Habib’s Question Answered
Written By Jason Criss Howk
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“I was a student at Kabul Medical university, but now locked at home.” -Zakia
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On 11 October 2021 my colleague Habib Khan, an award winning journalist and formerly of the WSJ, asked Afghans a simple question. The answers they have given are moving and show the devastation that the Taliban-Haqqani occupation force has placed on the Afghan people.
His question:
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What was your profession when Afghanistan was free? And what do you do now?
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Hundreds of Afghans have replied to Habib with their current status. Journalists, students, government officials, civil society leaders, soldiers, IT experts, teachers, civil engineers, lawyers, social workers, shop owners...the list goes on and on.
The 2001 injection of freedom to the economy and society made huge impacts that lifted millions of Afghans to a better place. Now the Pakistani-backed Taliban-Haqqani terrorist group is rolling back freedoms at a rapid pace, especially for women. The radicals sitting in the people’s buildings for governance in Kabul are deathly afraid of women. They especially fear educated and outspoken women.
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“I was an attorney but now I am jobless.” -Nima
“I was a chairwoman of Afghanistan Election Commision and now I am at home!” -Hawa
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All the human capability that Afghanistan needs to thrive are present in the nation, although many are choosing to leave for their own safety or economic hardships.
The international community has utterly failed to uphold the promises they made to Afghans young and old over the last two decades. They should all be reading this twitter thread every day to remind themselves of what is being lost daily.
No nation succeeds by excluding their most talented and passionate people from public service and private enterprise. The Afghans are a hardworking and freedom-loving people.
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“I was head of the ICT department at the Ministry of Industries and Commerce, now I am hopeless and suffering from depression.” -Rezwanullah, Software Engineer
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Go to Twitter today and learn more about what is at stake as the world turns its back on Afghanistan. Read the responses to your children and to students. We all must recognize the cost of tyranny and the impacts that occur when good people let other good people suffer under violent terrorists. It is not too late to reverse this trend.
https://twitter.com/HabibKhanT/status/1447647587406856196?s=20
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“I was in my 2nd year of dental residency , now I’m a Refugee” -Marjan
“Was a social worker and coordinator reaching out to IDPs, now a refugee myself” -Farhad
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