This the latest in an ongoing series of conversations with an Afghan friend trapped within his country. I am withholding his identity out of concern for his safety.
***
Dear David:
My sister is in her last year of university. Normally, when she goes home on winter vacation, she teaches about 100 students as a volunteer in the local school. But this winter she says that no one is interested in education any longer and half of the students have fled the country. So she will just spend the time reading books.
The life of villagers in Afghanistan is such that they work from spring to autumn to provide enough food for themselves and their animals over the winter months. They typically can only afford 400 kilos of wheat and enough vegetables for about 10 sheep. They buy other things like beans, rice, oil, etc from the market. If a family member doesn’t work in Iran or another country, they can't even afford these things, so then the family is obligated to ask shopkeepers to loan them food.
"I can't do anything as I did before," a friend in the village named Mohammad told me. "My feet are unable to move quickly in this desperation and uncertainty. You know that the passenger cars of Hazara people are being blown up with sticky bombs; the value of Afghani is collapsing every day, and the cost of food is rising accordingly. There is a drought, and the crops are shriveling. All the people in the village are frustrated; they don't work as enthusiastically as in previous years."
Another friend who is a teacher told me: ”I haven't received my salary for five months now. Moreover, I don't have any friends in foreign countries who I borrow money from. I don't know what to do.
The situation is so dire that it is difficult to describe. With each passing day, we are encountering new problems. This week alone the value of the Afghani has decreased as much as in the past 20 years. The currency exchange has closed, as have some markets. There is no hope from the UN, as it can't feed 40 million hungry people. Only the citizens who are connected to the UN organizations directly are able to get the available aid.
While the rest of the world battles Covid, this is the plague we live with.
***
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Across the World, Covid Anxiety and Depression Take Hold — It is still unclear how much of a threat the fast-spreading Omicron variant poses, but fear and a sudden revival of restrictions have added to an epidemic of loneliness. (NYT)
Climate change has destabilized the Earth’s poles, putting the rest of the planet in peril (WP)
More than 100 former Afghan national security forces and others have been killed since the Taliban takeover in August, most at the hands of the hardline Islamist group which is recruiting boy soldiers and quashing women's rights, the U.N. said. (Reuters)
Politics Was Supposed to Return to Normal in 2021. What Happened? (WSJ)
Where have all the workers gone? (Financial Times)
The Nightmare Scenario Looming in Ukraine—And Beyond (Atlantic)
Omicron is more resistant to vaccines but causes milder covid cases, major South African study finds (WP)
Data indicate omicron is milder, better at evading vaccines (AP)
Workers at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Kentucky said supervisors threatened to fire them if they left their jobs early to try and avoid a tornado that later destroyed the factory. Eight people were confirmed dead after the storm tore through Mayfield. [HuffPost]
The Supreme Court refused to halt a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in New York that does not offer an exemption for religious reasons. New York is one of just three states that do not accommodate health care workers who object to the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds. [AP]
Pfizer's Covid-19 pill cut risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent, final results show (Politico)
Her Instagram Handle Was ‘Metaverse.’ Last Month, It Vanished. — Five days after Facebook changed its name to Meta, an Australian artist found herself blocked, with seemingly no recourse, from an account documenting nearly a decade of her life and work. (NYT)
Instagram sorry for blocking user named metaverse (BBC)
Meta Platforms, the owner of social media network Facebook, is behind a $60 million deal to acquire the trademark assets of U.S. regional bank Meta Financial Group, spokespeople for the companies said. The deal underscores how valuable the Meta name has become for the technology giant. (Reuters)
Fox News hosts urged Meadows to have Trump stop Jan. 6 violence, texts show — Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade expressed alarm, concern, according to messages shared during House select committee hearing.(WP)
QAnon follower gets 28-month sentence for death threats to Pelosi (Politico)
A Trump supporter who attacked police officers with a fire extinguisher during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6 told a judge that he now realizes that the former president and those acting on his behalf were lying when they claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Robert Scott Palmer wrote that he offered his “most sincere and deepest apologies” for believing in Trump’s lies. [HuffPost]
AP seeks answers from US gov’t on tracking of journalists (AP)
How a 100-year-old newspaper became the go-to way to influence Biden (Politico)
Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds (The Guardian)
'We owe them action': Biden honors Sandy Hook victims on 9th anniversary (Politico)
Ships traveling the thawing Arctic are leaving garbage in their wake, scientists warn (Reuters)
Arctic temperature soared to an unprecedented 100 degrees in 2020, scientists confirm (WP)
Big California storm dumps snow, drenches parched regions (AP)
Apple's market value hovered just shy of the $3 trillion mark, following a stunning run over the past decade that has turned it into the world's most valuable company. (Reuters)
What’s your religion? In US, a common reply now is “None” (AP)
The top three-point shooter in NBA history is Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. He broke the record last night in Madison Square Garden, where New York fans gave him an extended ovation. (DW)
Astronomers Discover Massive Asteroid That Could Wipe Out Life On Earth, Force Nordstrom Out Of Business (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS
“Handle with Care”
Been beat up and battered 'round
Been sent up, and I've been shot down
You're the best thing that I've ever found
Handle me with careReputations changeable
Situations tolerable
Baby, you're adorable
Handle me with careI'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream onI've been fobbed off, and I've been fooled
I've been robbed and ridiculed
In daycare centers and night schools
Handle me with careBeen stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with careI'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream onI've been uptight and made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care
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