Letter From Helmand.12: "Where Will We Find Refuge?"

[NOTE: This is the latest in a series of letters from an Afghan friend about conditions in the country since the Taliban assumed power in August. We are not disclosing his identity out of concerns for his safety.]

_______________________

Dear David:

Today I learned about the following story from one of my fellow countrymen. I have translated his story into English:

    "My neighbor Mohammad killed himself yesterday. He was a widower and single father to four girls, the oldest a teenager, who was disabled. Mohammad lived in a rental house across the courtyard from mine, and since his wife’s tragic death from a heart attack three years ago, had paid for his family’s expenses by portering in the streets. He was a feeble man, due to the strain of his life and his job. Still, he continued to work day and night so his girls could study. 

    "I saw him four days ago. Mohammad was a quiet man, and kept to himself, not speaking to anyone much besides me. I asked him how he was doing, and he sighed and said, “It goes on, Bachim  [my son], we who have not experienced anything good, it only goes on.” 

    "I asked again,  what has happened? And as I looked deep into  his sorrowful face, I could almost see the agony etched there. 

    '“Life is getting hard, I can no longer work. I'm 70 now,” Mohammand replied.  “I was hopeful for my daughter's future before,  but now nothing is colorful for me.” He stood up, took his wheelbarrow and walked away lamely. That was the last time I spoke with him.

    "When I woke up yesterday, walked over to the window to stretch and look out across the courtyard, Mohammad was the first thing I saw. He was suspended between earth and sky. He had hanged himself with the porter’s rope, the one that used to help him carry his load. I ran out across the yard to him, but he was no longer breathing. A moment later, I was surrounded by his poor girls, already mourning."

(End of translation.)

When I heard yesterday about the attack in a Hazara Shia mosque in Kunduz, a crippling disappointment overwhelmed me. I felt the despair I knew Mohammad shared. I asked myself,  when will these massacres, miseries and mourning periods end? How long must we watch the killing of our loved ones, sometimes at their own hands? 

Where will we find refuge? 

I didn’t come up with any answers. There is nothing new to say. Frustration and despair are a default state of mind. Poverty is rampant. The teachers and employees have not been paid salaries for three months. How long can they continue? We are a people without hope.

***

Some of my friends may wonder why I continue to publish these plaintive letters from my young Hazara friend in Afghanistan. What are we accomplishing?

I have no ready answer. Perhaps the only explanation I can offer is the one all writers will confess: "You never know who may be listening."

Perhaps someone who reads my friend's letter will forward it to somebody else. And that person to another. Eventually, perhaps someone in a position to actually do something about the situation in Afghanistan will take an interest.

It might be an elected official, a foreign aid worker, a human rights activist, a government negotiator, a fellow journalist inside a major media organization.

As long as there is a chance that someone with more influence than me hears my friend's reports, there is a tiny point of hope that his words will not have been written in vain.

***

THE HEADLINES:

* Severe Drought Endangers Millions as Afghan Economy Collapses -- One of the worst droughts in decades is compounding the economic crisis that deepened when the Taliban overthrew the previous government. (WSJ) 

* Moderna, Racing for Profits, Keeps Covid Vaccine Out of Reach of Poor -- Some poorer countries are paying more and waiting longer for the company’s vaccine than the wealthy — if they have access at all. (NYT)

* The national rate of Covid-19 infections is declining. (CNN)

* An energy crisis is gripping the world, with potentially grave consequences -- Advocates for renewable energy say the global crisis shows the need to move further away from coal, gas and oil as prices for those commodities spike. Their critics contend just the opposite — that wind and solar have been tested and came up lacking. (WP)

* ‘Starting a Fire’: U.S. and China Enter Dangerous Territory Over Taiwan -- The self-ruled island has moved to the heart of deepening discord and rivalry between the two superpowers, with the potential to ignite military conflagration and reshape the regional order. (NYT)

* Australia mulls measures making social media giants responsible for defamatory postings (Reuters)

* Tensions persist between legacy of Columbus, native people (AP)

* Weak jobs report shows how Fed misdiagnosed delta variant’s toll on economy (WP)

* In the quest for a liver transplant, patients are segregated by prior alcohol use (NPR)

* A Language Bill Deepens a Culture Clash in Quebec -- The government calls the new measure necessary for the survival of French, while critics say it stigmatizes bilingualism and is bad for business. (NYT)

* Abdul Qadeer Khan, a controversial figure known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, died Sunday of COVID-19 following a lengthy illness, his family said. He was 85. (AP)

* U.S. holds first direct talks with Taliban since Afghan withdrawal (WP)

* When Child Care Costs Twice as Much as the Mortgage -- President Biden’s social policy legislation aims to address a problem that weighs on many families — and the teachers and child care centers serving them. (NYT)

* The climate crisis is spawning weird ideas to fix it. They might be all we have. (WP)

* Unclear What Coworker With Banana On Desk All Day Waiting For (The Onion)