former government officials and probably that guy I bought four carpets from, carpets in my house, right now. He was a young man, proud of his little shop, proud that he could speak English with an American accent. He told me he read Louis L'Amour books, because they could teach him about "the real America."Argh! I think the books are easy to get hold of because many are in the public domain and published by a variety of companies. Maybe they are left by American military personnel. I don't know. I've never read Louis L'Amour, I'm sure they are fun but, no, I'm pretty sure they aren't super accurate about the USA, now OR back in the day... So, on one of my two trips back to Germany while I worked in Kabul, I bought Holes by Louis Sachar to take back for him. It's a book that's easy to get in many bookstores in Germany because it's required reading in the German school system. It's such a lovely book and I believed it was at a reading level he could manage. And I think it's way better literature and a more accurate portrayal of the USA, including "the West", than Louis L'Amour. It was early July, and I went back to that carpet shop to give him the book, directing my UN driver to a neighborhood he wasn't used to taking foreign workers to - he didn't seem to think he knew what I was doing. I walked into the store and handed it to him and told him I had brought it to him. He held the book with both hands, looking at it and looking at me. "Jayne, I will never forget you. I will never forget you for this book you have brought me." I smiled and thought don't cry don't cry don't cry just say no big deal get out of here run run run. 

I never went back to that store after that - it was too hard to get a driver to take me there on my one day off a week. I wonder what happened to that man. I wonder what he is facing. I wonder if he is burning his books now, for his own protection.

I shall always feel an obligation to Afghanistan, even if my government does not.

If you want to help Afghan refugees in the USA, just go to your favorite search engine and search help Afghan refugees and the name of your city or the nearest metropolitan area. Once they make it to the USA, they are entirely on their own to pay back the loan for their airline tickets, to pay for their rent, clothes, everything else. Nonprofits like Catholic Charities help them learn English, learn to navigate mass transit, learn how our groceries work, learn what free things they can do together as a family (like walking through a farmer's market, walking through a public city or county park, etc.) and where to find jobs. Also, please write your US Congressional representative and your US Senators and tell them that we should fulfill our commitments to the Afghans who risked their lives to assist the USA and get them out, and that we must NOT provide financial assistance to the Taliban - we need to bargain HARD to ensure women's rights. No negotiation. 

If you want to help regarding the stray dog and cat situation in Afghanistan, please make a donation to the Mayhew Animal Home and Humane Education Centre, and tell them you want your gift to go to their efforts in Afghanistan. They are working to help spay and neuter dogs and cats there, to train Afghans regarding veterinary medicine, and to change Afghans' cultural practices regarding dogs, which have no basis in the Koran. I have spoken numerous times with a representative of this organization; they ARE making a difference, and your support will help them do even more! Yes, I've made donations.

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