Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
Welcome to “Eyes On,” a new series from AAOP. The goal of this project is to provide a compact rundown of an important conflict, crisis, or event happening somewhere in our global community.
As engaged and energized youth, it can be exhausting to try to stay informed about all there is to be informed about. We hope that the “Eyes On” series can provide brief and user-friendly but well-rounded summaries of events we think are worth knowing about.
We also hope to use this series to push back against the new cycles’ tendency to drop stories after a few weeks of intensive coverage, even when events don’t lose their urgency. Finally, we want youth readers of “Eyes On” to walk away from each edition feeling informed and empowered to engage with the histories we are witnessing and living through around the world.
1. In August and September 2021, the US military withdrew from Afghanistan after more than 20 years of occupying Afghan soil. The war in Afghanistan was the United States’ longest war, and came at an enormous cost: in dollars and far more importantly, in the tens of thousands of lives lost.
2. In the weeks prior to the US military withdrawal, the Taliban, a violent militia with a history of brutal discrimination against women and many other minoritized groups, swept across Afghanistan and regained control of the country in what felt like a matter of days.
3. In the midst of the Taliban’s offensive, the US military departure collapsed into shameful chaos. Thousands of terrified American citizens in Afghanistan, diplomatic officials from across the world, and Afghan citizens sought to leave the country in fear of their lives and liberties. The US military was able to evacuate 120,000 people, no small feat, and one that came at the cost of more US military lives. But it is hard to call what happened a success after witnessing the horrific images of desperate crowds seeking refuge and finding at best disorganization and at worst callous disregard.
4. Afghanistan is now under Taliban control. What that means for the lives of Afghan people is something that the world waits to see with baited breath. The Taliban is also not unchallenged, and the even more militant ISIS-K organization lingers as a threat in Afghanistan.
5. One primary reason behind the devastation in Afghanistan is the idea of “nation-building”. Over the course of history, the US has repeatedly gone into countries with the idea that the US and its military can “fix them.” The same logic was part of what led to the US entering and staying for so long in Afghanistan. The hubris, ignorance, and arrogance underlying this approach is something that the US must reckon with, and the US must take responsibility for the consequences of its actions, which the Afghan people are now shouldering.
1. The Taliban has claimed that they intend to rule Afghanistan with less of the iron fist that they are so infamous for. Events on the ground don’t necessarily back that up. Gender-based discrimination and a climate of fear is already rearing its ugly head. It is crucial that the world doesn’t take its eyes off Afghanistan and holds the Taliban to account for its harms.
2. For Afghan folks that successfully evacuated from Afghanistan, the road ahead will be challenging. Individuals and families will have to acclimate to new environments, often with very few resources to draw upon. It is important that as a global community, we stand in solidarity with Afghan refugees, providing material and community support at every opportunity.
1. Stay aware: The news cycle may have largely moved on from Afghanistan, but our eyes shouldn’t. The next few months will be crucial in determining the future of Afghanistan and the Afghan people. Stay awake and informed and raise your voice when important events are taking place.
2. Support Afghan refugees: In our Asian American communities, there are many folks that know intimately the challenges of resettling as refugees. Whether or not you and your family have a personal connection to the refugee or immigrant experience, we can all step up to support Afghan refugees as they resettle around the world. A useful collection of action steps can be found here.
A note on the language used in this blog:
In this edition of “Eyes On,” we are using language that notes that AAOP, as an Asian American advocacy organization, stands in solidarity with the Afghan people. In our broader Asian American communities today, there are crucial conversations happening about what “Asian American” truly does and should mean, including the intentional inclusion of East, Southeast, South, and West Asian folks.
AAOP fully endorses these conversations and the work of brilliant organizers who are challenging the ways language has historically been used to divide and mis-categorize our communities. AAOP’s use of solidarity language in no way reflects a belief that West Asians are not part of our Asian American communities. Rather, it is a recognition that because of the specific geographic locations and populations we serve, AAOP’s advocacy has not historically encompassed West Asian perspectives and it would therefore be disingenuous to refer to West Asian folks as “us,” strictly from the perspective of AAOP as an organization.
Sources
Ali, Idrees; Zengerle, Patricia; Mohammed, Arshad, “‘Everybody screwed up’: Blame game begins over turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan”, Reuters, 1 Sept 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/everybody-screwed-up-blame-game-begins-over-turbulent-us-exit-afghanistan-2021-09-01/. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Blue, Victor; Zucchino David, “A Harsh New Reality for Afghan Women and Girls in Taliban-Run Schools”, New York Times, 20 Sept 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/asia/afghan-girls-schools-taliban.html?searchResultPosition=12. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas, “What we know about the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Kabul attack”, New York Times, 28 Aug 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/article/us-soldiers-killed-afghanistan.html. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
HIAS, “Afghan Refugee Crisis: How You Can Help”, HIAS, 17 Sept 2021. https://www.hias.org/afghan-refugee-crisis-how-you-can-help. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Knickmeyer, Ellen, “Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars”, AP News, 17 Aug 2021. https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-afghanistan-43d8f53b35e80ec18c130cd683e1a38f. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Morin, Rebecca, “The US is out of Afghanistan. What happens next in the nation now led by the Taliban?”, USA Today, 30 Aug 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/30/afghanistan-whats-next-taliban-led-nation-after-us-departure/5657584001/. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
O’Toole, Fintan, “The Lie of Nation Building”, New York Times Review, 7 Oct 2021, https://nybooks.com/articles/2021/10/07/afghanistan-lie-nation-building/. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Romo, Vanessa, “Waves Of Afghan Refugees Are Arriving In The U.S. Here’s Some Help They Can Expect”, NPR, 28 Aug 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/28/1031854899/afghan-refugee-aid-resettlement. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
Taxin, Amy, “‘We were them:’ Vietnamese Americans help Afghan refugees”, AP News, 20 Sept 2021. https://apnews.com/article/united-states-immigration-philanthropy-seattle-washington-e3bc392f34f30c433a5a75ba8c11f58d. Accessed 27 Sept 2021.