On a road trip through Afghanistan – what does the country look like three years after the Taliban took control? – Buskerud

“It means a lot to me to finally be able to see more of this country,” says Pamir Ehsas.

Ehsas's family fled the Taliban regime in 1998, when he was just four years old. This summer, Pamir Ehsas returned to Afghanistan.

And once again the Taliban came to power.

In this article you can read about:

reunited with family

Ehsas says he is moving to reunite the family in Afghanistan.

– It was so strong, because this is family. An uncle I've never met before. A cousin, a cousin, an aunt, I've never been able to meet before. But when we met, it was like we'd always lived side by side.

He also says the trip left him feeling responsible to do something.

– You see how much pain they are in, and you feel a desire to help them. Afghanistan is becoming more and more isolated. This means that responsibility, especially among diaspora communities, is also increasing.

In addition to her work as a lawyer, Ehsaas leads the relief organization Brighter Tomorrow, which works to improve conditions for school children in Afghanistan.

He is particularly concerned. For the future of Afghan girls.

– HIf we don't help them, no one will.

“Sakina”: – I have lost all hope.

When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan for the second time in 2021, They said Afghan girls should be allowed to go to school and work.

Since then, schools for girls from grades six and up have been closed. According to the BBCUNICEF figures indicate that the school ban means 1.4 million girls are not going to school.

One of them is “Sakina”, 18 years old.

NRK knows her identity, but for her safety has kept her anonymous in this article.

“I wanted to become a politician,” Sakina tells NRK from Kabul.

She says she always said goodbye to her mother in case she lost her life in one of the many attacks on schools that rocked the country in the run-up to the Taliban takeover.

“I was telling my mother not to come to school, in case there was a later attack,” says Sakina.

– How do you feel about being deprived of the opportunity to go to school?

– I feel like I'm trapped in a cage. I've lost all hope.

“Sakina” She says she feels stuck in the time when she was in 10th grade, when the Taliban took control of the country three years ago.

The Taliban deprived me of my right to be a human being.

Sakina is one of many young people in the country who say they want to leave in the hope of a brighter future.

– There is no future for me in this country. Or for women in general.

The situation of women and girls in the country has deteriorated dramatically, according to Amnesty International, which believes the Taliban regime is practicing so-called «gender apartheid».

Hazara

He believes that Nearly ten percent of Afghanistan's population He belongs to the Hazara minority.

The Hazara have historically been persecuted by various majority groups in the country, partly because of their religious affiliation. While other groups in Afghanistan are Sunni, most Afghan Hazaras are Shia.

This put them in confrontation with both the Taliban and the terrorist organization. ISKP.

The latter has also carried out a number of terrorist attacks against Hazara residences in recent years.

according to Human Rights Watch At least 700 people have been killed in attacks led by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province since the Taliban took control of the country.

They also believe that the Taliban authorities, like the previous Afghan government, have not done enough to protect the country's Hazara minority.

The battle for water

In addition, the average temperature in Afghanistan has risen by about 2 degrees Celsius over the past 70 years. According to the Washington Post.

This is double the global average.

Poor harvests and war have left the country dependent on food imports from other countries. In early 2022, the Taliban began developing the Qush Tiba Canal in northern Afghanistan to end this dependency.

If the canal is completed, it will be 285 kilometres long according to the plan, and will convert more than 500,000 hectares of desert into agricultural land.

In this case, Afghanistan's arable land would increase by a third, making the country self-sufficient in food for the first time since the 1980s, according to a report. Afghan officials.

But the project has been criticized by many.

Especially by neighboring countries that fear an agricultural crisis as a result of diverting water from them. Amu Darya River.

now It is feared that the Central Asian countries It can be thrown into a war for water.

International recognition

Since taking power, the Taliban regime has worked hard to gain international recognition for its regime.

In May, Russia did just that.

– We must take Afghanistan's point of view into account and establish relations with this country, President Vladimir Putin said when he announced the decision.

Whereas other countries chose to isolate the Taliban regime in Kabul, for its lack of respect for human rights, Chinese companies entered the country With billions of investments.

During the American occupation of Afghanistan, the Americans discovered huge amounts of gold, copper and lithium in Afghanistan.

Opening the country to tourists

But it's not just Chinese investors who are traveling to the war-torn country.

Afghanistan has suddenly become a popular holiday destination for so-called “extreme tourists».

Many of them defy international sanctions, and several have recently visited the country.

In 2021, 691 foreign tourists visited the country. The following year, this number rose to 2,300.

Last year, 7,000 foreign tourists visited the country, and more are expected this year.

Road trip to Afghanistan