In The News: The Taliban Take Over Afghanistan

On Sunday, 15 August, 2021 U.S. backed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan resulting in the official and uncontested take over of the country by the Taliban - a militant group.

Many of us watched in horror yesterday (16 August 2021) via our television and smart devices as chaos erupted at the Kabul airport as people stormed the tarmac and clung to airplanes that were already taxiing for take off.

Pause for a moment and consider the level of desperation a person would have to feel that they would rather risk life and limb than be left behind.

So why are people fleeing the country?

With U.S. troops set to withdraw from the country by the end of the month, Afghans are worried about what life will look like now that Afghanistan is back under Taliban control.

Why has the Taliban take over been uncontested?

In 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban that limited U.S. military action against the militant group. And although USD 2 trillion dollars were spent to equip the Afghan military the security forces collapsed within a week.

Why you may ask?

Corruption and Profit. See below the tweet from retired U.S. Army Major Richard Ojeda.

2 trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan military over the past 20 years. They fell in a week. It was never about real training. It was about military contractors and corporations raking in the profits. I am numb. I am sure everyone who spent years there feels the same!

— Richard N. Ojeda, II (@Ojeda4America) August 15, 2021

It’s not clear what will happen next but many in the international development community fear that this will continue to lead to a severe rollback in the basic humanitarian rights that have been afforded to women and girls.

When the Taliban was last in power (1996-2001) women could only be seen in public with a male escort and girls couldn’t attend school. Violations were met with punishments that ranged from beating to execution. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has reported that since 1 May 2021—when troop withdrawal plans began moving forward—women and children civilian deaths increased and made up 46% of all civilian deaths in the months of May and June.

Nearly 250,000 people have been displaced since the end of May, fleeing their homes in fear of the Taliban, 80% of those people have been women and children.

It’s a devastating time for the people of Afghanistan. It’s unclear of what kind of interventions will be able to take place under Taliban rule, so for now all we can do is watch and look for ways to support those who are already on the inside.

For More Information Read:

NPR’s What Women’s Advocacy Groups Worldwide Are Doing For Women In Afghanistan

AP’s Afghan Take Over: What We Know and What’s Next

In The News: Earthquake in Haiti

In The News: Earthquake in Haiti

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, 14 August 2021. The earthquake comes just more than a decade after the island was devastated by another earthquake in 2010. The cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie— which were already still recovering from 2016’s Hurricane Matthew—were the hardest hit by the earthquake.

And Tropical Storm Grace battered the country with up to 10 inches of rain on Monday, 16 August 2021. The death toll has already topped 1,400 people, and rescue efforts have been made all the more difficult with the rain.

In our line of work we see how easy it can be to reduce people to a data point—a number. And so we consider it to be of critical importance to take a moment to let the lives that are connected to that number 1,400 sink in. That is 1,400 births, with a great amount being to parents who likely welcomed their arrival with joy. That is 1,400 people with stories, histories, a real presence, who will now be missed by loved ones, and whose love in return will also be absent. We can rightly assume that the vast majority of those 1,400 people had hopes, and dreams, and were doing the best they could to survive the best they knew how, holding on to even a sliver of belief that the future held the possibility of something better. And all of that was ripped away in one unexpected moment. We hope that you feel the weight of such a devastating loss. Because these are real people with names, families, histories and loved ones.

If you are moved to help, we recommend seeking out those organizations that have representation on their staff and board, as well as those who will prove that 100% or close to 100% of donations will go directly to critical assistance in the country.

The earthquake has only added to the nation’s fragile state, as early last month President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Billions of dollars in aid (including $2.3 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development since 2010) have been sent to the Caribbean island yet the country continues to find itself in a cycle of despair. It’s not a lack of resources, but a lack of responsiveness to the needs of the people. When Haitian nationals who have solutions and ideas to help their community are not brought in and consulted but instead are ignored, it leads to a misuse of funds and resources.

This is why re-powering development is so important, and why impacted peoples should be at the forefront, leading development activities.