This is the latest in a series of special reports from a friend inside Afghanistan about life under the Taliban. I’m protecting his identity so he can file accurate depictions of the deteriorating conditions in his country. My goal is to raise awareness in the West. Please forward to any friends who might help in this effort — especially journalists.
Dear David:
It is a rainy, cold day here in Helmand, and we, a group of more than 50 people, are waiting in front of the Kabul Bank to receive our salaries. The clock shows 7:15 am and my mobile shows the temperature as -6°c (21°F). Few people have umbrellas; some are hidden under the trees so they don't get wet. The bank won’t open until 9 o'clock. Visitors are increasing every minute.
By 9 am there are three lines of people waiting to receive their salaries, more than 300 people. "It is like we are coming here for charity," one man gripes, "but getting charity is not even as difficult as this."
The guards finally open the door and let people enter into the bank. There are four officers who hand out the cash and each officer has about 60 customers waiting to be served. They use a card system – one card per person. You have to wait until your name is called.
The banker takes one card from his pile, calls the name, and gives that person his salary. The one whose name is called feels as happy as if he had won a lottery ticket because each of us has been waiting for more than three or four hours by now.
This process is very stressful because everyone is afraid that the bank will run out of money before his turn comes. Also, the bank sometimes just suddenly closes down without explanation. This has happened many times since the Taliban came to power. For example, a few months ago I could not receive my salary for two whole months. Every day when I went to the bank; every day they said that there was no money, the system was down, or my turn had not come yet.
Banks have faced a liquidity crisis under the Taliban because no one trusts the banks to keep their money safe. The central bank has imposed restrictions on the use of money and announced that every citizen is allowed to withdraw only 200 dollars from his account during a working week, and no more than that is allowed.
According to the available statistics, before the political changes in the country, people's deposits in private banks were close to 3.8 billion dollars, but after the changes, people rushed to the banks to withdraw their money, and this figure decreased to 1.8 billion dollars.
Today, after a long wait, my name is called. I breathe a sigh of relief. Now we can buy food.
LINKS:
Afghanistan: Some Taliban open to women's rights talks - top UN official (BBC)
Top UN female envoys meet Taliban in Kabul to discuss ban on women aid workers (CNN)
Taliban ‘Men-Only’ Aid Edict Divides Charity Community (FP)
Group of 9 countries pledge military aid for Ukraine (Reuters)
Germany signals it hasn't ruled out sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine (NPR)
Ukraine 'paying in lives' as tank debate drags on (Reuters)
‘They have us over a barrel’: Inside the US and German standoff over sending tanks to Ukraine (CNN)
Inside the urgent push to arm Ukraine for a spring offensive (WP)
Leopard 2 tanks: what are they and why does Ukraine want them? (Guardian)
Russia’s nuclear entity aids war effort, leading to calls for sanctions (WP)
China’s Global Mega-Projects Are Falling Apart (WSJ)
Over a Million Protest Macron’s Pension Plan in the Streets of France (NYT)
Google to slash 12,000 jobs as tech industry layoffs surge (CBS)
Google's parent Alphabet is eliminating about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, as Silicon Valley reels from recent layoffs and faces a troubled outlook. Alphabet, whose shares rose 3% in pre-market trading, is making the cuts just as the U.S. company confronts a threat to its long-held perch atop the technology sector. (Reuters)
Google parent Alphabet slashes jobs, pushing tech layoffs over 200,000 (WP)
Wayfair Is Laying Off 1,750 Workers (WSJ)
McConnell Says US Will Never Default in Assurance on Debt Limit (Bloomberg)
Ron DeSantis government bans new advanced African American history course (BBC)
March for Life returns to Washington for first time since overturning of Roe v. Wade (NBC)
New Details Emerge of Meeting Between Proud Boys and Oath Keepers (NYT)
Judge fines Trump, lawyer for 'frivolous' Clinton lawsuit (AP)
A federal judge ordered former President Donald Trump and his attorneys to pay more than $937,000 in sanctions for suing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over claims the 2016 presidential election was rigged. (Reuters)
Trump drops lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James (BBC)
The White House is refusing to negotiate with hardline Republicans on raising the debt ceiling because it believes enough of them will eventually back off their demands, as a growing chorus of investors, business groups and moderate conservatives warn of the dangers of edging towards a default. (Reuters)
Democrats introduce constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United campaign finance ruling (The Hill)
Biden on classified docs discovery: ‘There’s no there there’ (AP)
New rules will be in place soon on what can be labeled “organic.” The Agriculture Department is increasing inspections, requiring new certifications and more. (WP)
Greta Thunberg and around 30 other activists braved sub-zero temperatures in a protest calling for climate justice as the World Economic Forum meeting wound up in Davos. Thunberg and fellow activists have presented a 'cease and desist' notice to oil and gas executives, which protesters brandished during the demonstration. (Reuters)
Monster Space Rock in Antarctica Is Among The Largest Found in 100 Years (ScienceAlert)
12-million-year-old whale fossil skull found in Maryland (Phys.org)
Bills’ Hamlin faces long recovery — family spokesman (AP)
LAPD Arrests Dozens Of Homeless Residents Found Squatting In Shelter (The Onion)
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