This Is Our Country
“We want peace. We want the Embassies to open again. We want the Americans back, the British back, the Canadians back, but on our terms. This is our country.”
Following the withdrawal of the coalition forces on August 15th and the subsequent takeover of the country by the Taliban, many fighters have entered Kabul for the first time. Young men in traditional Pashtun clothing, carrying newly acquired American made M16 assault rifles. They stop to take pictures on their phones, banned by the previous Taliban regime, and to pose in front of landmarks. These men walk the streets of Kabul with an air of arrogance, diluted slightly by their apparent awe. Tourists in the capital they fought to control. Many of these young men were born into their war, not before it began.
A relative peace has returned to Kabul. The markets are busy and locals walk around freely without fearing the city’s street crime. Losing a limb has been an effective deterrent to the many thieves. A moment of calm has been shattered by the rise in ISIS-K attacks on Taliban targets and mosques. What started in Jalalabad has swiftly extended to the other cities in the country, including the capital.
Outside of Kabul the distrust and disdain of foreigners was still apparent but again the Taliban were happy to have their portraits taken. Aware of the press machine that they now needed to court. They were quick to remind us that no one had conquered them, “not the British, not the Russians and now not the Americans.” They had “kicked them all out.”
