(NOTE: Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, an Afghan friend has been sending me exclusive reports of what life is like there. Very few Western reporters remain in the country, so these reports have great significance. I am withholding my friend’s identity to protect his safety.)
Dear David:
Two weeks ago, I traveled from Helmand to Kabul, and then to the village where my parents live for a visit. One day before leaving, I booked the bus ticket so that I could get a seat at the front of the bus. The departure time was stated as 12 pm with a note to "please come 30 minutes before departure."
Accordingly, I arrived at the terminal at 11:30 am.
I waited a while, but couldn't see anyone near the bus yet. Noon – the scheduled departure time – came and went.
By 1 pm, about twenty other passengers had gathered. Finally, at two o'clock, the driver came and loaded the passengers' belongings in the storage compartment. I asked why the bus didn't leave on time and was told that on Fridays, the Taliban does not allow buses to depart before noon prayer. Drivers should first pray and then leave after 2 pm.
Several buses, each from a different passenger company, left at the same time. On the way, the bus drivers acted as if it was a car race. Losing meant being humiliated. When passing a vehicle on the two-lane road, if a car was coming from the opposite direction, the bus driver would not brake at all. The opposite car simply had to give way to the bus.
I was terrified we might have an accident, which unfortunately we eventually did. Before reaching the city of Kandahar, our bus hit a three-wheeler with four passengers. The passengers were two women, a child, and a man. One woman collapsed. The other woman was complaining about her back. The child and the driver were fine with a few blood stains on their faces.
Taliban officials came and took them all to the hospital, arrested the driver and seized the bus. We passengers boarded another bus and left. The driver of the second bus was driving slower, possibly because of the accident scene from the first bus.
There are many such traffic accidents in Afghanistan these days because the defacto government does not have the capacity to control the highways and implement traffic laws. So the drivers of cars move at whatever speed they like.
When we entered Kandahar at 8 pm, I was surprised by the militarized situation. At the head of every alley and intersection, Taliban soldiers were standing with weapons and military uniforms. From the inspections and the presence of all those armed men, it seemed that the city was on the verge of war. When I asked a passenger the reason for the presence of so many armed men, he explained that it was because of the presence of the Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, in Kandahar.
These are just some indications of what our life is like here under Taliban rule.
LINKS:
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