Drop by drop

Hopeful for future of Afghanistan Guest writer

On Sept. 26, 1996, ruthless Taliban took over my city of Kabul. Prior to the Taliban, the residences of Kabul suffered and endured the heinous crimes of the civil war that started shortly after the arrival of the Mujahideen in 1992.

In one way, it was the continuation of the misfortune for Afghans. On that gruesome day in September, the Taliban banned half the population from working or studying. Girls were not allowed to go to schools, and no female was allowed to work outside their homes.

That was the bloody law of the country. The punishment for breaking the law was severe and often conducted by a foot soldier on the spot, without due process, even to their own pathetic low standards.

In the early dawn hours of Sept. 26, the Taliban brutally executed and then hanged the former president and his brother in the public square. The Taliban instilled fear in people upon their arrival and never stopped.

My super Mama, who was a teacher, continued to educate girls at our home—which turned into her underground school. She changed teaching hours every day to avoid attention to herself and her students. My late father, besides his full-time job, also started to teach girls who were now bound to their homes.

My parents didn’t give a damn about the law of the Taliban. They didn’t talk to us about courage, they showed us courage.

Every. Single. Day.

Taliban directly ruled by fear until November 2001, and they continue to use fear and death as their currency today.

On Sept. 28, 2019, close to 2.5 million brave Afghan men and women went to the polling stations across the country to cast their votes and elect their next president. It is not going to be easy in and out of this election, as the nation slowly embraces the democratic values one election at a time. I am certain there will be challenges ahead. There will be moments of despair for the nation as a whole. Some candidates willingly, and some with some persuasion, will have to accept and respect the results from this election.

In the early dawn hours of Sept. 28, Afghans queued up outside the polling stations, fully aware of the security risks it entailed and yet hopeful to elect their president for the next five years. Thousands upon thousands of brave security forces all around the country were protecting the polling stations and making it possible for people to come and vote.

It is an enormous benchmark for Afghanistan that must be recognized and celebrated.

Although there are numerous challenges facing Afghanistan today, the Afghanistan of 2019 is very different from Afghanistan of 1996. I remain hopeful for Afghanistan and her future.

There is a saying in Afghanistan: “Qatra qatra darya mesha,” which means “Drop by drop, a river is made.” I believe these small steps, qatra qatra, will be a river one day— one election at a time. I am hopeful for Afghanistan. I believe America should be proud of her work in Afghanistan in the last 18 years as well. It is not perfect, but we are set for the best, not the perfect.

I understand that Afghanistan is on the back burner of American politics these days, but I’m still buying shares in Afghanistan 2019, 2024 and 2050. All I encourage, humbly, is that you do too.